Usb 2.0 enclosure. Opinions needed.

[weapon]

http://www.thetechgeek.com/content/product.php?pid=9288

Looks too good to be true. I don't have any 2.5 inch drives but this may work for someone here.

[chas_m]

Why would this be "too good to be true"? It's just a piece of aluminum with a 25¢ bridgeboard attached and a 50¢ electrical adapter.

There are drawbacks to it, of course:
1. Only Intel Macs and PCs can boot from a USB2 drive (there might be an exception but basically only Intel Macs and PCs)

2. It's not SATA so it's not ideal for Intel Mac owners, all of whom use SATA rather than ATA drives.

3. Some people are needlessly paranoid about the lack of fans in these cases. I'm not -- the cheap Chinese electrical adapter will likely die LONG before the hard drive does.

I think this would be a good move for someone with a black PC notebook, or someone with a black Apple notebook with USB2 that could use it as a non-bootable storage drive.

[mattkime]

Thanks for pointing this out. I'm picking up two.

[jdc]

its a so-so price, but nothing earth shattering

newegg has them for $7.50 and up, and a a boatload of them under $15 -- they have been that way for some time

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.asp?Page=1&Category=9&Nty=1&N=2010090092+1053807124&Submit=ENE&SubCategory=92

personally, id spend $20-25 and get firewire -- my 60 gig 2.5" firewire dirve is pretty fast...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6817298001

[Racer X]

chas_m said

" There are drawbacks to it, of course:
1. Only Intel Macs and PCs can boot from a USB2 drive (there might be an exception but basically only Intel Macs and PCs) "

Not true. there are a number of PPC G3 and G4 macs that will boot from USB. But they are random models. The problem is that Apple won't post a TIL that actually lists which ones in a clear and concise manner with only one URL.

You need to do some random searches for USB and Booting and some other stuff, and cull through the hits. far more than "an exception", which implies that they may only be one)

[hal]

"2. It's not SATA so it's not ideal for Intel Mac owners, all of whom use SATA rather than ATA drives."

WHy would anyone want to install a SATA drive into an external USB case - what difference could it possibly make?

[weapon]

JDC -

What are you talking about? lol

The link you provided does show some comparable models but they all have shipping. 4.99 min shipping.

My link is 8.99 with free shipping. No matter how you look at it that is a hell of a deal.

Who would put a sata drive in an enclosure? I was just thinking that someone with some older drives might need a case so it can be used with their new mac.

[guitarist]

Embrace reality and get a Firewire enclosure instead.

[Mike Sellers]

[quote jdc]its a so-so price, but nothing earth shattering

newegg has them for $7.50 and up, and a a boatload of them under $15 -- they have been that way for some time

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.asp?Page=1&Category=9&Nty=1&N=2010090092+1053807124&Submit=ENE&SubCategory=92

personally, id spend $20-25 and get firewire -- my 60 gig 2.5" firewire dirve is pretty fast...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6817298001
The second one you list looks pretty sweet. If you have your own cables and don't mind an open box item, you can save six bucks: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...817298001R

[chas_m]

[quote Racer X]Not true. there are a number of PPC G3 and G4 macs that will boot from USB. But they are random models. The problem is that Apple won't post a TIL that actually lists which ones in a clear and concise manner with only one URL.

You need to do some random searches for USB and Booting and some other stuff, and cull through the hits. far more than "an exception", which implies that they may only be one)
Sorry if I was too vague. I knew there was at least one earlier model that could boot from USB -- I owned it (graphite iBook IIRC). I just wasn't sure that there was more than just that one, and as you point out there's no official list. Still, compared to the number of models Apple made in the PPC era, I think it's safe to say that booting from USB was the exception, not the rule.