Apricorn Drivewire Universal HDD Adapter USB To 2.5IN & 3.5IN Sata & Pata
by APRICORN MASS STORAGE
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Apricorn Drivewire Universal HDD Adapter USB To 2.5IN & 3.5IN Sata & Pata
Customer Review: Killed 2 drives at once..you decide
Summary: 1 Stars
I had 2 perfectly working drives that I was cloning.. a Hitachi 80gb IDE 2.5 inch with a brand new expensive Seagate Momentus 160gb 7200 rpm 2.5 inch drive. Both worked fine in seperate enclosures with the 80gb holding my precious backup data. Hooked em up as described in the instructions, began the cloning process...and then nothing. The cloning program hung, the power supply light for the Apricorn began pulsing and the drives died. After that they did not work in my other enclosures either. Called Apricorn, knowing in advance they weren't going to know or do anything about my 2 trashed drives and was told that thier product would not cause that basically. Coincidence? I doubt it. What happened? I don't know. Both drives dead at the same time while hooked up to thier device..hmmmmm I wonder?? Anyways the very expensive NEW Seagate Momentus 160gb is warrantied..thank you very much Seagate ( although I feel guilty having them replace it now ) but the 80gb Hitachi is not.. AND it's to small for a doorstop too. Apricorn is going to replace thier product which will promptly find it's way onto THAT auction site...now how do I get my data back Apricorn? hmmmm? By the way I bought 2 of Apricorns Universal Adapter devices, I gave 1 as a gift to a friend...I called him and warned him..his is on THAT auction site already. The "upside" it did not wipe out the laptop I was using WITH Apricorns device. You decide if it's worth the gamble if it is use new warrantied drives, make backups of your backups and pray your computer does not get shorted out in the process...as Apricorns tech person said..."anything's possible" Always makes me feel better to hear that...how about you ?Customer Review: Used to Verty Good Effect--For Laptop and Desktop Drives
Summary: 5 Stars
In reading the review where the drives appeared to have been 'killed' by this product, I was thinking of how opposite my experiences have been with this product.
I have used the adapter and the 'EZ-Gig' software to upgrade my Dell laptop 2.5" drive. I have used the same arrangement for three 3.5" desktop drives. The Dell and one of the 3.5" drives is a SATA. The other two 3.5" drives were not.
In all of the above cases, the issue and goal was to increase the space available without performing a 'clean install' of Windows--and the requisite re-install of all of the programs/settings--etc.
In another case, I used the adapter to read a very old 10 gig drive and retrieve information.
As noted in the other review, the USB connection to the adapter and my PCs (the Dell laptop (E1705) and desktop (no 'brand' per se [PC800-E Deluxe montherboard] has worked very well indeed.
There was no trouble using the adapter and the accompanying 'EZ-Gig' software.
Though I dare not recount the steps taken for the upgraded(I should have documented them), the process for all of the upgrades was quite easy and saved a great deal of time.
I do agree that 'anything is possible'---I also, do agree that that type of answer is not conducive to good customer relations.
The five 'stars' are for the operation of the product only--Not an endorsement of the answer you got from Apricorn.
I hope that others will share their experiences with the product. That will give a better view of what is happening [good and bad] in the 'field.'
Customer Review: This product saved the day
Summary: 5 Stars
I don't normally bother to write reviews on stuff I buy, but I really felt the need on this one. This product allowed me to recover from failure to regularly back up my hard drive. (I have now set up automated back up.) When my old Dell refused to start Windows, I thought that I had lost the 6 months of photos and files since my last back up. These included my daughter's engagement pictures. After a bit of research and advice from my brother-in-law, I bought the Drivewire Universal HDD Adapter. It did take me a little to figure out how to set it up. In the end, I did not use the accompanying software. I plugged it into my new IMac and into the hard drive. Voila, I could see my folders on the old drive. It takes time to copy the files across the USB line, but I was able to get all of the files I wanted moved over. Occasionally, something timed out and the process would stop. I had to unplug the Drivewire unit from my Mac and from the power. After replugging, I could restart the process. This lead me to copy smaller numbers of folders at a time so I could know where I had been.
This device really saved the day. I could throw it away now and it would have been worth the money spent. Needless to say, I won't be throwing it out.
Pros: It worked and was relatively straightforward.
Cons: The occasional time out was inconvenient and meant I needed to pay attention.
Skill level needed: You need to be comfortable removing the hard drive from the old computer and you need to be comfortable with your operating system/file manager.
Customer Review: Fantastic Little Device
Summary: 5 Stars
I work as a network specialist and was looking for a small device that I could carry with me to my remote locations. I have a total of 32 remote offices, with some of them 2 1/2 hours away. I have owned one of these for about two years now and looking at buying another one for my side business. I main thing I use this for cloning disks and hooking up infected hard drives that have a hard time booting up. I probably have used it in every other way also without problems. I have backed up failing hard drives, used it to pull off users documents of a failing hard drive, moving to a larger hard drive. I have even used it with mac.
I wish I would have bought one of these years ago! I find myself using this thing more than I use Norton Ghost. I setup one workstation the way I want it and pull the drive out and go down the line imaging the rest of the computers.
I just looked at some of the negative reviews, and have not experienced any of these problems (frying hard drives). You do have to be careful when you are hooking up the power and these are stated in the user manual. I have had a few hard drives not show up using the included CD, but this seems to be fixed when I recheck my connections.
I don't like how the thing is made of cheap plastic, they could have made it a little bit more durable. I also noticed that sometimes the connector can be cock-eyed. I usually put a book of sticky pads under it so it's level when its connected to the hard drive (this has been the cause of some of the connection issues).
Customer Review: It Just Works!
Summary: 5 Stars
I opened the box, glanced at the included, but limited instructions (see below)and forged ahead. I had four hard drives - two 2.5" SATA and two 3.5" EIDE - that I had removed from non-operational PC computers. My goal was to low-level format each hard drive so as to remove all data. Hook-up was intuitive. In turn, I connected the appropriate Apricorn adapter connection into each hard drive. Connections were easy and smooth - no extra force needed. For the SATA drives, the included 4-prong power source was plugged into the adapter, which thence conveyed the power to the SATA drive thru the the adapter's combined SATA data/power connection. For the EIDE drives, the 4-prong power connector was connected directly to the drive itself. In each case, connection between the adapter and my operational computer was accomplished with the included USB cable. In all four cases, the computer quickly recognized the hard drive and I was able to accomplish my goal. It just worked.
The limited included instructions reference the Apricorn website for a download of a full manual, which I didn't need for my primary tasks. Truthfully, the adapter, for my purposes in buying it, has already paid for itself. I have not had occasion to use the well reviewed included software for cloning/restoring the data on a hard drive; but I can foresee its usefulness. In any case, I will download the manual so as to be ready to use for more complex tasks the Apricorn adapter, which will be given a place among the primary tools in my computer tool kit.