Sabrent IDE/PATA CD/DVD/RW USB 2.0 Slim Notebook Drive Enclosure EC-BIDE
Posted by admin | Posted in Notebook | Posted on 07-03-2010
5
- Plug & Play with emergency manual eject,USB2.0 Enclosure only. The Drive is not included!!!
- Dimensions 5.2″(W) x 0.8″(H) x 5.5″(D).Weight: 11 oz only
- Support: Disc DVD+R, DVD+RW, DVD-R,DVD-RW,DVD-ROM, DVD-Video
- Support:CD-R/RW, CD-ROM/XA, CD-ROM, CD_Audio, Video-CD, CD-I(FMV), Photo CD, CD-EXTRA, CD-TEXT
- Tech Support: 626-336-6363
Product Description
Product # : EC-BIDE; Product Name : USB 2.0 IDE Portable Slim External Notebook/Laptop CD/DVD-RW Enclosure; Description : Transfer data quickly and easily with this great external hard drive case! The USB 2.0 interface allows for data transfer rates up to 480Mbps. The easy to use design allows for quick installation of Laptop/Notebook CD/DVD-RW Drives.; ; This enclosure provides a fast and easy way to add more storage space to your Desktop or Notebook. The USB 2.0 i… More >>
Sabrent IDE/PATA CD/DVD/RW USB 2.0 Slim Notebook Drive Enclosure EC-BIDE
I have two old but functional laptop drives. I tried it with both of them and it didn’t work. I tried it on Mac and PC…still no dice. The drive would spin a little and light up, but I couldn’t get either computer to recognize it. You may have better luck. Also the drivers come on one of those mini-sized CDs. If your computer can’t use those….no dice. Sabrent’s website did not have any drivers when I checked.
Build quality seemed average at best….about what you’d expect for the price.
Rating: 3 / 5
The case is semi-hard plastic rather than aluminum. I prefer aluminum cases. The cords that come with the enclosure are rather short, maybe 2 1/2 feet, if that. For the price, it’s fair for what you get. For something a bit more rugged paying maybe $15 more would be worth it for aluminum casing and a longer USB cord. Does come with a flat face plate to add to a drive to make it sit flush with the edge of the enclosure.
Rating: 2 / 5
I had a 6 year old Apple SuperDrive that came from a 15″ PowerBook G4 A1046 it w as 2X Super Drive with 16X CD-R Write Speed. I do a lot of work on computer repair I wanted to buy this since I got a lot of PATA or IDE DVD/CD Burners. It reads the disk and burn fine. Just this enclosure is Windows ONLY. I thought I try a Apple SuperDrive in the enclosure on Mac that was running 10.5.8 to see if it would pop up and I tried a Blank CD and a DVD Movie nothing. I tried on Windows 7 and booted up just fine. In fact I didn’t have to install any drivers off the CD. See pictures above! This is worth the money!
Rating: 5 / 5
I bought two enclosures at once, one for me and the second for a friend. One box had the enclosure, a faceplate, mounting screws, a CD and a manual. The other box had just a faceplate and the enclosure. My friend got the lucky box, so I’m left with a drive that can slide out of the enclosure if I’m not careful. I haven’t decided if I want to spend the $$ to mail this back just to get a couple of tiny screws.
The enclosure looks nice, but smells funny. I hope the smell goes away in time. The case itself has a porous, velvety feel that picks up greasy smudges easily (I made the mistake of eating pizza and handling it without washing my hands) but to my surprise it quickly wiped clean with a dry cloth. As far as its purpose, it does what it’s supposed to do. An extra DVD/CDRW drive I had lying around works just great when connected to my computer and shows right up in Windows Explorer and ejects just as it should. Cosmetically, the faceplate on my drive (the included faceplate is incompatible) would catch so I had to shave a little off the top like another reviewer. My friend’s drive, made by a different manufacturer, fit perfectly so YMMV. There are two USB cables, one for data and the other for power, so be prepared with two available USB ports to use this. Overall, a decent product, I would’ve given it 5 stars if mounting screws were included with both of the kits I bought, but this major oversight knocks off 4 stars, and since I’m reviewing for 2 I give it a 3.
Edit: (1/17/2009)
I emailed Sabrent’s Customer Service via their website on a Friday afternoon. They responded Monday afternoon. I told them the situation re: missing items. The representative immediately shipped me a drivers CD, manual, and the two mounting screws. I received them in the mail on Friday. As such I’ve changed my rating from 3 stars to 5 because of the customer service. Granted the items should’ve been in the box and was a small amount of trouble but it all worked out. In the end I’m very happy with this purchase.
Rating: 5 / 5
With only one “writable” drive in a house with 3 laptops, we needed a better way to share the drive than installing it back and forth. This case was a breeze to put together, within 5 minutes of receiving it we were up and running with an external DVD Writer. I recommend this for anyone with a Netbook or that wants a writable drive without having to install it.
Rating: 5 / 5