External IDE hard drive enclosures

Lou[NE] · Post by **Lou[NE]** » 28 Dec 2008 5:19 pm

Has anyone had any experiences with external hard drive enclosures as backup devices? The old PC that acted as my backup server died. The box won't even do POST, let alone boot, but I think the hard drives are OK. I'm considering buying a couple inexpensive external hard drive enclosures to house the backup hard drives instead of replacing what I think may be a failed motherboard.

Any tips?

Thanks, and happy holidays.

Lou

Wiz Feinberg · Post by **Wiz Feinberg** » 28 Dec 2008 10:20 pm

Try NewEgg.com, or Tiger Direct, for external USB IDE enclosures, for your existing P-IDE drives.

Most new enclosures with hard drives are SATA 3 spec. Parallel IDE drives are fast going to Jurassic Park. They are becoming extinct.

Jack Stoner · Post by **Jack Stoner** » 29 Dec 2008 3:40 am

I have an IDE hard drive that I put in a USB (2.0) enclosure that I bought from newegg.com and it works great as a backup drive.

I did the same thing with some IDE CD burner drives and now the capability to burn more than one CD at a time, using the internal burner drive and the external USB connected drives (3 drives).

Larry R · Post by **Larry R** » 29 Dec 2008 4:49 am

Try the Antec MX-1. It's an actively cooled eSata enclosure for 3.5" HDD's. Has it's own cooler fan. Comes with Power adapter, eSata PCI slot cover, eSata Cable, USB2.0 cable, stand, and onboard power switch.
All this at a very attractive price at www.directron.com. Fry's electronics also carries them.

Larry

Lou[NE] · Post by **Lou[NE]** » 29 Dec 2008 4:37 pm

Thanks for your input. Larry, problem is these are IDE drives I'm trying to use. I'm looking at the Thermaltake A2395 which supports both IDE and SATA - $38 at cyberguys.com, but maybe I can find a better price elsewhere. There is also an IDE-only enclosure at cyberguys for $18.

Thanks again.

Lou