BYTECC HD1-SU-BLACK Aluminum 2.5" Black USB 2.0 External Enclosure

Pros: Does exactly what I need it to do - rarely do I even need the second power connection.

Cons: Wife doesn't understand which USB connection to use - not a con against this product though.

Other Thoughts: I've just been keeping the drive in the case for easy transportation and additional shock absorption. Works great with the 500GB Hitachi drive and the Asus O!Play.

Pros: eSata Interface. Small

Cons: Cheaply made, DC port bent, DC cable connector is too long for port, Hardware Controller errors.

Other Thoughts: I know this device is under $20, so some would ask “what do you expect?” But the quality is pretty bad. The aluminum case is pretty standard, but there are no included screws to attach the hdd to the controller board. Also, they provide a tiny piece of foam to stabilize the hard drive while in the case (which doesn’t really work). The DC pin on the drive is bent so when you plug in power, the cable connector sits at a 45 degree angle – and on top of that, the cable connector is twice as long as the port. So you have a bent connector sticking half plugged into the hard drive. This doesn’t hurt the performance, but it is very cheaply made. The first time I put a formatted SATA drive in the enclosure (from another enclosure where it previously worked fine) I started getting HDD controller errors and erratic performance. Not hard drive errors – controller errors (the board on the enclosure). But for the price, it includes ESata, Dual-head USB and DC cables – so I’m just taking the loss.

Pros: Well, it was pretty nice at first. Looks good, worked instantly, even on vista.

Cons: After 7 months it stopped working. The 80gb hd I'm trying to use simply makes a soft clicking noise over and over. The drive does works without incident when placed directly into my laptop, so I know it isn't the hard drive. It also does not work with winXP, so I know it isn't a vista problem.

Other Thoughts: darn.

Pros: Drive fits snugly. There is a pad in the back that compresses so that the hard drive will fit in. Luckily, that keeps it from sliding side to side as well. I have a Toshiba 120 gb hdd and it doesnt rattle.

Cons: A tad slow for a 7200 rpm hard drive in it.

Other Thoughts: It comes with double usb adapter. I think the other is just for getting extra current. If you install a brand new hard drive, just make sure to initialize it with Disk Management first or else Windows ignores it.

Pros: works as expected ... light weight, compact and well designed!!!

Cons: none so far

Pros: works as advertized; small footprint; well-constructed

Cons: none so far

Other Thoughts: I have other Bytecc enclosures, and have had no problems, so that entered into my decision to purchase this unit. I installed an old 40GB drive out of my Dell laptop. I had no rattling, as some others have described. I noticed that there is an elastomeric pad at the far end of the enclosure--the drive is apparently supposed to compress this pad when securing the access end of the case. I measured my installed drive length with respect to the mating surface of the access cover and saw that my drive would just hit the elastomeric pad. Therefore, I installed the foam pad that came with the unit around the back end of my drive (u-shaped around the case) and everything fits solid and well. So far, I love this unit. No heat problems. No rattling. My drive draws 3/4-amp, so single USB hookup works fine for me. Haven't tried it with an older computer, though -- may require plugging in the additional (power) USB pigtail. I highly recommend this unit. The padded case is nice.

Pros: Inexpensive and works. Single USB cable is enough power. Padded carrying case is good. It's got about 30,000 air miles on it.

Cons: Apparently there is supposed to be a high density foam drive support that was not there. I used some folded paper to stop the rattle and that works.

Pros: Works fine, lights make sense, easy to mount drive. My Lenovo T61 drives it with a single retractable USB2 cable so I don't have to carry the multi-head cable.

Cons: Slightly thick for a notebook drive. The drive will rattle unless you pad it.

Other Thoughts: Used a slice of one of the shipping peanuts to keep the drive from rattling. It's traveled about 7000 miles now and still doesn't rattle. The case is a nice addition; reasonable quality and fits fine.

Pros: I have two - Allows me to connect my HP parallel laserjet printer to my pc. I carry one w/me for my laptop. Works great.

Cons: none

Other Thoughts: Don't toss your old laserjet printer - get this. In fact, if you can find a used laserjet, it's worth getting this adapter to use it.

Pros: 1. It's Aluminum and keeps my hard drive cool.
2. It's sturdy.
3. It has quality materials (such as black powder rather than spray on paint, which will last forever and not scratch easily)
4. It looks nice and professional.
5. It works with just one USB cord plugged in.
6. It's hot swappable SATA and is recognized instantly by Windows Vista (despite Vista not being listed as compatible in the specifications).
7. It comes with a professional looking carrying case that is padded enough so that it will protect the device from drops. It also holds the enclosure in firm with a strap and an inside pocket.

Cons: 1. The enclosure is bigger than it should be. Longer, thicker, and wider. My hard drive wiggles around inside. They include a foam pad thing that you slide in with the hard drive, (foam side goes towards the hard drive I figured out, no thanks to the instructions) and it does help some. I'm not really worried though. I shook it and the drive didn't disconnect. I don't plan on shaking it as I use it.
2. The case smells like roach spray. What the heck type of leather is this?? I hope this smell goes away soon..
3. The case is also bigger than what it should be, which makes the whole thing barely able to fit into my pocket. The case has an inside pocket and strap to hold the enclosure in, but then wraps around the enclosure loosely for no apparent reason.

Other Thoughts: I've bought Bytecc products before and never had a complaint. I don't like how my drive rattles around inside, but I feel confident than this enclosure will work well into the future and to be fair, if I'm going to put this into my pocket, I don't really need to put it into it's case. Oh, I also ran a benchmark on the drive. It runs about half as fast in the enclosure as it does installed on my laptop, which is plenty fast enough for even copying 700mb movies (which takes about 30 seconds each one).