Vantec NexStar 2.5"/3.5" SATA to USB 2.0 & eSATA & FireWire 400 Hard Drive Dock - Model NST-D100UFS

Pros: I do video work with large files that I need to access and then store when a job is done. I liked this thing when it worked. Allowed me to buy a stack of internal drives and swap in and out as needed. Awesome for backing up data, archiving and then accessing seldom used files etc. I liked i so much that I bought a second one.

Support is friendly but no help unless it's still in warranty.

Cons: They don't last long. Mine is just over a year old and no longer writes. Tried multiple drives, changing cables, and swapping power supplies* with another one I have that I now expect to fail. I will buy another dock as I like the usefulness of them. Won't buy another Vantec anything.

*Power supplies seem to be the usual cause of write failures. In his case it's something else. I now have a spare power supply of my other one.

Other Thoughts: Read the other reviews, these don't hold up.

Pros: I bought two of these. One works with all three interfaces, recognizes, partitions and formats 3TB drives, and does what it says. It's nice having all the ports. I'm going to use these so that I can treat hard drives as backup media. They're a lot cheaper than a tape drive, and hard drives are cheaper than tapes, for the capacity.

The one that works is labeled NST-D100UFS, has a brighter LED, has horizontally oriented Firewire ports and a simple 12V power supply wall wart.

Cons: I bought two of these. One of them does not work at all with Firewire. I tested it on both a Dell E4300 (built-in 1394a) and a Mac MDD with 10.5. I know the cable works because I've used it with a Seagate FreeAgent Extreme and with the other Vantec dock which works.

Under USB the dock works, but it will not recognize a 3TB drive under Windows Vista. It treats it as 800K. The other dock works properly.

This dock which doesn't work well, has a duller white color, the firewire ports are oriented vertically, the model number is just NST-D100 with no UFS, and the power supply is combined 5V/12V with a multi pin plug.

Other Thoughts: It looks like Vantec updated this product at some point to work better, and I hit the negative jackpot and got one of the old model.

Pros: Works fine for about a year

Cons: I keep the power supply plugged in constantly. One day the connection to the adapter started to give smoke...

Manufacturer Response:

Dear customer,
I’m very sorry that your power supply failed. Please contact our support team at support@vantecusa.com for further assistance and possible RMA if your product is within a year since the date of purchase.
Best Regards, Vantec

Pros: Everything about it until the power supply almost caught fire!

Cons: BEWARE! Where the power cord enters the power supply unit- melted! Two different NST-D1000UFS units being used at two different locations experienced the same problem. This product was great until it shorted and almost caused a fire. Waiting to hear back from Vantecusa. If possible would have given no eggs. 7/15/11

Pros: Cheap

Cons: eSATA PCI card, too short for the 2010 Mac Pro
Does not read 2TB or 1.5TB
Power Adapter is a brick, not built in
Why FW400?

Pros: Easily drop in a full size or mini SATA drive for instant access. Use Firewire or eSATA instead of USB for higher speeds.

Cons: The case is light but I didn't get "flimsy" from it at all. If you don't drop the HD in perfectly straight you risk missing the socket for the connectors as there's a bit of extra wiggle room.

Other Thoughts: I use it for securely wiping hard drives in Linux prior to disposal. No need for special drivers in the latest Ubuntu - it just appears as an external drive.

Pros: Absolutely nothing

Cons: This is the worst plastic construction I've seen. Out of the box, the power button flakes in and out and will not stay on. Seriously VANTEC? I've purchased their adapter cables before and have been satisfied; however, this product falls short due to shoddy construction and faulty power button.

I didn't test the unit until after thirty days were up, but since I live overseas I didn't have that much time to return anyways. Looks like I'll have to send back to the manufacturer.

Pros: 1394 flies, reliable power button and activity lights. Includes USB, 1394, & eSATA cables with eSATA --> SATA internal bracket.

Cons: The plastic on this is SO CHEAP, it feels hollow. The ejecting mechanism is kinda stiff and it feels like you're about to launch the disk across the room when you press the button. Doesn't spin the disk down when attached devices power down. Gets warm to the touch within an hour of running.

Other Thoughts: Power brick's cords are a weird length so I had to stack the brick ontop of some books to reach. Seems outrageously overpriced (I paid $45) and it is, but if you need a hot-swappable FireWire enclosure this is the one to get.

Pros: this thing rocks! Installation was a breeze and my drives were all picked up in seconds.

Cons: It feels a bit flimsy...

Pros: Firewire interface. Easy to add existing or new bare drives to my iMac without dealing with enclosures. Looks nice.

Cons: Um, that firewire interface. It's fine for regular file data when connected to my iMac, but when I attempted to use it as a destination for my Time Machine backups, after two days of blissful backups I started to experience lock-ups galore. After switching to the USB connection, I haven't had a single issue whatsoever.

Other Thoughts: Here's the skinny on the Time Machine backup 'con'. First, I don't consider having to switch to USB for Time Machine backups to a 5400 rpm WD Green drive a huge hardship, but I was somewhat surprised. OS X specific drivers are not included on the mini CD that comes with the product.

The firewire\Time Machine issue is the only thing holding me back from five eggs, otherwise I am a happy user.