Question 1

will this work with windows 8?

Accepted Answer

I see no reason why it wouldn't work in Windoze 8.  From experience,  I suggest that you fully boot your PC and then turn ON the IcyDock with the rocker switch in the back.  If you turn ON the Icy prior to PC boot, I have found that it runs in USB 2 rather than USB 3 mode.

Question 2

Will this work with Windows 10? Has anyone tried it out? I've had this unit for a couple years now & I'm scared to update until I know for sure. I appreciate any help folks!

Accepted Answer

Wondering why you're concerned. The Blizzard should work with any operating system that supports external storage accessible via at least one of USB and eSATA, which I expect is probably just about any operating system version released after 2010 (possibly earlier). Compatibility with a Blizzard should be determined by the computer system's hardware as long as the operating system supports the hardware, presumably just a question of it's having the necessary drivers. The hardware would need either a port that the Blizzard's USB 3.0 interface is compatible with or an eSATA port.

Other possible compatibility issues are (1) between the drive and the Blizzard and (2) between the drive's format and the operating system's file system. In the case of (1), if the drive can be connected to the Blizzard, the two are likely to be compatible. In the case of (2), if the drive was formatted by an earlier version of Windows, Windows 10 should be able to access it. However, Windows security might prevent access, which is a whole other issue.

Finally,  though the eSATA connection is likely to support the drive's full data transfer speed, a USB connection might not, which could make accessing the drive slow.

The bottom line is that, if the Blizzard works as part of the computer system now, and all that's changing is the operating system, the only thing that comes to mind as a possible problem is Windows security.

Question 3

Thought I saw a few Icydock 2.5" HDD/SSD adapters that would allow 2.5" drives to be used in the MB080u3s
.....But I see no mention of it now ???

Accepted Answer

I don't know of a 2.5" adapter that will work with this enclosure. The front opens and the HD is inserted port-first into the enclosure.

Question 4

This would be a perfect external enclosure if the hard drive was mounted flat instead of vertically. When using a expensive, high end, hard drive, using this enclosure will shorten it's lifespan and cause them to fail prematurely.

Are there any plans to correct this major flaw in the near future?

Accepted Answer

Placing a hdd at any right angle is ok, so your assumption is incorrect

Question 5

Is the fan replaceable?

Accepted Answer

Yes, the fan is replaceable. The 80mm fan is mounted in the front cover.  With the front cover off and looking at the back of it there are four Philips head screws.  It would be easy to replace or upgrade.

Question 6

Is this enclosure screwless/tool-less & hot-swappable?

Accepted Answer

Not sure if hot swappable but it is tool-less. The drive slides in like a cartridge and the feet pop on.

Question 7

Is this enclosure hot-swappable & Tooless/Screwless?

Accepted Answer

yes it is tooless and scrwless and of course hot swappable

Question 8

Does this support 4TB hard drives?

Accepted Answer

If you want a single 4 TB partition you MUST use GPT when initializing the disk in Disk Management.  If you want several partitions, none exceeding 2TBs then use either MBR or GPT.  Most users want a single partition using the entire drive and therefore use GPT.

Questions & Answers