Question 1

I want to make sure that this is what I need.  I have an internal hard drive from a desktop that is no longer functional that I want to connect to my laptop and either remove files from or use as an additional storage.  Will this allow me to do this?  Thank you

Accepted Answer

I used this to move files from an internal hard drive which failed due to a problem with the OS not the drive itself. I removed the drive from the laptop and used the vantec to connect it via USB port to another device, in essence it turned the drive into an external USB drive (keep in mind at this point the drive was not protected by a case). after transferring the files I wished to save I reinserted the drive to the laptop and restored the operating system. I was then able to move the files back to the laptop from the external "Passport" drive I had moved them to. Hope this was helpful.

Question 2

Is this the item I would need to transfer information from a PC hard drive directly to a MacBook?  We have a computer and want to plug the PC hard drive directly into the MacBook. No PC monitor, mouse, keyboard, etc.

Accepted Answer

I'm not familiar with macbooks, but if it has a USB (female) port to plug into then it likely works the same as it would for a windows computer. (Works similar to plugging in a usb memory stick.) I love this adapter!! I've transferred all my files from 4 hard drives and laptop drive that no longer would start up. I had so many memories that were saved! Though you do need to open your PC case and remove or access the hard drive directly.  It's simple to use if you follow the directions. Don't turn it on until everything is hooked up.

Question 3

Does this work with MAC???

Accepted Answer

It seems that if your drive is ok, mac will recognize it. None of my old drives showed up, but I think that's because they're bad. Also, the power supply shipped with this has 5V, but not 12V. I don't know if my drives need 12V though. They did spin up - I could hear that. On one of my drives, the index showed up in Finder, but I couldn't access the files. I think that's the drive's fault.

Oh. The first unit they shipped had a broken power supply. No output at all.

Question 4

can you use this device to transfer data from an internal hard drive to another computer via usb?

Accepted Answer

Hello David K.  
If I understand your question, the answer is no.  You would have to connect this adapter directly to the internal hard drive and then plug it into the computer USB port you want to transfer to.  Or, you could plug this into the computer's USB that has the internal hard drive with date and then connect the adapter to an external hard drive.  Copy date to external and then plug the adapter into the other computer to transfer data.  The adapter makes an external hard drive the equivalent of a flash drive.

Question 5

If I purchase the Vantec 2.5"/3.5"/5.25" Sata/IDE to USB adapter-modelCB-ISATAUS am I getting everything in the box?
Shown in the pictures?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Everything shown is what you should receive. No surprises and was very easy to hook up and use. The only thing is when you do use it, there should be a little icon at the bottom of the screen that says something like disconnect hardware. Be sure to click on that prior to disconnecting the hard drive. I learned the hard way by not paying attention to all (which are minimal) the directions and corrupted some files. For never using one before, this was very simple and easy to use. Love it.

Question 6

Can I use this to transfer all my files from my non-working Gateway  Laptop to my new Lenovo ideapad?

Accepted Answer

Yes you can! Hardrive must be removed and be working order. If the drive is trashed, or non-readable(toasted), so sorry! The drive is simply plugged into the vantec and connect the usb wire to your lenovo. Double click on my computer and you should see the Gateway drive if not reboot the lenovo. Vantec is a good deal for 13 buciks, today, and it is portable and needs only usb power. I bought 2 and sold to a friend. The alternative to this is the Themaltake  BlacX N0028USU External Hard Drive SATA Enclosure Docking Station 2.5" & 3.5" USB 2.0 Model . This unit will not fit older ide style drives but does fit laptop/desktop sata drives. I hope thes helps. jc77565 at Hotmaildot com    Happy Holidays    jackie

Question 7

Does hard drive need to be removed from old desktop for this item to work?

Accepted Answer

Yes, this adaptor is designed to work with a hard drive that you've taken out of a computer and would like to mount as an external drive.  As an example, if you got a new computer but wanted the data off your old computer, you could remove your old computer's hard drive and mount it as an external drive on your new computer using this adaptor, and then transfer the data over that connection.

Question 8

Is this compatible with windows 8?

Accepted Answer

Yes Its compatible with any windows operating system. Its basically like plugging in a thumb drive into your computer.

Question 9

Will this copy 5-1/4" floppy data to my computer hard drive?

Accepted Answer

On all the 5-1/4" floppy drives I've ever seen, the floppy ribbon cable is not the same as the IDE cable used for hard drives, so I don't believe this IDE to USB adapter would work for copying floppy data.

Question 10

Hey,
I recently got this and plugged in a new 3.5 hdd into it and can't get it to read.  Under devices this shows up and it recognizes the hdd is there but I can't access it and it doesn't show up where it normally should as a mass storage device.
I am trying to clone my current drive in my computer to this new one.  What am I forgetting to do or do I just have a bad unit?
Thanks!

Accepted Answer

I am not an expert but have cloned several drives before.  If you have booted up the operating system (Windows) and plug in a new Hard Drive, it will not show up because it is not formatted yet.  Normally the Cloning Software will do this for you but that software should be run from a CD Disk and not from the Operating System.  Have the CD in your Optical Drive before booting up your computer with the new Drive plugged in to the Vantec and USB cable to the computer and the Cloning Software  should load (if it doesn't, you may have to change the Boot order in your BIOS first).  Once it is loaded, one of the choices should be to enable USB Devices to allow the new Drive to be written to.  Be careful when Cloning to make sure the Source and Destination Drives are the ones you really want, sometimes it is confusing.  If the new Hard Drive is still not recognized using the Vantec and the Cloning Software, try plugging the Vantec into your Optical Drive while running your Operating System.  Since the Optical Drive does not need to be formatted like a Hard Drive, it should install the Drivers and you should be able to play a music CD or read a Data Disk to prove that the Vantec is working.  You could also try Formatting the Hard Drive using the Vantec and Operating System but typically the Cloning Software will take care of that if everything is working correctly.  Good Luck

Questions & Answers