[FB Eye]

I have an internal Maxtor DiamondMax 100GB SATA 150 3.5" hard drive that I want to convert into an external hybrid USB 2.0 + Firewire 400/800 hard drive. I know I have to buy an external enclosure, but I'm lost as to what brand I should buy and what are the do's and don'ts when doing this.

I've looked at AcomData's, Vantec's and Startech's website, but there are so many models and specs I'm confused as to what I really need. I just want to make sure it's compatible with a SATA drive, it does both USB and Firewire, it's case is sturdy enough because I will carry the drive often from work to home and that's it's not too expensive.

Any advice?

THANKS!!!

[Tesselator]

I don't think there are any dos and don'ts. Just get a case that's properly rated
for the drive you have... keep the cables as short as possible. Follow whatever
the instructions say. I think it's pretty hard to go wrong.

[Veltliner]

There are four enclosures I have found recommended on this forum that I have on my list.

1. Icy dock

Newegg.com - ICY DOCK MB559US-1SMB Aluminum body w/ partial plastic 3.5" Mirror Black USB 2.0 & eSATA External Enclosure - Retail

2. OWC/ three different enclosures.

OWC Mercury Elite-AL Quad Interface eSATA,... (MEFW924AL1K) at OWC

OWC Mercury Elite-AL Pro FireWire 800 + FireWire 400 + USB 2.0 + eSATA 'Quad Interface' Solutions up to 1.0TB at OtherWorldComputing.com

OWC Neptune 3.5" Oxford 911+ FireWire 400 (1394... (NP35FW) at OWC

[anselm]

I few minutes ago I ordered 2 cases by Onnto and MacPower

ONNTO Corporation

Macpower / Home / Storage Solutions / 3.5" Hard Drive Enclosures / Pleiades / Pleiades 400+

Both had good review resuod out: It was reviewed as lts but the Onnto stobest enclosure in 4 print magazines.
It`s more silent and is better at transporting the heat away from the drive.

The Onnto enclosures ( ONNTO Corporation ) have shock absorbers to protect the drive which should be interesting for you if you want to carry it to work and home again.

However for drives that are transported a lot it`s usually a good idea to choose a 2.5" drive since those are traditionally more robust.

[FB Eye]

May I ask where you ordered the Macpower Pleiades?

[rjt1000]

I recently purchased the OWC Mercury Elite-AL Quad interface enclosure and Hitachi Deskstar 1TB mechanism from Newegg and I am quite satisfied: The OWC enclosure is very robust (thick aluminum), has an Oxford 924 chipset and the installation of the SATA mechanism was very easy. The performance using Firewire 800 and e-SATA (via a Bytecc e-SATA expresscard on my MBP 2.2ghz) has been quite good. Purchasing the enclosure and drive separately and doing the installation yourself will save some money.

The MacPower Pleiades enclosures used to be sold in the US by Rosewill. I have their Firewire 400 / USB2 enclosure and it is also quite sturdy and fast, using an Oxford 911 board for PATA drives. Rosewill no longer carries this enclosure and when I searched for it a few months back, I couldnt find any resellers of the Pleiades enclosure in the USA. You don't even see them on eBay.

I considered this enclosure which looks a lot like the Pleiades enclosure. But it isnt any cheaper than the OWC enclosure, though it does have a fan if that is something you want. (I found the heat dissipation on the aluminum external enclosures to be good enough that a fan is not necessary).

[jamil5454]

I just bought a Dual-Bay external enclosure from Vantec today and I have to say it works very well and feels very solid. The internal fan is very quiet (considering its small size) and speeds seem to be pretty fast.

It's pretty hard to go wrong with an external enclosure... just make sure it lists mac compatibility.

[IceEnclosure]

I have an IcyDock FW400/USB 2.0 with a SATA 320GB drive inside, works great.

[anselm]

FB Eye:

I ordered the cases at DSP Memory Distribution GmbH

I suppose it wouldn`t make sense for you to order abroad.

Here`s the exact products:

DSP Memory Distribution GmbH
DSP Memory Distribution GmbH