choosing a hard drive dock

[Surfer Joe]

I have some 3.5 and 2.5 inch hard drives that are sata 1 and 2 and 3 and
some laptop ssd drives that contain archived files.
Currently I use external enclosures, but they are bulky and some have
external power supplies that must be located and connected before using
the drive.

I want to get a suitable drive dock for my mac pro that will accept both
2.5 and 3.5 inch drives with sata drive connections.
It should have both usb and firewire connectors, but I don't really care
about an e-sata connection, and I don't have usb 3 ports.

Can anyone advise on any good quality and compatible drive docks?

Thanks.

 

[Allen Drake]

I have some 3.5 and 2.5 inch hard drives that are sata 1 and 2 and 3 and
some laptop ssd drives that contain archived files.
Currently I use external enclosures, but they are bulky and some have
external power supplies that must be located and connected before using
the drive.

I want to get a suitable drive dock for my mac pro that will accept both
2.5 and 3.5 inch drives with sata drive connections.
It should have both usb and firewire connectors, but I don't really care
about an e-sata connection, and I don't have usb 3 ports.

Can anyone advise on any good quality and compatible drive docks?

Thanks.

You have another option that I decided to go with and that is to move
all your files to one large drive such as a 3 TB USB3 or internal
drive and be done with all the swapping. I have around two dozen old
drives and almost as many enclosures. I had considered making one
power supply and plugging them all into it not having to deal with all
those individual units flopping around. I have one USB3 drive that is
removable so you can use the cradle and hot swap drives but
that(FreeAgent GoFlex) would not be one I would recommend. I liked the
one that installs in a drive bay but I also like the others that are
transportable and can be used with other systems.

I will be interested to learn which one you decide to go with. Sorry
if I can't directly answer your question other than offer what I think
to be a better solution.

Regards.

Al.

 

[Surfer Joe]

That would worry me in case the drive failed.
Digital storage is almost as big a nuisance as hard copy storage in the
long run.
You need to have multiple backups for redundancy. You need to
periodically resave the files to maintain their integrity over time, and
as technology advances, you can be left with problematic media that is
no longer easily accessible.

 

[XS11E]

I have some 3.5 and 2.5 inch hard drives that are sata 1 and 2 and
3 and some laptop ssd drives that contain archived files.
Currently I use external enclosures, but they are bulky and some
have external power supplies that must be located and connected
before using the drive.

I want to get a suitable drive dock for my mac pro that will
accept both 2.5 and 3.5 inch drives with sata drive connections.
It should have both usb and firewire connectors, but I don't
really care about an e-sata connection, and I don't have usb 3
ports.

Sorry I have no answer but I will recommend you search on Amazon.com or
NewEgg.com, both are very reputable and have good return/refund
policies so there's less chance of getting something that doesn't work
for you.

 

[Allen Drake]

That would worry me in case the drive failed.
Digital storage is almost as big a nuisance as hard copy storage in the
long run.
You need to have multiple backups for redundancy. You need to
periodically resave the files to maintain their integrity over time, and
as technology advances, you can be left with problematic media that is
no longer easily accessible.

Yes and those backup files can remain on the original drives he wants
to swap all the time. At one time I went backup crazy. I have so many
old HDDs and DVDs it is like a library around here. So far I can say I
haven't lost anything that I can remember. I even have back up files
in case the house burns down which would most likely be caused by
accessing all my backup hard drives.



Al.

..

 

[Paul]

I have some 3.5 and 2.5 inch hard drives that are sata 1 and 2 and 3 and
some laptop ssd drives that contain archived files.
Currently I use external enclosures, but they are bulky and some have
external power supplies that must be located and connected before using
the drive.

I want to get a suitable drive dock for my mac pro that will accept both
2.5 and 3.5 inch drives with sata drive connections.
It should have both usb and firewire connectors, but I don't really care
about an e-sata connection, and I don't have usb 3 ports.

Can anyone advise on any good quality and compatible drive docks?

Thanks.

I can find external drives with Firewire connections, but for
the dock devices, they're likely USB/ESATA. That would be the
most common configuration.

*******

A Macintosh owner, should be looking on macsales.com for hardware
for the Mac ecosystem. You're more likely to find what you want
there. When I used a Mac, that's where I'd get about half the
toys I used with it.

"Mac / PC / eSATA / FireWire 800 / FireWire 400 / USB 3.0"

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/NewerTech/FWU3ES2HDK/

Oxford 944SE [oxsemi bought by plxtech, so part number is now plx]
Supports all 2.5″ and 3.5″ SATA to 3.0TB
Push button drive eject

http://www.newertech.com/products/voyagerq.php

Back view

http://www.newertech.com/products/images/rear_yoyagerq_2.jpg

Box contents -

Dock

External Auto-Switching US/Intl. UL Listed 100-240V AC/ 50-60Hz, 12V/3 Amp Output

36" High Quality Double Shielded FireWire 800 connecting cable (9-9 Pin cable)
36" High Quality Double Shielded FireWire 400 connecting cable (6-6 Pin cable)
36" High Quality Double Shielded USB 3.0 connecting cable ???
36" High Quality Double Shielded eSATA connecting cable

Now, what is interesting, is the download manual pictures, don't match the
product. So let's hope it really is a USB3 connectorized box, and
not just mini-USB2.

http://eshop.macsales.com/tech_center/manuals/nwt_voyager/NT_Voyager_Q.pdf

That dock has a power supply, which will help when running 3.5" drives.
Otherwise, there'd be no power source for a 3.5" drive, if you were
USB connected. (USB doesn't provide +12V for a 3.5" drive.)

If you deal with docks which accept only 2.5" drives, those stand a better
chance of drawing power directly from the computer.

Based on the chipset, only connect one interface cable to the dock
at one time. Due to interface sharing, the dock could become confused
if multiple cables are connected by accident. For example, if you connect
to the ESATA port, the USB should stop working on it. This is not a
problem, because you're only supposed to be using one flavor of
interface at a time. The Newertech design is not a single chip design, and
uses two chips to get all the interfaces.

(See the picture next to "OXUFS944SE"... The 3100 is the second chip used.)

http://www.plxtech.com/about/news/newsletters/0411

Paul

 

[Surfer Joe]

Thanks for the links.
The Newertech item is what I would like, but I'm not in the US and don't
really want to buy overseas in case of any problems.
I really like OWC stuff and buy there when I'm in the US.
I can't find those drives in the UK. Here, I found one by Freecom that
is about the same but only has usb 2 plus the other transfer connections.
It would be nice to have the usb 3 connection since it would be both
faster and more future proof.

I have some 3.5 and 2.5 inch hard drives that are sata 1 and 2 and 3
and some laptop ssd drives that contain archived files.
Currently I use external enclosures, but they are bulky and some have
external power supplies that must be located and connected before
using the drive.

I want to get a suitable drive dock for my mac pro that will accept
both 2.5 and 3.5 inch drives with sata drive connections.
It should have both usb and firewire connectors, but I don't really
care about an e-sata connection, and I don't have usb 3 ports.

Can anyone advise on any good quality and compatible drive docks?

Thanks.

I can find external drives with Firewire connections, but for
the dock devices, they're likely USB/ESATA. That would be the
most common configuration.

*******

A Macintosh owner, should be looking on macsales.com for hardware
for the Mac ecosystem. You're more likely to find what you want
there. When I used a Mac, that's where I'd get about half the
toys I used with it.

"Mac / PC / eSATA / FireWire 800 / FireWire 400 / USB 3.0"

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/NewerTech/FWU3ES2HDK/

Oxford 944SE [oxsemi bought by plxtech, so part number is now plx]
Supports all 2.5″ and 3.5″ SATA to 3.0TB
Push button drive eject

http://www.newertech.com/products/voyagerq.php

Back view

http://www.newertech.com/products/images/rear_yoyagerq_2.jpg

Box contents -

Dock

External Auto-Switching US/Intl. UL Listed 100-240V AC/ 50-60Hz, 12V/3
Amp Output

36" High Quality Double Shielded FireWire 800 connecting cable (9-9 Pin
cable)
36" High Quality Double Shielded FireWire 400 connecting cable (6-6 Pin
cable)
36" High Quality Double Shielded USB 3.0 connecting cable ???
36" High Quality Double Shielded eSATA connecting cable

Now, what is interesting, is the download manual pictures, don't match the
product. So let's hope it really is a USB3 connectorized box, and
not just mini-USB2.

http://eshop.macsales.com/tech_center/manuals/nwt_voyager/NT_Voyager_Q.pdf

That dock has a power supply, which will help when running 3.5" drives.
Otherwise, there'd be no power source for a 3.5" drive, if you were
USB connected. (USB doesn't provide +12V for a 3.5" drive.)

If you deal with docks which accept only 2.5" drives, those stand a better
chance of drawing power directly from the computer.

Based on the chipset, only connect one interface cable to the dock
at one time. Due to interface sharing, the dock could become confused
if multiple cables are connected by accident. For example, if you connect
to the ESATA port, the USB should stop working on it. This is not a
problem, because you're only supposed to be using one flavor of
interface at a time. The Newertech design is not a single chip design, and
uses two chips to get all the interfaces.

(See the picture next to "OXUFS944SE"... The 3100 is the second chip used.)

http://www.plxtech.com/about/news/newsletters/0411

Paul

 

[Paul]

Thanks for the links.
The Newertech item is what I would like, but I'm not in the US and don't
really want to buy overseas in case of any problems.
I really like OWC stuff and buy there when I'm in the US.
I can't find those drives in the UK. Here, I found one by Freecom that
is about the same but only has usb 2 plus the other transfer connections.
It would be nice to have the usb 3 connection since it would be both
faster and more future proof.

http://www.newertech.com/inter_resellers.php

The Bookyard Ltd.
(e-mail address removed)
23 South Drive
Wavertree
Liverpool L15 8JJ

There is no guarantee they carry the item in question,
but you could contact them and ask. I've found some of
these kinds of listings, the company staff are barely even
aware they're listed as such.

Paul

 

[Surfer Joe]

Thanks Paul.
I found the item on that site and ordered it.

 

[Gene E. Bloch]

It would be nice to have the usb 3 connection since it would be both
faster and more future proof.

Actually, a USB3 enclosure works only at USB2 speed if plugged into a
USB2 port...

It is, of course, future proof, as you said.

I put together a new computer recently with USB3 ports on it, and I love
the much faster speed.

As for your original question, AFAICT, almost any docking station works
fine. I use unknown brands and essentially never have any problems. I do
buy them locally, from a store that will let me return a problem device.

 

[The Seabat]

Here are a few. I use the first one, #5330 and am very happy with it.
It only has USB and eSATA ports, but works just fine.

http://www.monoprice.com/products/subdepartment.asp?c_id=103&cp_id=10315