Review Item:

Removable Hard Drive Drawer

Date:
05 - August - 2003

Manufacturer:
StarTech.com

Supplier:
StarTech.com

Cost:
$81.99

Reviewer:
Chad

Introduction
Have you ever had the need for a large amount of portable storage, well if you have, you know it can be very expensive. The cost per megabyte is considerably more expensive than that of a hard drive. If you are one of those who can not afford to pay the sometimes exorbitant prices well here is a solution that may be to your benefit.

By now I am sure that many people have heard about a "Removable Hard Drive Drawer", if you have not let me give you a brief explanation as to what it is. Basically a removable hard drive drawer is just as its name suggests. Each unit consists of an outer caddy that fits into any 5.25 inch drive bay, and a removable drawer that holds your hard disk. So you can get a 60 GB hard drive for around $90.00, and a drive drawer kit, for great storage and even greater portability.

Well a company called StarTech.com can provide you with the solution you may be looking for. They manufacture a complete line of Remove Drive Drawers, for both IDE and SCSI drives, and they were kind enough to send us one of their new units for evaluation. What we got was their "DRW110ATA Removable Drive Drawer with Shock Absorbers for 3.5" IDE Hard Drive".

Now for those of you who do not know StarTech.com specialize in providing as they say, "Hard-To-Find Computer Parts". Anyway, back to the review.

Now upon receipt of the package, I unloaded the contents and here is what I found:
1 - Instruction Guide
1 - Utility Software CD
1 - Package Screws & 2 - Keys
1 - Drive Drawer Kit which consists of:
-- 1 - Outer Caddy
-- 1 - Removable Drawer

The StarTech.com Advantage:

Easily turns any hard drive into a portable drive
Shock absorber system protects your drive from damage due to impact, preventing data loss
Rugged aluminum caddy frame provides extra durability
Excellent for fast high-capacity backup, quickly changing operating systems, or allowing individual hard drives for multiple users.
Swap the drive while the system is running using the included Swap Manager software for Windows

Applications/Solutions:

Removable drive drawers can be used in homes, at work, offices, schools and in large enterprises
Fast and easy way to make backup copies of your files, applications, company’s critical data and for transporting databases and other large files from one location to another
For use in servers and storage subsystems
Perfect for mission critical control computers where downtime must be minimized

Features:

Easy to install and use
Shock absorbers protect the hard drive
Dual front mounted ball bearing cooling fans keep the drive cool
Lock controlled drive power prevents hard drive damage from accidental removal
Power and activity lights indicate drive status
Plastic bay and aluminum caddy frame for light weight and durability
With the included Swap Manager for Windows Software, the user can safely stop Windows from accessing the drive drawer, allowing the drive to be removed and replaced while the system is running.

Specifications:

Dimensions: 8.625 x 5.75 x 1.61 Inches (220 x 148 x 41 mm)
Weight (without drive): 1.45 lbs (0.66 kg)
Internal Connectors: 40 Pin Header Female, 4 Pin LP4 Female
External Connectors: 40 Pin Header Male, 4 Pin LP4 Male
LEDs: Yellow - Drive Activity, Green - Drive Power
Fans: Two front-mounted 4cm ball bearing fans
System requirements: Any PC or Mac with an IDE Hard Drive interface and an available 5.25 inch drive bay

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