DIGIFLEX IDE Caddy - 2.0 IDE to USB HDD Hard Disk Drive Caddy Enclosure Case - for External Hardrive Transfer Data and Files - Hot Swap - Plug and Play - Tech Accessories

Great value and very easy to use.Plug drive in to plasic end section; slide drive with end section into metal case; fit two tiny screws to secure plastic end section into metal case. Done. The only tricky bit is fitting the tiny screws. A small screwdriver is supplied but it is actually a bit too small (loose in the screw head). The screwdriver is just about good enough for the purpose but if you have a set of small screwdrivers it would be better to use your own.It is a perfectly acceptable little enclosure. Not oozing quality and class, but not at all tacky or flimsy either. Aluminium casing will help to dissipate heat but the supplied leatherette sleeve will help to keep the heat in. (Ha ha). In fact, 2.5" drives don't produce a lot of heat anyway.One thing that foxed me for a moment was that although the drive was detected as a USB device, it didn't show up as a logical drive until I manually asigned it a drive letter (using Windows XP) I'm not sure why that is. This is the first time I have tried putting an IDE drive into a USB caddy so, for all I know that's completely normal - and was certainly no problem - but I have a similar USB caddy with a SATA drive in it and that gets assigned a drive letter automatically and dynamically as soon as it is plugged in. As I say I'm not too familiar with these things. It could have been because the drive wasn't formatted before I used it - or not formatted in a way recognisable to Windows. (It had been used in a Linux machine previously.) Of course, now I have assigned a drive letter it shows up straight away but I'm not sure what would happen if I plugged it into someone else's computer. It might not show up as a browseable drive straight away.All in all, the product is just fine. Well worth the £6 or whatever it cost.

This is a smart little case that makes an old laptop hard disk useful again. For a very modest cost you get the case, USB cable, protective sleeve and a small screwdriver. It's a good bundle that makes no pretensions of being anything other than what it is: a good value disk housing.The only negatives I can think of are that there are no instructions and there is no obvious indication of which way up the IDE connector should go; and the USB connection will use up two USB slots on your computer. These are very minor things however: it works and, for the price, it's a little gem!Extremely swift delivery and the goods were exactly as described. I would be very happy to order from Digiflex again.

FOR - Hugely effective. Childsplay to assemble. AGAINST - Nothing. Only your own initial doubts.SUMMARY Exceptional value.CONTENTSBlack metal caseIDE /USB Connector BlockScrewdriver (yes - they've even thought of that)Protective sleeve1-to-2 Male/Male USB cableLED status lightASSEMBLYThis is genuinely fool-proof and accomplished in minutes.The only potential problem you could encounter is shell compatibility if (like mine) your original 2.5 HDD was sealed in any bespoke outer coverings or a chassis mounts that deviate from the standard 2.5 bare drive.You should get a smooth and reassuringly tight fit, especially the robust IDE connector block. Add the screws to lock it all together and you have a damn slick looking piece of kit, sliding neatly into the tastefully soft sleeve.OPERATIONObviously ONLY as effective as the HDD you are rescuing with it, but the main point is that this caddy provided outstanding support and power to bring my old 80gb HDD instantly back into service.Performance has been totally fault-free and surprisingly quick in terms of file transfers.I have no bench tests to report, but this drive was preserved to be re-cycled into a system recovery and offline data backup drive. It has provided superb, swift and accurate file transfers. The 1-to-2 Male/Male USB lead is designed to ensure you get enough power regardless of the specification of the machine you hook this up to, without needing an external power supply. Its a left-field solution, but one that works brilliantly.Cheap as chips. Solid as a rock. Highly recommended.