Chris Pirillo » SATA

What’s the Best Hard Drive Enclosure to Buy?

Chris — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 21:25:04 +0000

What’s the Best Hard Drive Enclosure to Buy? is a post from Chris Pirillo

Add to iTunes | Add to YouTube | Add to Google | RSS Feed

A few days ago, I heard whimpering from my closet. I thought one of the dogs had been stuck inside there. Low and behold, it was an old hard drive whining to be used once again. However, I needed an enclosure to put it in! When I had the opportunity to look at the NexStar 3 from Vantec, I jumped on it!

The sturdy cage protects your hard drive, and the aluminum case draws away the heat. This protects your drive from overheating. The NexStar 3 is available in two awesome colors: Onyx black and midnight blue. The colors are vibrant, allowing you to store your data in an enclosure that matches your style.

This enclosure will accommodate any SATA drive, no matter the size. It even has several connectivity options, which makes it quite versatile! One of the things that stands out about the NexStar 3 is that it has a removable stand, and can sit it whichever way works best.

The thing that stands out the most, however, is that the tray slides out. Once you’ve attached the hard drive to this, you simply slide the tray back in. There are no tools necessary, and it’s just so easy to get your drive up and running.

So there you have it: The NexStar 3 from Vantec is sleek and sexy looking, it has a ton of connectivity options, and it is amazing easy to use. Be sure to consider grabbing one of these for yourself if you need a hard drive enclosure.

Want to embed this video on your own site, blog, or forum? Use this code or download the video:

How Can You Connect SATA Hard Drives without an Enclosure?

Chris — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 07:25:42 +0000

How Can You Connect SATA Hard Drives without an Enclosure? is a post from Chris Pirillo

Add to iTunes | Add to YouTube | Add to Google | RSS Feed

I have a hard drive without an enclosure, and I don’t really have any extra enclosures. I need to get to the data that is on this hard drive. I either need to buy an enclosure to put it into just long enough to access my data. Or… is there another way I can get access to the information on the hard drive without putting it into an enclosure? Luckily, I have the NexStar Hard Drive Dock.

The NexStar is functionally no different than any other drive enclosure out there, supporting both eSATA and USB 2.0 connections. It nicely supports both 2.5″ (notebook) and 3.5″ SATA I/II HDDs as well as Windows/Mac/Linux OSes. It also supports HDDs up to 1 TB in size, enough for most current HDDs I’m aware of. Vantec also has included all required cables, as is usual with their products. You get a USB 2.0 cable as well as an eSATA cable, along with a SATA to eSATA bracket to use inside your PC if your motherboard lacks an eSATA port.
The biggest difference is of course, how you put the drive into the dock. There’s no need to use screws or brackets of any sort; you merely slide the HDD into a slot at the top and it slides into the proper connectors at the bottom inside, sort of like a Super Nintendo cartridge. The drive protrude out from the top of the slot and to remove it, there is a convenient eject button that pushes out the drive from the bottom so you don’t have to messily yank it out. (Again, like a SNES cartridge)
Looking at the Vantec HDD Dock, it sort of resembles a small single-slot toaster, perhaps something like you’d expect from Apple if they came out with the iToaster. It comes well-protected and sits in the middle of the package, which is good, since the entire unit is made of plastic. Aluminum would’ve been a more durable choice for the dock’s exterior, as it currently feels a little lightweight and flimsy compared to other normal drive enclosures.

It really is easy. Plug it into a power source, and then plug it into the Mac or PC via USB. Slide the hard drive into the machine until you hear it click into place. Then, you’re ready to go. Turn it on and watch your data pop up onto your screen. How simple is that?

The next time you need to access data off of a drive that has no enclosure, try out the toaster-looking (but very easy-to-use) NexStar.

Restore-Deleted-Files.com - Serious Data Recovery For Your Hard Drive!

Want to embed this video on your own site, blog, or forum? Use this code or download the video:

SATA or IDE USB 2.0 Cable Converter with Power Supply

Chris — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 05:23:34 +0000

SATA or IDE USB 2.0 Cable Converter with Power Supply is a post from Chris Pirillo

Add to iTunes | Add to YouTube | Add to Google | RSS Feed

As time goes on, hardware does evolve. It’s likely if you buy a computer these days, you may not be able to connect some of your older devices. I was recently in that position, and found myself looking for an uber adapter. I came across an unbranded SATA or IDE USB 2.0 Cable Converter Adapter on Amazon. I was worried at first, I admit it. I’ve long had a habit of not really trusting something that’s unbranded. But, I decided to give it a shot.

The Hi-Speed USB 2.0 to Serial ATA (SATA) or IDE 2.5-inch and 3.5-inch drive adapter creates a bridge between one USB 1.1/2.0 port and one SATA-based mass storage device port. This adapter turns any SATA or IDE hard drive into a convenient external drive.
Now you can easily transfer files from computer or notebook, back up files, or store large file archives on hard drives. The high-speed USB 2.0 interface has a plug-and-play design for easy installation. Plus, the power adapter uses 2A AC power supply to ensure enough power for the most power-consuming drives. This adapter is compatible with any SATA or IDE drives of any brand or any size. It requires a PC running Windows 98SE, Windows 2000, Windows ME, or Windows XP; or a Mac running OSX. (A driver is necessary for Windows 98SE only.)

The kit comes with the AC adapter cable, and the power adapter. There’s a univeral USB 2.0 to IDE and SATA adapter. It even comes with a little micro SATA, which is nice. You have the driver’s and utilities disc, of course. For only $20.00, it was worth a shot for me to try it out. The big reason I bought this, is because I had a smaller hard drive that I had pulled out of an mp3 player. I needed to get the mp3s off of it, but didn’t have any way to do so. Certainly, there may come a point when I need something like this again.

If you know of other good kits that may help you with legacy devices in this day and age, please pass them on. I’m sure as technology evolves faster in the months and years to come, we will find ourselves needing more things like this.

Want to embed this video on your own site, blog, or forum? Use this code or download the video:

Add to iTunes | Add to YouTube | Add to Google | RSS Feed

The Hi-Speed USB 2.0 to Serial ATA (SATA) or IDE 2.5-inch and 3.5-inch drive adapter creates a bridge between one USB 1.1/2.0 port and one SATA-based mass storage device port. This adapter turns any SATA or IDE hard drive into a convenient external drive.
Now you can easily transfer files from computer or notebook, back up files, or store large file archives on hard drives. The high-speed USB 2.0 interface has a plug-and-play design for easy installation. Plus, the power adapter uses 2A AC power supply to ensure enough power for the most power-consuming drives. This adapter is compatible with any SATA or IDE drives of any brand or any size. It requires a PC running Windows 98SE, Windows 2000, Windows ME, or Windows XP; or a Mac running OSX. (A driver is necessary for Windows 98SE only.)

The kit comes with the AC adapter cable, and the power adapter. There’s a universal USB 2.0 to IDE and SATA adapter. It even comes with a little micro SATA, which is nice. You have the driver’s and utilities disc, of course. For only $20.00, it was worth a shot for me to try it out. The big reason I bought this, is because I had a smaller hard drive that I had pulled out of an mp3 player. I needed to get the mp3s off of it, but didn’t have any way to do so. Certainly, there may come a point when I need something like this again.

Want to embed this video on your own site, blog, or forum? Use this code:

Windows Vista and SATA Drives

Chris — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 07:40:59 +0000

Windows Vista and SATA Drives is a post from Chris Pirillo

Add to iTunes | Add to YouTube | Add to Google | RSS Feed

A recent caller to the 888-PIRILLO line had trouble with his Vista Home Premium machine just after applying Windows updates. It began showing his internal hard drive and DVD write drive as removable devices… such as a SATA drive or USB device.

I had a friend who happens to work at the company that had given us Vista. He was explaining a situation that he had encountered with the same round of updates. His mom’s machine no longer can connect to the Internet… and they cannot figure out why. Keep in mind, this man is a power-user, and very knowledgable with computers.

A chat member asked if they are SATA drives, and they are indeed. It could be a Motherboard issue, picking them up as External instead of Internal drive. He’s using an NVIDIA Nforce chipset. I’ve seen many conflicts between Vista and NVIDIA, unfortunately. This may not be the root of the issue, but that could very well be the case.

If you click on “system” in control panel and click on “device manager”, click on “hardware” tab, you should see your SATA drive under “disk drives”. Click on the sata drive name. Click on the “Policies” tab and you will see two radio buttons that could be ticked. If the top one is ticked, you won’t have the USB icon in the tray because it is set for quick removal. If you have the bottom one ticked, it is set for performance and you will see the USB icon. You can choose whatever you want, just check the disk performance if you choose the top, quick removal button.

Hopefully, this will help fix up the issue for him, and others!

Restore-Deleted-Files.com - Serious Data Recovery For Your Hard Drive!

Want to embed this video on your own site, blog, or forum? Use this code or download the video:

Dealing with Hard Drives NAS, eSATA, and ZFS

Chris — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 00:56:43 +0000

Dealing with Hard Drives NAS, eSATA, and ZFS is a post from Chris Pirillo

Chris | Live Tech Support | Video Help | Add to iTunes

http://live.pirillo.com/ – The round table got into a pretty deep discussion about SATA drives, and different ways of getting more storage on your computer.

Four of my friends joined me for this discussion: Kat, SC_Thor, Wirelesspacket, and last but certainly not least… Datalore.

An eSATA port is built into most newer motherboards. This is a port built right into the back of your computer that allows you to plug in an external hard drive directly, allowing it to run at much faster speeds.

Drobo is the world’s first storage robot. It keeps your data safe by automatically monitoring and repairing problems that could put your data at risk.

ZFS is a new kind of file system that provides simple administration, transactional semantics, end-to-end data integrity, and immense scalability. ZFS is not an incremental improvement to existing technology; it is a fundamentally new approach to data management.

Want to embed this Dealing with Hard Drives, NAS, eSATA and ZFS video in your blog? Use this code:

Formats Available: MPEG4 Video (.mp4) Flash Video (.flv) MP3 Audio (.mp3)

How to Handle Remote Tech Support

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 06:30:00 GMT

Using GoToAssist is the easiest way to view and control another person's computer online. Use it to provide instant technical support to family, friends and customers. Start a session with just one click, and instantly connect with the other party.

Network Tools for Windows

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:30:00 GMT

You need these network tools, no matter which operating systems and networks you have to support. SolarWinds ipMonitor: Affordable Network Monitoring for SMBs. Get turnkey network, server and application availability monitoring with SolarWinds ipMonitor v9.0. This easy-to-use, reliable solution for SMBs delivers out-of-the-box availability monitoring so you always know exactly what's up with Active Directory, DNS, Exchange, FTP, Web, IMAP, MS SQL Server, and SMTP. Download your free trial today. Or, try their totally free tools! And, through 2/29, save 20% when you purchase ipMonitor 9.0.

Get Your Own Web Site

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:30:00 GMT

Starting at just $3.99/month, web hosting from GoDaddy includes 99.9% uptime, 24/7 support and free access to GoDaddy Hosting Connection, THE place to install over 30 FREE applications sure to help you get the most from your hosting plan and Web site. Enter code CP2 at checkout, and save an additional 10% on any order.

Plus, as a friend of Chris Pirillo, enter code CHRIS7, that's C-H-R-I-S and the number 7, when you check out, and save an additional 10% on any order. Get your piece of the internet at GoDaddy.com.

VMware and Parallels for Virtual Machines

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:30:00 GMT

It doesn't matter if you're running on Windows or Mac OS X - every power user needs either Parallels or VMware (or both). There's never been an easier way to test software without destroying your primary operating system's stability. Think of how many times you wish you could press a 'reverse' button on your computer. Plus, there's no easier way to try new Linux distributions - see what all the fuss is about. Run Windows in OS X, run Linux in Windows, but the best way to do either is with VMware and/or Parallels.

Coupons for Online Shopping

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 07:56:13 GMT

This feed is fueled by Lockergnome Online Shopping and Coupon Codes

Before you shop next time, see if we have a coupon first.