USB drive enclosure

Question

Level 1

121 points

USB drive enclosure

I read several Q & A in the forum using search, but much of it was not understandable for me.
I have my old Seagate HD out of my Summer 2000 iMac, and need to get some data off it. It has been suggested I get an external drive enclosure; one suggestion was the
"CP Technologies 3.5" USB 2.0 External Aluminum Hard Drive Enclosure"
After reading the posts, it seemed there are a lot of problems with connecting and the computer not 'seeing' the drive, as well as other issues. Is there a "plug & play" option for someone not knowledgeable about these issues?
I understand the USB 1.1 and 2.0 issues, and speed is not an issue with me. Just like to get the data off the old HD, and maybe use it for storage(it's not too big!)
Any help is greatly appreciated. pbb

iMac Summer 2000, Mac OS X (10.4.3), additional 256MB memory

Posted on Apr 21, 2006 10:59 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Wade Peeler

Level 6

10,906 points

Apr 21, 2006 12:15 PM in response to Paul Eisert1

You're better off with a Firewire enclosure. Firewire is faster, more reliable (USB tends to drop connections), bootable on all Macs (PPC Macs cannot boot from USB drives), and can be daisy-chained.

This one has both Firewire and USB 2.0. It's also 5.25", so you can not only put in your hard drive, but you could also put a DVD burner or something. If you really only want one for hard drives, you could try one like this.

Reply

Answer 2

Paul Eisert1 Author

Level 1

121 points

Apr 22, 2006 11:58 AM in response to Paul Eisert1

Don't have Firewire. The item suggested has system requirements of Windows...don't have that either. Thanks for the reply anyway. pbb

Reply

Answer 3

Apr 22, 2006 2:18 PM in response to Paul Eisert1

Hello! Here's a combo drive (usb/firewire) that's good and won't break the bank. Tom

Ext Drive case

Reply

Answer 4

Wade Peeler

Level 6

10,906 points

Apr 22, 2006 5:55 PM in response to Paul Eisert1

Don't have Firewire. The item suggested has system
requirements of Windows...don't have that either.
Thanks for the reply anyway. pbb

It still works on the Mac. It just doesn't say so. I thought you were taking the old drive out of your iMac. What computer do you plan on hooking it up to?

Reply

Answer 5

Paul Eisert1 Author

Level 1

121 points

Apr 23, 2006 6:57 AM in response to Paul Eisert1

Sorry. It's already out of my iMac. I had it removed and a 60gb installed. Just want to hook the old one up, retrieve some data, and maybe use the old one for storage. Again, the 2 main points are price and absolute ease of hooking up and using, Thanks. pbb

Reply

Answer 6

PT

Level 7

20,894 points

Apr 23, 2006 10:51 AM in response to Paul Eisert1

Paul,
Most modern USB enclosures should work fine with your iMac. Simply buy one, pop in the old drive, hook it up to your Mac and you should see the old drive as you remember it. As you mentioned, your USB1.1 ports will not be able to take advantage of the USB2 speed your external drive enclosure will come supporting, so the connection will be painfully slow, but you will at least be able to access that drive.
New Macs come with USB2 ports, so if you ever do upgrade, that same enclosure could move over and by like a new enclosure with the new USB2 speeds you will be able to now use. You can also buy combo enclosures which are USB2 and Firewire enabled. For now you would use it hooked up USB at USB1.1 speeds but later could use it as a Firewire or USB2 enlcosure with a newer Mac.
Patrick

Reply

Answer 7

Duane

Level 10

124,293 points

Apr 25, 2006 11:38 AM in response to Paul Eisert1

If you have a "summer 2000" iMac without FireWire, it must be the 350 MHz Indigo. Every other iMac made in 2000 has FireWire.

Reply

Answer 8

Paul Eisert1 Author

Level 1

121 points

Jun 11, 2006 3:06 PM in response to Paul Eisert1

Still looking at the CP Technologies enclosure, note that it says "E-IDE/ATAPI interface". The hard drive from my old iMac Indigo says "Ultra ATA". Is this a problem?
Thanks
Paul

Reply

Answer 9

Wade Peeler

Level 6

10,906 points

Jun 12, 2006 8:27 AM in response to Paul Eisert1

Still looking at the CP Technologies enclosure, note
that it says "E-IDE/ATAPI interface". The hard drive
from my old iMac Indigo says "Ultra ATA". Is this a
problem?
Thanks
Paul

Those are just different names for the same thing.

Reply

Answer 10

Paul Eisert1 Author

Level 1

121 points

Jun 12, 2006 9:47 AM in response to Wade Peeler

Thanks all
Paul

Reply

Answer 11

Jun 18, 2006 10:12 PM in response to Paul Eisert1

I solved my problem, the same as yours, by purchasing an "ULTRA" mini portable disk enclosure that supports both USB 1.1, USB 2.0 & Firewire. The only downside is it won't boot from the firewire but works fine using either the USB or firewire. Just remember NOT to plug in both the firewire cable and USB cables at the same time if you ever come across a computer than can handle the firewire. It's also VERY cheap. Paid $40 plus tax for mine at a MicroCenter compurter store.

Reply

Answer 12

mrtotes

Level 6

11,836 points

Jun 19, 2006 3:31 AM in response to taxicab6109

Yeah, I have the same drive enclosure and was pretty annoyed when I realised the chipset didn't support booting - I didn't realise that was something I have to check before buying! It was very cheap - but I find it too noisy too.

mrtotes

Reply

Answer 13

Paul Eisert1 Author

Level 1

121 points

Jun 19, 2006 6:31 AM in response to Paul Eisert1

I'm only trying to retrieve some data from the old HD. Does this "booting" issue mean that I won't see the HD on my desktop, and thus won't be able to access it? If all goes well, I'll use it as storage later, but this is my primary goal.
Thanks
Paul

Reply

Answer 14

mrtotes

Level 6

11,836 points

Jun 19, 2006 6:51 AM in response to Paul Eisert1

bootable refers to ability to hold an Operating System. Most users in addition to backing-up their data to an External Hard Disk will back-up the OS too. This means that when the Internal drive mechanism fails (after several years) that the user can pretty much carry on where they left off and simply boot their Mac from the external drive. It also means if you install something corrupts the OS you can still boot the machine.

If storage is your only goal then you can got for the cheaper USB drives - but the better Firewire drives will offer that additional method of protection. Any External drive will mount on the desktop.

mrtotes

Reply

Answer 15

Paul Eisert1 Author

Level 1

121 points

Jul 3, 2006 8:55 AM in response to Paul Eisert1

Help!! I've purchased and installed the CP Technologies enclosure. I was told that my old Outlook Express, which somehow didn’t get transferred over to my new hard drive when I had an installation/upgrade done for me, would still be on my old drive and that using an enclosure, I could get access to it. However, all my searching has found several Outlook Express applications and folders on the old HD, but not my old original one. On one alias,
I get a message come up that says: “Insert Outlook Express disc 5”.
Is there something I’m missing or not doing in trying to locate this?
I'm running OS X 10.4, with OS 9.2.2 in the background...I get better results searching the USB HD with OS 9, but still can't find what I'm looking for.
Thanks for any help or advice on this issue.
Paul

Reply