I recently purchased this unit to be used with a SATA hard drive. Upon receiving it yesterday I discovered it only has an IDE style connector.
I called Coolmax's tech support number, and was told that this unit was originally manufacturered in an IDE version, but they have since changed it over to a SATA interface, without changing the model number. (Nice, huh?) Apparently there are both versions floating around in the marketplace, and they even have the identical UPC bar code number. Coolmax tech support offered to ground ship me a different front face plate, to convert my unit over to SATA. But who knows how long that is going to take?
If you read Amazon's product description for this unit (as of June 19, 2008) it says "SATA" in the title, but says "Interface: IDE" buried in the description.
Since my Amazon order was placed through TigerDirect, I also contacted them to see what they might be able to do for me. They said their notes also indicate that some folks who wanted the IDE interface received the SATA instead. He said I could return my unit and reorder a new one, but there is still no guarantee which version I would receive the second time around.
So if you place an order for this unit, be forewarned you have no control over which interface you will receive. There are alternative products you could buy instead, and save yourself the potential aggrevation.
+++ Update Edit: After about five days I did receive the replacement panel from Coolmax. However, because of panel connection differences, the hard drive position inside the enclosure is different, and I had to drill four new holes in the aluminum box for mounting it. I'm up and running, but much more grief than necessary. Also, I see Amazon has now removed the previously mentioned IDE reference in the product description. Coolmax HD-389-U2 3.5IN Sata External Encl with USB2.0 Connection
First, the good part. It installs easily, and works right away. So, if you want a cheap enclosure for a drive that you want to salvage form that old computer that you are about to throw away - it maybe exactly what you are looking for.
Now, for the disappointments. The biggest one is that it intermittently disconnects and reconnects - every 5-10 minutes. Often in the middle of I/O operations. Even during windows backup I hear click (off) and a few seconds later click again (on). Windows backup reports "backup couldn't complete. Write error". Usually, after 10-15GB of writing. Once it ran all the way to 80GB; but I was never able to finish the backup.
Among smaller annoyances:
The light only indicates that it is plugged in - not whether it's on or off. weird. Also, it is in the back - it's hard to see in typical setup. But since it's useless - it doesn't matter where it is.
The cable is A-A, so if you lose it (or if the one that comes with it is two short) - it's not easy to grab a more typical A-B. Although if you need to buy one - the cost of A-A and A-B is about the same.
Windows reports that I am plugging it into USB 1.1 port and that I can benefit from using USB 2.0. No other USB device plugged into this port produces this message (other USB drive, WebCam, USB mouse - nothing).
Support is atrocious. First few emails got auto-generated response; then the live person came on, and blamed motherboard, USB drivers, Windows, California fires, but wasn't even considering troubleshooting the enclosure itself. Well, I guess for under $20 it's a gamble.
I really wanted to like this product. I spent money on it and wanted it to work. But, after many months of dealing with its problems, I've decided to break up with it. I used this enclosure on a Linux Ubuntu system and downloaded and stored media on it. However, the enclosure would cause my hard drive to freeze up every few hours and it would drop connection frequently. I thought my hard drive or my computer was at fault for the longest time, failing to admit that this enclosure was terrible.
After a couple of months of poor performance, I started to get suspicious about this enclosure and e-mailed their support team. They offered one word responses and were not helpful at all, claiming that there was a "bug in Linux" and that I should "update my Linux" or "call Linux support" (as if they were a company to call). They seemed to have no idea how to offer tech support. I started to question their product and decided to order another enclosure from another company. After a week with my new enclosure, I realize that this product was completely to blame for all of the troubles I have had over the past three months with it. The new enclosure works perfectly and offers no problems at all.
I fully recommend not buying this product or anything from this company. Poor construction, poor product, poor performance, poor support. Bad all around. - Sata - External Hard Drive - Hd Enclosure - External Enclosure'
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