Notebook upgrades and IDE to USB

Some time ago Jeff Slarve (I'm pretty sure it was Jeff) told me about the Sabrent IDE to USB adapter. This is an inexpensive device that consists of a drive power supply, and a cord with an IDE adapter at one end and a USB plug at the other. Presto, instant USB hard drive! Works like a charm, and at USB 2.0 speeds is quite snappy. I have a couple of hard drives in cheap cases, and I use the Sabrent interface (along with BeyondCompare) to do offsite backups.

Today I'm upgrading the hard drive in my Compaq Presario 2100, so I'm using the notebook drive adapter for the first time (my older version of the interface has a separate card for notebook drives, instead of a two-sided plug). I swapped the drives, installed Windows on the new drive, and got everything working. Now I'm copying across the rest of the data; the old notebook drive is sitting on my desk, attached to the Sabrent interface.

This is one piece of equipment I wouldn't want to be without. A SATA version is also available.

Posted: June 9 2006