Sabrent EC-BIDE IDE to USB CD/DVD Slim Drive Enclosure

Comment:
Really straightforward installation, I removed the original optical drive's bezel, slid it into the external optical drive compartment, and it snapped right into location. Two screws had been included in the box which lined up perfectly with the optical drive and had been secured extremely simply. The drive was right away recognized in Windows 7. I haven't tried in any other OS however and I haven't tried booting CD/DVD either. None so far.

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Optical drive recognized and operates just fine on WinXP. Didn't need to install drivers. Functions plugged into a single USB two. port. Enclosure was initially assembled INCORRECTLY! I had to disassemble the enclosure and move the adapter board so that it would be seated effectively within the IDE connector on the drive. Make sure the board is on the OUTSIDE of the mounting tabs (the ones you screw through) on the inside of the enclosure, otherwise, the IDE connector won't go all the way in. Once I fixed that, it worked fantastic!

Comment:
Price tag, functionality, appears, did I mention price? Could use a superior manual, recommend reading and thinking about the evaluations on this item just before you give up, if you are possessing trouble. This is an exceptional small enclosure, which made me in a position to use the Lightscribe burner in my laptop by way of the USB port when the OS stopped recognizing it when installed in the machine. On the other hand, as others have noted, there are a handful of tricks to assist overcome the lack of a good manual.1st, if you want to take the case apart (or if it has come apart simply because you utilised force rather of patience, note that the two halves slide apart; just gently push the leading past the bottom about 1ǚ inch and voila'. To put it back with each other, line up the tabs with the slots and push it back together. And yes, the screw holes don't line up quite properly, so you have to do a bit of wiggling (the screws, not you) until you get them lined up. Apply gentle pressure on the screwdriver although you wiggle and you'll get it. Sincere you will. And be sure to use a little pressure on the drive to keep it securely back against the circuit board way back in the case, and the connectors adequately mated. HTH

Comment:
Effortless assy. was not able use factory faceplate on drive because the enclosure was to modest. detached faceplate off drive and used the 1 that came with enclosure kit worked fantastic. had to detach faceplate from drive and use a single that came with kit. Not truly a con just couple of a lot more minutes in the assy.

Comment:
Looks nice and would have been beneficial had it worked. Did not operate with various drives. Wasted effort attempting to get it to do something. Ʉ( Did get the drives to click a lot with or with out a disc in them. Tried the recommendations others mentioned about covering up the solder points. Did not support at all. Not worth the difficulty of returning. Possibly not worth these keystrokes explaining it is garbage.

Comment:
Price, Size, Rubberized Finish, Ease of use, Compatibility, Saves you from having to trash an old laptop drive if the laptop dies. When I very first went to set it up I just had to slide my laptop's CD drive into the enclosure and it took a little bit of shimmying but it ended up fitting rather nicely. The chip in the back of the enclosure is secured by the very same 2 screws that you use to tighten the drive when it's in place, so till you put the drive in, there is absolutely nothing holding the chip securely, so I can see some individuals have to take the enclosure apart to reorient the chip. As soon as I installed the drive into the enclosure, I attached the entire point to my Computer through the included USB cord. Although it was detected appropriate away, I could not use it until I installed the drivers (which are included in the box). As soon as the drivers had been installed, the device seems to operate wonderfully. I have however to try burning a DVD, but reading appears to perform fine. All in all, a great way to salvage an old laptop drive for much less than twenty bucks.

Comment:
Extremely compact, good finish, and seems to have broad compatibility. I tested it with three drives: A Toshiba DVD-ROM drive created in 2001, A Hitachi-LG CD-RW/DVD-ROM combo drive created in 2005, and a QSI DVD-RW drive made in 2004. All 3 worked perfectly. I was even able to burn discs without the additional power cable, but that will vary from a single laptop to yet another based on the power output of your USB ports. Windows 7 recognized the drives immediately. As talked about in other critiques, the faceplate is not universal and will not work with all drives. Of the three drives I tested, it only fit the Hitachi-LG drive. This is the only purpose I gave it 4 eggs and not 5... If the faceplate on your drive happens to be 128mm lengthy by 13mm high, you won't require to use the included faceplate and any brand will operate fine. Be incredibly careful in your measurements. One particular drive I tested had a faceplate 129mm by 14 mm and this a single would not function. The opening on this case could be filed a little to make it operate if you are determined...

Comment:
It was reasonably cheap. Replacement unit appeared to perform with 1 of three machines. Very first unit I received triggered two machines Ƒ laptop, 1 desktop) to spontaneously shut down when it was connected, and caused keyboard problems when connected to a third (desktop). Replacement unit causes drive to click non-stop when connected to either desktop and hangs the machine when any try is made to access the drive. Also saw the problem with the mounting screws causing the drive tray to jam, noted in other critiques. Could be a compatibility issue with the drive I'm making use of (HP laptop drive, circa 2005). Regardless, the enclosure is virtually useless to me and not worth returning. If you will need an external optical drive, I recommend looking elsewhere.

Comment:
Nice rubberized finish. Does not function. Can\'t get Windows to recognize this factor. Enclosure blocks drive tray and it is practically impossible to get tray open.

Comment:
Affordable. Reads CD's very reliably. Some complications with "generic" faceplate. "Fussy" over which drives it will work with. As other people have mentioned, the included faceplate does not fit well with all drives and either prevents the disk holder from staying closed, or opening up. Seems to bind at the top of the enclosure. Adding a tape "shim" to the best of the drive solved the problem for me.Seems to like DVD+ drives better than +/-. Usually reads CD's reliably, although -- and that is my key use.I noticed that some drives would not function at all -- and I feel Maleia's observation is probably appropriate. I have found the very same challenge with other enclosures. I will go back and check it out. Thanks, Maleia!

Comment:
Low cost, fantastic way to re-use drives, modest form factor. Case style is ok for price. It works but not very robust. For the price of the unit and having a drive from a dead laptop, its a excellent low price selection to buying an external drive. Bought it for use with my wife's net book

Comment:
Works great and it allowed me to use a DVD drive from a dead notebook with my Eee PC. No manual, but most folks must be able to figure out how to assemble it. Obtaining the face plate off the DVD drive so I could use the one that was included was the most difficult part. (The 1 originally on the drive was curved to fit the notebook.) When used with my desktop, it receives sufficient energy to read disks with only the USB information cable. The second cable is only necessary for writing. With my Eee PC, it did not receive sufficient energy from the data cable alone to read disks and the second power cable was necessary.

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Basic and works. I like the matte finish Just wish it had a single dual USB connector for energy integrated cable but I knew this going in.

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Low cost Sometimes the door doesn't like to stay closed or open simply.

Comment:
Nice case It didn't function with 3 various cdrw-dvd's three distinct laptops would not recognize it with Vista 32bit or XP 32bit or x64, USB 1-2. Don't know if it was a faulty unit or just not compatible with anything windows.