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  • #1

    Thinking of buying this....Opnions, anyone?

    Bit of background:



    I have an old/useless computer lying around the house, which holds the hard drive with all of my photography, etc on it. Simple fix, right? Apparently so, as of recently. As soon as I found http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/dd1a/, my hopes that I would be able to start working on photography again rose to new heights, of which I have not seen in a while (Losing all of your precious data can have it's negative effects, I'm sure)


    A few questions:


    1. Has anyone else bought that same thing, and if so, would you recommend it, or should I keep looking?


    2. The drive in question, that has all my photgraphy, etc still on it had the boot sector attacked by a nasty boot-sector virus a while back, BUT.....I removed it (I think) with the help of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware. I think I should be OK, though, as long as I don't try to use said IDE drive as my primary boot device?


    3. Drive in question ALSO has Windows XP installed on it, so I am concerned there MAY be issues with reading files (comp I'm on now has Windows 7 64-bit...I know that there's such a thing as backwards-compatibility, but forwards compatibilty
    Tags: None
  • #2
    Meh, some work better than others. I've had one which consisted of a small rectangular card that fitted to the back of an IDE drive, and a connection that went from the same board to a SATA plug for the power. It never worked though because the drivers for it were too old to install at the time (Win98 on Win7 64-bit I think).

    Do you have a desktop or laptop? If it's a desktop, open it up to see if there's an IDE connector on it. If so, you may be able to mount the drive internally, boot from your normal boot drive, transfer the files from the IDE drive to the boot or another internal drive, then wipe the IDE drive and start fresh (once the old files have been rescued). If not, you should be able to purchase a USB enclosure for 2.5" or 3.5" drives, and make sure it has an IDE connector instead of a SATA Connector. The IDE connector and power hooks up in the case, then you use an external USB cable to the computer, and sometimes an external power connector to a power outlet.

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    • #3
      I have a similar device from another manufacturer, and it does the job quite well.

      One caveat, though. Despite the price (30 bucks sounds like a lot to me for that), Rosewill is the "1990's MadCatz" of computer accessories. i.e., "Cheap for a reason". Caveat Emptor. Ditto Gearhead, in my experience.

      Compatibility should only be and issue if you actually BOOT to that drive. If you plug the drive into a Win7 system, it should have no problem actually dealing with the files unless they're encrypted, or mayyybe if they're linked to a specific user. (iirc a file would (theoretically) only be totally unreadable if it were encrypted AND passworded...supposedly, such files can only be read on the system upon which the encryption and password were applied)
      Last edited by EricKei; 03-20-2013, 12:51 AM.
      "For a musician, the SNES sound engine is like using Crayola Crayons. Nobuo Uematsu used Crayola Crayons to paint the Sistine Chapel." - Jeremy Jahns (re: "Dancing Mad")
      "The difference between an amateur and a master is that the master has failed way more times." - JoCat
      "Thinking is difficult, therefore let the herd pronounce judgment!" ~ Carl Jung
      "There's burning bridges, and then there's the lake just to fill it with gasoline." - Wiccy, reddit
      "Retail is a cruel master, and could very well be the most educational time of many people's lives, in its own twisted way." - me
      "Love keeps her in the air when she oughta fall down...tell you she's hurtin' 'fore she keens...makes her a home." - Capt. Malcolm Reynolds, "Serenity" (2005)
      Acts of Gord – Read it, Learn it, Love it!
      "Our psychic powers only work if the customer has a mind to read." - me

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      • #4
        I have it, I used it to actually pull data off the HDD of a laptop the screen got trashed out by a cat spraying it. [I regularly pull my old HDDs and toss them in my tech junk drawer in case there is something I may need off of it at another time.]

        I found it worked as advertised, which is all I need from any tech I buy =)
        EVE Online: 99% of the time you sit around waiting for something to happen, but that 1% of action is what hooks people like crack, you don't get interviewed by the BBC for a WoW raid.

        Comment

        • #5
          Regarding reading said files, once you have the hardware:

          fsck - file system consistency check - is a piece of Linux software which can read almost any file system, and most files.

          Modern Linux interfaces are not very difficult for a Windows user to get used to.

          So start by getting the hardware connected (I don't have anything to add that's useful - the others have covered it), and see if you can read it with Windows. If you can't, don't panic or consider the data lost. Come back here and ask for advice on using fsck.

          Or go to your local Linux Users' Group, and lurk. Listen for someone who seems knowledgeable and friendly (not someone who's trying to show off his/her knowledge). Approach that person/people, and ask them for help.

          They may want to charge a fee for their time & expertise; at that point it's only a matter of how much the old photos are worth to you. Or whether you'd like to learn a new skill yourself!
          Seshat's self-help guide:
          1. Would you rather be right, or get the result you want?
          2. If you're consistently getting results you don't want, change what you do.
          3. Deal with the situation you have now, however it occurred.
          4. Accept the consequences of your decisions.

          "All I want is a pretty girl, a decent meal, and the right to shoot lightning at fools." - Anders, Dragon Age.

          Comment

          • #6
            O yes. I haven't used the think geek kit but i've used one from BestBuy - it was for Mom cos her external was too small. and mom's not weird like me - i don't care if my hdds have cases or not


            However to be honest, i'm a big fan of wiebetech's gear.
            I have one of their older docking systems that allows me to connect to HDDs (laptop and desktop) without a case. Just hook up the power and the data connections and I'm good to go.

            (actually i've seen that gear read drives that were technically unreadable - i mean the drive was still a failed drive etc, but with the wiebetech gear i was at least able to save the data and transfer it to a new HDD etc)

            Comment

            • #7
              I've got three or four of them and find them enormously handy. I agree with EricKei though; thirty bucks seems a little pricey. The flip side to that is that the ten to fifteen dollar ones I've picked up at places like Fry's have had their power supplies fail: ymmv. (I've got a frankenstien of a linux box though, so I just split some molex out of that and was back in business.)

              Unless you personally encrypted the files when using XP, you shouldn't have any restriction problems.

              I'd go ahead and do a couple of anti-mal scans on the old drive as soon as I hooked it up.

              Also - if you are now running a machine w/ 7 on it, you're gonna find manipulating files over usb 2 a little slow. I'd move the data over once the old drive is certified clean, then scrub it and just use it for backup.

              Comment

              • #8
                I use it often, I think I paid 19 for mine? Meh, I just use the USB instead of opening the case; it will see it as external drive. Please attempt to get all the shit at once, just in case the drive is dying. Well, scan first, duh, when clean, pull it all. I just make a "From Old Drive" folder on C: on the new puter, copy the whole thing then go thru the pics/data/whatever you keep. Don't futz with the drive, pull it and deal with it on the working pc.
                You just don't know how fucked up it is.
                In my heart, in my soul, I'm a woman for rock & roll.
                She's as fast as slugs on barbituates.

                Comment

                • #9
                  Quoth Seshat View Post
                  fsck - file system consistency check - is a piece of Linux software which can read almost any file system, and most files.
                  Good to know Fscking A!

                  Aaaaand, seconded on the "scan and transfer the whole drive over" sentiments. If the drive has physical issues, the less time it has to move any of its moving parts, the better.
                  "For a musician, the SNES sound engine is like using Crayola Crayons. Nobuo Uematsu used Crayola Crayons to paint the Sistine Chapel." - Jeremy Jahns (re: "Dancing Mad")
                  "The difference between an amateur and a master is that the master has failed way more times." - JoCat
                  "Thinking is difficult, therefore let the herd pronounce judgment!" ~ Carl Jung
                  "There's burning bridges, and then there's the lake just to fill it with gasoline." - Wiccy, reddit
                  "Retail is a cruel master, and could very well be the most educational time of many people's lives, in its own twisted way." - me
                  "Love keeps her in the air when she oughta fall down...tell you she's hurtin' 'fore she keens...makes her a home." - Capt. Malcolm Reynolds, "Serenity" (2005)
                  Acts of Gord – Read it, Learn it, Love it!
                  "Our psychic powers only work if the customer has a mind to read." - me

                  Comment

                  • #10
                    I doubt it has any physical issues, really, but, good point earlier about scanning for malware on it again...Won't hurt to do that

                    Comment

                    • #11
                      Quoth EricKei View Post
                      Good to know Fscking A!
                      Yes, I do own a tshirt which says 'fsck me'.
                      Seshat's self-help guide:
                      1. Would you rather be right, or get the result you want?
                      2. If you're consistently getting results you don't want, change what you do.
                      3. Deal with the situation you have now, however it occurred.
                      4. Accept the consequences of your decisions.

                      "All I want is a pretty girl, a decent meal, and the right to shoot lightning at fools." - Anders, Dragon Age.

                      Comment

                      • #12
                        Quoth sms001 View Post
                        I'd move the data over once the old drive is certified clean, then scrub it and just use it for backup.
                        *snicker* unless it died, I would transfer data and bulk out old hard drives. I have an old 10 *meg* hard drive that I put windows 3.1 on as a backup in case I needed to get a computer back on its feet because of a virus or hard drive death =)

                        I still remember drooling over the brand new 1 gig hard drive that was in computer news back in the day [for over $1000!] and being told that since I wasn't a business I would never need anything that large
                        EVE Online: 99% of the time you sit around waiting for something to happen, but that 1% of action is what hooks people like crack, you don't get interviewed by the BBC for a WoW raid.

                        Comment

                        • #13
                          Quoth AccountingDrone View Post
                          I still remember drooling over the brand new 1 gig hard drive that was in computer news back in the day [for over $1000!] and being told that since I wasn't a business I would never need anything that large
                          Back in the late late 80's I got a former office comp gifted to me by an uncle -- an Amstrad with a whopping huge 640K of RAM and two, count 'em TWO 5 1/4" Single-sided double-density floppy drives...He even included all of the original documents, such as a promo offering a (I think) 150 Meg hard drive for the bargain basement price of $1500...o_O It ran on GEM DOS, as I recall.
                          "For a musician, the SNES sound engine is like using Crayola Crayons. Nobuo Uematsu used Crayola Crayons to paint the Sistine Chapel." - Jeremy Jahns (re: "Dancing Mad")
                          "The difference between an amateur and a master is that the master has failed way more times." - JoCat
                          "Thinking is difficult, therefore let the herd pronounce judgment!" ~ Carl Jung
                          "There's burning bridges, and then there's the lake just to fill it with gasoline." - Wiccy, reddit
                          "Retail is a cruel master, and could very well be the most educational time of many people's lives, in its own twisted way." - me
                          "Love keeps her in the air when she oughta fall down...tell you she's hurtin' 'fore she keens...makes her a home." - Capt. Malcolm Reynolds, "Serenity" (2005)
                          Acts of Gord – Read it, Learn it, Love it!
                          "Our psychic powers only work if the customer has a mind to read." - me

                          Comment

                          • #14
                            Children! The second hard drive I used was $3500 for 8M.

                            I have no idea of the price for the first I used, but the capacity was < 128K.
                            I am not an a**hole. I am a hemorrhoid. I irritate a**holes!
                            Procrastination: Forward planning to insure there is something to do tomorrow.
                            Derails threads faster than a pocket nuke.

                            Comment

                            • #15
                              First hard drive I bought was a 30 meg RLL drive. Complete with 8 bit (for XT systems) RLL controller, it was $528. Dealer picked a "convenient" price for the Seagate ST528 drive.
                              Any fool can piss on the floor. It takes a talented SC to shit on the ceiling.

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