AMC 388U2 3.5-inch USB 2.0 External Enclosure

Rating

It is inexpensive and does what I expect of it. I bought it to recover some data off of old hard drives (from computers and an old Series 1 TiVo). Since I use a computer operating system that isn't very well known, I'm always concerned whether the hardware I get will be supported by it, but I was able to mount the external drive without any problems. I've recovered the data and now use the external drive to back up my data.

Rating

The drive enclosure works like it should. I have multiple hard drives that I move around from computer to computer to my Sony Playstation. It's great for moving large amounts of data around. The drive does get very, very hot inside the case and I leave the top off for extended use. If you plan on leaving the drive turned on all the time, I would get one with a built in fan. They make more noise, but run cooler.

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Rating

This is an easy enclosure to deal with. I installed a Western Digital 250GB IDE HDD in this case. Installation is easy, with instructions, screws (I've ordered cheapie enclosures and then had to rob an old PC for screws to mount the drive...not here) and good quality, easy connectors to work with. After physically installing the hardware it was off to the PC where WinXP recognized the enclosure and the hard drive and installed automatically. The Windows disk management utility allowed me to format the HDD the way I wanted (file system, partitions, etc.). It's been up & running for about a month now and I would do it all again if I needed another. So, if you've got an extra working hard drive that's just laying on a shelf, why not put it to good use as extra storage with this enclosure? I've learned that with a good USB2.0 connection, I can burn DVDs, audio, or any other data almost as fast as with my internal hard drive. One last note for MAC users: If you are going to use the same external hard drive on a PC & a MAC (yes it can be done), then you will want to format with the FAT32 file system. Any other issues or questions one has can be answered with a simple web search. I hope that this has been helpful. The overall rating should be a 4.5, but that wasn't a choice.

• How often do you shop at Overstock.com? Few times a year

Rating

This enclosure seems to work very well. It is not 'screw free' (and the screwdriver for the small screws was not included) but was easy to use and install and seems to work well. It is a good buy for the price.

• How often do you shop at Overstock.com? Few times a year
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Rating

Hard drive was simple to install and easy to use. Good value for the money.. Great way to sve and store old data.

• How often do you shop at Overstock.com? Few times a year
• Are you a Club O Member? No