Dual Drive Docking Station

Is this one of the handiest USB devices ever invented ?

SATA USB 3.0 Hard Drive Dual HDD Docking Station for 2.5" and 3.5" SATA HDDs
See attachment for a look see.

Aussie link
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...ralia&btnG=Search&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=

Non-Aussie link
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...ion&btnG=Search&aq=f&aqi=g1&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=

It would come in handy for those of use who keep on increasing the capacity of our hard drives and there is still some stuff we would like to transfer to our new larger drive.

Particularly handy for laptop owners who mostly have only one hard drive in their laptop.:cry

Bazza

 

short answer. yes :major

 

Short answer to a long winded post. :-D

Bazza

 

Why didn't you post a link directly to a site showing the exact device to which you are referring instead of posting links to Google searches, leaving some mystery as to exactly what make/model device you are talking about?

I have a Seagate FreeAgent DockStar which lets me use any USB drive as a network drive but I don't know whether you talking something with basically the same functionality or something somewhat different.

 

Hi, usafveteran. I didn't post direct links as there are more than one model and brand.

The thumbnail I attached in my post #1, illustrates an example of the device I thought.

See the attachment again, below.
It can use up to 2 x 2.5" drives, or up to 2 x3.5" drives, or 1 of each.
( Sorry, MG forum rules won't let me post the thumbnail again ) :cry
Check out the thumbnail I attached in my post #1,

Bazza

===

 

so, it accomplishes the same thing as an external enclosure but it more useful because it can accomodate two drives and they can be either 2.5" or 3.5". And, they can be used to clone one drive to another. Is this it, in a nutshell? I would agree they are very useful storage devices.

 

Yep, that's it alright. :-D

Bazza

===

 

I don't mean to revive an old-ish thread - but I recently did a dive into the world of dual drive docks. They're definitely quite useful, especially when the time comes to make a backup, or move up to a larger capacity drive, etc. as you simply copy from one slot to the other.

You can find an OpenOffice.org Calc document here:
http://www.sendspace.com/file/g5mr1n

It includes the usual information of interest.. link to the product, brand, model number, model name, whether it has a USB hub, a card reader, whether it outputs to eSATA and/or USB and if USB, whether 2.0 or 3.0, product shot (downloaded into the document on the fly, so be patient when opening), all that jazz.

Unfortunately, the Communicator D3 doesn't seem to have an official product page yet, but if you'd like to save a good chunk of money, try the Communicator D2 instead. It's essentially the same idea and form-factor, but instead of USB 3.0 it is USB 2.0 + eSATA. Not so bad considering current SATA-to-USB3.0 chipsets aren't all performing perfectly just yet. In addition it has 2 USB ports and comes in various models adding, progressively, a card reader (there used to be models with Compact Flash, but those seem to be gone), BlueTooth and/or WiFi-N capabilities to the machine it's hooked up to (only when hooked up by USB, of course).

I'm hoping they'll offer the Communicator D3 in a model with at least the USB hub functionality added back on (laptops tend to have card readers and BT and WiFi, of course, and increasingly so do towers).

Of course there's many alternatives as well, so give that doc a gander. One small note.. the Akasa docks are due in 4-5 weeks, so they're not available just yet.

 

Can't spot the Edit button ( if there is one. Edit: yes there is, but not N hours after posting, I guess )... slight edit to fix the Zalmans, and now that pastebin.ca is responding again.. uploaded there:
http://filebin.ca/ypenn/dual_hdd_docks.ods
( file may become unavailable at any time )

 

oi that's a strict editing limit.

Just to note - as this wasn't clear from any docs I could find (what docs?) - the following review..
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/review/1588755/dual-sata-hdd-multi-function-dock
..points out that..

I don't know if that is a limitation of the dock (it can be) or of their interface card (lack of Port Multiplier).. but it is indeed something to keep in mind as well.