[PLUG-TALK] Oversize 2.5" Hard Drive

[Rich Shepard]

On Fri, 20 Jul 2007, Keith Lofstrom wrote:

> 0) All drives are about 2.75 inches wide ( and 1 GB = 0.93 GiB, so they
> exaggerate sizes in both directions, lying dogs!).

   It's called 'marketing.' Politicians do it all the time.

> Some older ones are too thick, but the 10GB Travelstars I've seen are all
> about 10mm.  Most IBM laptops put the drives in "caddies", thin metal
> shells with 2 screws on each side that adapt the drive to the laptop.  A
> drive with the caddy surrounding it will not fit some external enclosures.

   This guy was made 15 Sept 1999 according to the label.

   The 600E has no caddy, just a hole into which the drive is slid.

> 1) The external enclosures are about 50% successful with Linux, so any
> given enclosure may disappoint you anyway, regardless of mechanical fit.
> See http://wiki.dirvish.org/index.cgi?USB2Drives for some examples.

   Why is this? Your URL seems to be different from what I have: an AirLink
101 enclosure. I've ordered a Bytecc BT-300, which I've been told, works
well with linux.

   The AirLink is a small, aluminum box with a connector on the inside of one
end, and a tiny USB socket on the outside of the same end.

   The Bytecc is described as "BYTECC BT-300 USB 2.0 to IDE/SATA Adapter

     "* Features: USB 2.0 to IDE/SATA Cable Connect any device with an
IDE/SATA Interface to a PC with USB interface Transfer rate Approx. 480 MBps
Complies with USB 2.0 standards Backwards compatible to USB 1.1 standards
Complies with ATA/ATAPI-66 Spe. V1.0 Easy to Install Supports IDE/SATA and
enhanced IDE hard drives Supports

     "* Package Contents: USB 2.0 to IDE/SATA Adapter Power Cord Power Adapter
Driver Disk

     "* Specifications: Works with 2.5", 3.5", 5.25" IDE Drive and 3.5" /
5.25" SATA Drives OS: Microsoft Windows 98SE/ME/2000/XP Mac OS 9.2 or higher
Linux 2.4.X"

   From newegg.com; $27 with free shipping earlier this week, now $25 with $5
shipping.

> 2) There are IDE small-to-large adapters, $10 or less.  Fry's has them,
> ENU may have them.  You can connect your almost-little drive to the
> adapter and then to a regular IDE cable in a regular computer.  Or to a
> larger external USB2 cage (see statement 1).

   I'll see what ENU has. I was very surprised to discover that a nominal
2.5" drive was actually a bit wider than that. So much for standards, eh?

   Thanks, hardware guru!

Rich

-- 
Richard B. Shepard, Ph.D.               |    The Environmental Permitting
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