Introduction:

With the proliferation of external storage options, you have many choices.  You may only need a small memory card or Compact Flash chip to take your data on the go.  Then again, there is a definite value in being able to cart around mass storage.  How massive?  How about the old standby, a standard IDE drive of whatever capacity you desire?  External/removable IDE enclosures are not new, but the interface options have thankfully kept pace with today's expectations of speed and portability.  Trying to push multi-megabytes through a serial, parallel or even version1 USB pipe is painfully slow. 

Does USB 2.0 make that much of a difference?  I'll spare you the suspense and tell you that, YES, this interface makes all the difference in the world.  Read along.

Overview

The KingWin Giga Plus Hard Disk Enclosure (USB 2.0 Version) provided by Directron puts a 3.5" IDE hard drive on the "sneaker net".  If you find yourself transporting large data files between locations that aren't networked, this item will allow you to do so with minimum fuss.  If you build/repair a lot of computers, you can store drivers, utilities and even several OS versions in a portable package. I could list several other uses for the drive, but it becomes apparent that everyone's uses will differ.  The kit includes the enclosure, a USB 2.0 cable, an AC power adapter, rubber mounting feet (use is optional), installation/driver CD and printed instructions. The enclosure is made of extruded aluminum, and incorporates a blue power LED and an orange In Use LED.  The LED's are mounted in transparent tubes that illuminate along the length of the case.

The front panel has an on/off switch, an AC adapter port, and a USB 2.0 port. You can see some of the specs in the photo.  Note that this unit is also available with Firewire and SATA interfaces.

The AC adapter is a 12 Volt DC source, and is rated at 1.7 Amps.  Check the power requirements on your drive before deciding on which one you'll be using.  It is conceivable that some drives will require more juice than this, but the vast majority of drives should be just fine.  The cord is somewhat short at around three feet, but it reached my outlets from the desktop without problems. A Molex power connector mod for this unit may be in its future. :) The USB cord is almost twice as long, thankfully.

The kit comes with a utility CD and drivers for pre-WinXP OS's and MAC machines. There are no drivers to install for WinXP machines, so true portability is assured. The documentation does not address Linux or other OS choices.

Specifications

These are the specifications listed in the printed manual: 

Bus Interface	USB 2.0	FireWire IEEE 1394	Serial ATA
Compliance	USB 2.0 EHCI Based USB 2.0 Compliance	IEEE-1394-1995, P1394a	Serial ATA 1.0
Data Speeds	1.5/12/480 Mbps	100/200/400 Mbps	Max. 1.5 Gb*
Connector	USB B receptacle	2x Firewire 6-pin	1x Serial ATA 7-pin
OS Supports	PC Windows and Mac	PC Windows and Mac	PC Windows
Internal IDE Interface	3.5" ATA 66/100/133
HDD Support	Standard 3.5" IDE HDD, without limitation of 137GB
Power Supply	12V/1.7A, switching AC/DC power adapter
Dimensions	227mm (L) x 151mm (W) x 32mm (H)

• Hot Swappable
• Aluminum casing provides better cool operation and prevents EMI
• Flash LED for power-on and data transfer
• Supports ultra-high capacity drives of over 137GB