Removable HDD Racks

[cracked]

hey guys. im looking into getting one of those removable hdd rack things with a key lock on it. i havent had any experience with them and i was wondering what is the best one i can get for around $20?

thanks!

drew

[Darthgary]

It does not really matter, they are all pretty much the same. I used to have a couple but I gave them away cause I did not se much use for them unless you plan on having a little slave to use just for files, in that case you would have to install one on every PC you use.

Used to use them for backup onto old HDD's, until I set up my file server and tape backup.

Basically they are pretty much the same. Get one with it's own internal fan though, unless you ant to cook the indie of your PC some more.

Bear in mind the cheap IDE ones aren't hot swappable, unless the HDD's you use are exactly the same (not just the same size - must be exact same model too). The reason is that they still have to be detected in BIOS on boot, and will throw your OS into a hissy fit if you try to swap one that's different. In other words, you have to power down, swap the drive, then reboot., to change HDD's.

So, with those provisos, they can be useful if you want extra storage or something, and have some old spare HDD's.

Or, if ya want to caary your full OS between machines, and have a rack in each PC.

Cheers
Mick

[Darthgary]

Yeah, on most. They have to be locked in order to boot and unlocked to remove. So dont looze the keys.