Ineo I-NA218UPLUS-WT USB 3.0 to SATA III Cable and Protective Sleeve for 2.5-inch SSD and HDD, Tool Free and USB Powered

First off, let me say that this dock is awesome! I'm using it with my XPS L502x & U24EXS71 and purchased the WD7500BPKT HDD for backup purposes.The item was shipped 2 day through my Prime membership and actually arrived in 1. I went out of the way to visit my UPS box and immediately set everything up when I got home.The product was set in a typical plastic tray and packaged in a cardboard box. Included were the manual, USB 3.0 cable and power adapter.The aluminum finish on the unit itself is nice and should blend in with any sort of décor. The quality of the finish is somewhat lacking and you can see light and dark spots in the aluminum. This isn't a big deal to me because the price is pretty reasonable and the finish doesn't affect the performance in any way. At least there aren't any scratches.The directions state to insert a 2.5" or 3.5" SATA I, II or III HDD into the dock, connect the USB cable, connect the power adapter and turn on the docking station. Instead, I connected the USB cable to my XPS and the power adapter to the unit and then turned on without installing a HDD.My XPS immediately recognized the unit and initialized in less than a second. I then powered down the unit, inserted my WD HDD and turned it on. I expected the drive to show up in "My Computer" and was perplexed when it wasn't there. Because of this, I decided to look at the manual under "Partition & Format the Hard Disk Drive".For Vista & 7 users, you need to right click "My Computer" and select "Manage". You may need to authorize this due to UAC. Then the Computer Management window appears. Select Disk Management from the left. Now your new HDD should show up in the middle section of the window near the bottom as an unallocated disk. Alternatively, you can access the Computer Management window by entering the Control Panel, selecting Administrative Tools and then selecting Computer Management.At this point the directions just stopped. I was able to figure out the additional steps that need to be taken to get your HDD to work (read on). It's kinda funny...the directions for Vista & 7 users are numbered 1-3 followed by a section for XP, 2000 & 2003 users numbered 1-4 and then directions numbered 7-10 before the MAC OS X directions. What happened to 5 & 6?Right click your new HDD and select initialize. This should only take a few moments...I think it took me less than 5 seconds. After this is done, right click on the new HDD again and select "New Spanned Volume". A small window should appear and asks if you want to MBR or GPT partitions. I selected MBR as this is the standard partitioning scheme for a PC HDD. It supports 4 primary partitions per HDD and a maximum partition size of 2TB (GPT is newer and only readable by Windows Server 2003 SP1, Windows Vista and Windows XP x64 Edition).Now you should be prompted to format your new HDD (if no prompt, right click select format). Initially, I selected a quick format, but after this completed in a few seconds, I decided to go all out and re-do the process for a full format. It took about 90 minutes to reach 50% (it's still formatting as I type this review).Once the formatting is complete, your new HDD will be ready for use.At this time, I cannot comment on the longevity of this product, but I assume it should last quite some time as long as it doesn't get dropped on a hard surface, shocked with a cattle prod or subjected to various forms of torture from curious children and/or pets.PROS:1. About 2/3 of the HDD sits out of the dock. This should help with cooling vs. a traditional hard drive enclosure. According to PC Wizard, which I typically use as a guideline, the current temp of my WD7500BPKT is 107.6 degrees which isn't bad considering it is being formatted. At the same time, my internal ST9750420AS is running at 102.2 degrees and that has a heat sink, fan and notebook cooler to aid in cooling.2. USB 3.0 speeds are fast & consistent with this unit3. Design should match any décor and is compact enough to minimize clutter on your workspace4. USB 3.0 connector on dock is heavy duty (type B) and not like those cheesy connectors on most new external hard drives (type micro-B)5. After 30 seconds of non-use, the dock puts the HDD into a standby state (then when you are ready to use, the HDD resumes almost instantaneously)CONS:1. Aluminum finish could be better2. Manual needs to be revised3. USB cable could be a bit longer (it's only 36")SUGGESTIONS:1. A microfiber cover would be nice to have for keeping dust out of the dockCAUTION:1. Users need to exercise caution when inserting & removing HDD...don't just jamb it in or rip it out2. Static electricity is a huge concern when handling & storing bare HDDsBASIC INSTRUCTIONS FOR NEW HDD (Vista & 7 users):1. Connect USB 3.0 cable to dock & computer & connect power adapter to dock2. Insert new HDD into Dock, power on Dock and allow Windows to install/initialize new HDD4. Right click on My Computer icon and select Manage (authorize UAC if necessary)4. Select Disk Management in the Computer Management window5. Another window pops up...make sure MBR is selected and click OK6. Right click on your new HDD (unallocated disk) and select New Simple Volume7. Assign a drive letter and click Next8. Select format type, allocation size and assign a volume label (I formatted NTFS and used Default Allocation Size)9. Format the disk

This hard drive module isn't made of shining aluminum and doesn't radiate beauty and perfection, but it is so simple that it works well.The drive plugs into the SATA connector, which connects to the short cable which connects to your computer. The SATA module and the drive fit snugly and securely inside the clear protection case. The bottom screw holes of your drive will rest on four small mounts inside the case - the drive will not slide around inside the case even without the module attached. There is a blue activity indicator light at the top of the module (to the left of the "ineo" logo). The module is, in essence, highly practical without any flairs or hidden features.There are, however, several shortcomings of this product, though they really are minor and require some nitpicking:1) The plastic protection case appears to be slightly (visibly) deformed, with the lid arching outwards and the sides arching inwards. This means that the two pads on the lid do not come into contact with the drive itself, and the sides pinch the drive so it still doesn't move. It might, in fact, be a securer fit than an undeformed case - there's a tighter grip and more space as a bumper at the corners and top - albeit a less aesthetically pleasing one. Lifting the drive from the case becomes a lot more inconvenient though since it is hard to do so without slightly bending the SATA connector. I am guessing that the deformities occurred during shipping, where it might have sat in extreme summer heat for hours.2) The SATA module becomes noticeably hot during long file transfers, so I would definitely be careful when using this with a warm drive as the enclosed space doesn't make for very good heat dissipation.3) The cable is short. Short as in really, really short. It doesn't look too bad in the pictures, but it's so short that using it with certain desktops seems implausible - if the USB port you use is either at the rear or the front middle of a typical tower desktop, finding a place to put the drive is a hassle. The length practically restricts its use to sitting right next to a laptop on a similar height. However, the B connector of the USB cord (the one that plugs into the SATA module) is a very tight fit, which makes dangling sort of okay.4) As I said above, the module side of the connector fits very securely. The USB port side, however, does not. The connector simply slides right out of the USB ports - it lacks the typical "click" that secures other USBs. This isn't an issue if you leave your drive lying on the table, but it becomes a little worrying when moving your laptop with the drive plugged in. I have not had any connection issues though.5) The "Protection Case" aspect of this drive isn't fully accurate. It's pretty much just a secure box, with little padding and little cushioning in case of a fall. I'm guessing it won't protect a spinning drive from a 5 foot fall, and I would still be careful handling a drive inside this case, but it's still far better than an exposed drive.In spite of these relatively minor flaws, this module works very well and does the job it's supposed to do. It isn't perfection, nor is it cheap (but that's the cost of USB 3.0), but it's good enough that I would recommend it to anyone looking for simple USB 3.0 connectivity and basic hard drive protection.

Compré un SSD a muy buen precio aquí mismo y para hacer una rápida migración de mi disco este adaptador fue una excelente opción.