While working in an IT Department I occasionally run into a problem with a computer or hard drive where the system will not boot. Sometimes the user of the problematic computer has stored data on their local drive, even though they should store all data on the network shares, and I am then called upon to save their data.

At times when data needs to be recovered from a non-working system, I generally have to remove the hard drive, connect it to a working system via the appropriate internal cable, and move the data to the network drive for the user. This process requires a computer dedicated for recovering data with the proper IDE and SATA connectivity in order for it to be a universal system.

Newer Technology Inc., NewerTech, has developed a product to universally connect a hard drive directly to an open USB port. The idea seems like it will be very effective and save time while recovering data, or make it very simple to add temporary storage to a computer.

Before looking at the NewerTech USB 2.0 Universal Drive Adapter, here are the published features and specifications from the NewerTech website.

Features:

» Universal to USB2 Adapter
» ATA/IDE/SATA/ATAPI
» Compatible with any 2.5", 3.5", 5.25" IDE or SATA device!
» Supports IDE & enhanced IDE 3.5" internal IDE hard disk
» Supports ATA/ATAPI-6 specification 1.0
» Supports SATA I and SATA II
» USB 2.0 up to 480Mbps transfer speed
» Backwards compatible with USB 1.1
» Plug-and-Play
» Instruction Manual
» 1 year warranty

Specifications:

» USB 2.0 to ATA connection (2 sided, for 2.5" and 3.5" drives), and a SATA connection
» Connect any device with an ATA or SATA interface to a Mac® or PC with USB interface
» Transfer rate approx. 480 Mbps (USB 2.0)
» Complies with USB 2.0 standards
» Backwards compatible to USB 1.1 standards
» Complies with ATA/ATAPI-66 Spe. V1.0
» Compatible with SATA-I and SATA-II
» Simple to install
» Supports IDE and enhanced IDE hard drives
» Supports ATA/ATAPI CD-ROM/R/RW DVD-ROM and more
» External AC adapter provides drive power

Packaging:

The retail box for the NewerTech USB 2.0 Universal Drive Adapter is eye catching. Although you do not see an image of the product on the front of the box, there is a lot of text describing the types of drives that can be used. The back of the package displays some pictures of the adapter in use with the different size and form factor hard drives supported.

The Basics:

Included with the NewerTech USB 2.0 Universal Drive Adapter are a power supply, 4-pin Molex power connector to SATA power connector, and a standard SATA data cable.The USB 2.0 Universal Drive Adapter should be fairly simple to figure out for someone who has seen a bare 2.5" or 3.5" IDE or SATA hard drive. On the top of the adapter you can see the SATA connector. In the below left image the 3.5" IDE connector is visible at the bottom of the adapter. In the below right image is the 2.5" IDE connector, which is on the opposite side of the 3.5" connector.

Installation and Operation:

Using the USB 2.0 Universal Drive Adapter is very easy. The easiest hard drive to connect is the 2.5" IDE hard drive, because it does not need its own power connection; it gets powered via the USB connection. Just connect the hard drive to the proper side of the adapter and plug the USB connector into an open port.

Connecting a 3.5" IDE hard drive is a little different since it needs its own power. To use the adapter for a 3.5" IDE drive, connect it to the other side of the adapter, connect the Molex power connector, and plug the power supply into an outlet. Then, as with the 2.5" drive, connect the USB end of the adapter into an open port.

For a 2.5" or 3.5" SATA hard drive, connect the red SATA data cable from the drive to the adapter, then connect the IDE to SATA power converter cable to the SATA drive and power supply, and finally connect the USB end to the computer.

Testing:

To test the raw speed of the NewerTech USB 2.0 Universal Drive Adapter I ran the application HDTune 2.52 on each drive twice (connected directly to the computer and then via the USB 2.0 cable of the adapter). The hard drives used for the benchmarks are the following:

» 3.5" SATA Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 80GB 7200.9RPM SATA
» 3.5" IDE Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 80GB 7200.7RPM PATA
» 2.5" IDE Hard Drive: Seagate Momentous 40GB 5400RPM PATA

The 3.5" SATA drive test provided the most significant difference in burst speed because of the difference between the possible speeds of SATA and USB 2.0.

The 3.5" PATA test is a little closer than the SATA vs USB test above. The speed of the PATA drive isn't too much faster than the USB 2.0, but the CPU utilization is quite high while using the drive through USB 2.0.

The 2.5" PATA benchmark was similar to the 3.5" PATA test above. The random access time was about a half a millisecond different (probably due to the different RPM of each drive), but the CPU utilization was a little better than the 3.5" PATA and SATA drives.

Conclusion:

The NewerTech USB 2.0 Universal Drive Adapter is a great device for anyone who supports computers or likes to share storage devices between computers. The concept of a device that can connect IDE and SATA hard drives to USB is extremely convenient and easy to use. To add to the convenience, there is no need for drivers on modern systems with the USB 2.0 Universal Drive Adapter.

The NewerTech website shows an image of a 5.25" CD-ROM connected to the adapter. I am not sure how often someone would need to use an internal CD-ROM drive externally via USB, but the adapter is capable of such feats and this makes it even more universal than just for connecting hard drives.

A search of PriceGrabber finds the NewerTech USB 2.0 Universal Drive Adapter for $24.95 (US). Not a bad price for a product that will could come in handy quite often, and less expensive than similar items on the market.

Considering the adaptability to different devices and ease of use, I give the NewerTech USB 2.0 Universal Drive Adapter the awards of "Great Idea" and "Highly Recommended".

Pros:

» Easy to use
» Connect any PATA or SATA hard drive via USB
» Time saving tool for IT personnel
» Inexpensive

Cons:

» High CPU usage

Special thanks to NewerTech for providing the NewerTech USB 2.0 Universal Drive Adapter to Bigbruin.com for review!