All,
Thanks for you input in this.
Mark
If your only tinkering around and not really requiring full on writeblocking why not purchase one of the many leads highlighted on Ebay.
Just type in USB to IDE in the search query and it returns 500ish cables that connect USB to 3.5,2.5 IDE and Sata drives.
I use one for tinkering and it works great just plug in any hardrive and away you go ) .
One last question and I am sorry if I am not getting the obvious, but when looking at some of the recommended sites these external hard drive enclosures look like they are an external hard drive and not just the shell to insert many different hard drives. I guess the price would tell me that I am wrong and its the shell, but just want to be sure before I purchase one and get the wrong thing.
Thanks and sorry for all the followups.
I can assure you the ThermalTake is just a shell. Make sure you choose the enclosure for the size drive you use (2.5", 3.5"), type of drive (IDE, SATA, etc.) and the interface you use (USB, eSATA, etc.). I use these all the time to send drives for review.
I've paid between US$25 and US$50 for dual USB/Firewire cases. Write blockers would normally be used for the duplication of an unattached hard drive. There is a nice variety of devices for this as well, although these run quite a bit more.
From experience, I wouldnt recommend external boxes without a built in fan and good cooling. As a data recovery and computer forensics company, we send out lots of data, we also receive hundreds of external boxes a year for repair. We have noticed that we are getting a lot of LaCie boxes. The main reason they fail is due to overheating.
We use some quite cheap boxes that we put the clients data into. They are metal and have a fan, so they dissapate the heat well.
I hope that was of use?
Simon