apricot usb device

[poindexter]

I bought a 2.5" USB 2.0 box about 6 months ago. It didn't come with a power supply though there's a connection on the box for one. I dropped in my old 1.4Gb drive and it works fine, even though the drive is too high for the case. My old 450Mb drive works as well. Both work on my office PC, a Dell P3/500MHz snail, and all three of the home PCs as well as co-worker's laptops-many of these don't have USB 2.0. I have used this box with 20Gb, 40Gb and 60Gb drives and have never had a problem powering it up via the USB cable. I don't have it here so I can't give up any info from the tiny circuit board. It was made in China and not a brand I ever heard of. It cost a whole $22 US. Perhaps the problem is inadequate USB power on SOME motherboards but certainly not all, as the MSI, Asus and ECS boards at home perform well.

 

[sjonnie]

Wierd that you would mention this exactly when <A HREF="http://www.tomshardware.com/mobile/20040825/index.html" target="_new">this</A> review of the product appears on Tom's. Then again, what is you problem exactly?

<A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/myanandtech.html?member=114979" target="_new">My PCs</A>

 

[poindexter]

It's no coincidence, I think the data in the article is flawed. I don't have a problem but the article says I should, in that I should need an external power supply to run the 2.5" drive because USB ports don't supply the 900mA "required" by older drives. While the 1.4Gb drive may not be that old, the 450Mb drive that also works flawlessly in this USB box came out of a Texas Instruments 486DX4 75MHz laptop. Neither of these drives fits in the box, one cover has to be off and they're held in place by the slip-cover. Based on my experience I would have to say the article is incorrect in more than one area. Either the older drives do NOT all require 900mA to start, or some of the older USB ports DO supply this amount of current. There are too many different PCs where this USB box works for my experience to be an exception.