eSATA enclosure advice

[The late XV105]

Having had great success in tuning my XP media server per separate thread, I want to clone the HDD that runs XP and Program Files. All other data is stored in various partitions on physically separate HDDs so this is easy to do using my copy of Acronis True Image.

The most straightforward approach appears to be to buy a SATA HDD of at least enough capacity (I will in fact buy an identical Seagate Barracuda since I have excellent experience with them), and then to mount it in a USB or eSATA enclosure for cloning. Removed from the enclosure, it could then be swapped with its parent without further ado if I ever I needed to do so.

I have never however purchased a "reusable" external HDD enclosure before though, so whilst the job they do appears to be simple and therefore they will all be much of a muchness, this may not be the case.

The one I currently have in mind is this one.

TVM for advice shared.

[mixture]

Surely on the basis of your previous posts, cooling should be a primary concern. :cool:

On another note, how about something with removable bays ? Like this ?

[Saab Dastard]

Since you have a NAS, you should be able to create a bootable cloning disk (CD / USB) to a) boot and install network drivers b) connect to the NAS and c) run the disk imaging software.

That way you can create the disk image on the NAS, and use the reverse process to write it back to your replacement disk (should this become necessary - and to test!).

SD

[A A Gruntpuddock]

I bought one of these - 2 Bay Dual SATA USB 3.5" Hard Disk Drive Enclosure | Hard Drive - 3.5" | Buy Online Now! (http://www.envizage.com/products/enclosures-hard-drive---3.5/brevo-e-dhc351-2-bay-dual-sata-usb-3.5-hard-disk-drive-enclosure.html)

Appearance is 'agricultural' - it's just a few bits of stamped metal, a fan and a small pcb but very robust and air holes everywhere. I had bought a cheaper one but it was fully enclosed and I could not see how it could keep the drive cool. Only USB and not complete SATA but fast enough for backups.

[The late XV105]

Thanks, All.
Ideas appreciated.

Removable bays idea liked, mixture, and likewise RAID1 possibility with the device that you highlighted, but as I only need the enclosure for periodic cloning of the boot HDD and all my other needs are covered, I'll keep it simple (the HDD can stay inside the enclosure until such time as I ever might need it) and low cost.

I may clone to the NAS too, thanks, SD, but for the relatively low cost necessary to incur I'd prefer "plug and play" as my first step to recovery (it is bound to happen at an inconvenient time if it ever does) with the method you suggest as a secondary back-up.

Thanks for your link AAG; from the target page when I clicked it was a further link to what seems to be just what I want (http://www.envizage.com/products/enclosures-hard-drive---3.5/citusbenc35m17sef-3.5-sata-usb-2.0-firewier-esata-hdd-enclosure-35m17sef.html). At the price, I'll take a punt! Cheers.

[The late XV105]

Thanks again for your link AAG; What I thought was just what I wanted (http://www.envizage.com/products/enclosures-hard-drive---3.5/citusbenc35m17sef-3.5-sata-usb-2.0-firewier-esata-hdd-enclosure-35m17sef.html) really was just what I wanted! A remarkably good quality enclosure for the money; well fitting parts; well thought out grooves to locate the innards without faffing or rattling around; a power supply; a complete set of eSATA, Firewire, and USB cables; all fittings; and even a screwdriver.

Toptastic. :ok: