Ask Engadget: Best dual-drive external enclosure?

We know you've got questions, and if you're brave enough to ask the world for answers, here's the outlet to do so. This week's Ask Engadget question is coming to us from Robert, who is sick and tired of using two power supplies, two I/O cables and too much time to accomplish what should be a simple task.

"I commonly need to boot a system from an external disc and take a snapshot of the host system. I also then need to burn a copy of the image to a DVD. While I can do it with two separate external devices, and two power supplies, and two I/O cables, it'd be nice to find a small dual-drive enclosure. It would need to have USB, eSATA, and FireWire. Either slim-line or half-height bay for the optical burner would be fine, and space for either a 2.5- or 3.5-inch hard disc. Any ideas?"

Robert here is outfitting an entire school for a 1:1 laptop program, so needless to say this request is urgent. Any storage junkies out there know of the perfect solution? No short-changin', alright?

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 22nd 2009 1:03AM]

YES! Something just like this! Optical burner, hard disc--even USB hub and card reader--nice bundle!

Yes friends, I'd boot Bart PE or a Linux....and then yes, use normal disc imaging software like Ghost or Acronis. The point was that I need a boot/aux storage hard disc--AND a burner. Sure I can use network storage and PXE boot or other such--IF my students never go home! But if I give them the ability to simply pop in a DVD and restore....it doesn't matter if they're at home, or on vacation....they can reload themselves and get back to their homework! :-)

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 22nd 2009 1:20AM]

And remember folks, we're talking netbooks--without onboard optical drives... While not used all the time, students like to rip music, teachers like to load software, etc...

RAID is nice, but CD/DVD has at least a ten year archival life....and isn't subject to the same impact issues when that bookbag gets thrown in the car or playground! If they trash the onboard hard disc, what are the odds they'll simultaneously trash the non-moving, sleeved optical media?


Hey trinergy: while yes an old device, what did you think? Do you still use it? Pros/cons?

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 16th 2009 11:56PM]

verzerizon booh i hate you

[darok3k Posted Jul 17th 2009 12:51AM]

will usb 3.0 support ide 3.5 external enclosure?

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 17th 2009 1:31AM]

ANY Dual Drive enclosure from Other World Computing!

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/1394/USB/EliteAL/PerformanceRAID

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 17th 2009 1:32AM]

ANY Dual Drive enclosure from Other World Computing!

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/1394/USB/EliteAL/PerformanceRAID

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 17th 2009 7:49AM]

http://www.cooldrives.com/saandidedest.html

one hdd and one 5,25" bay, $30.

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 17th 2009 8:34AM]

epic find. $30 ftw!

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 17th 2009 9:09AM]

I think we have a winner

[drumdbeat Posted Jul 17th 2009 11:08AM]

Winner

:D

[zcubed Posted Jul 17th 2009 12:22PM]

definitely what he was looking for. good job!

[southee Posted Jul 17th 2009 10:49AM]

what we have the option of doing where I work is backing up your image to the server. Boot from your CD/DVD from a BartPE or Winpe cd, with your back up software loaded onto the CD, then once booted connect to the network as a local drive back up all your files to a folder name them for every machine then bun them after you get them off of the server. Or as others have said boot to a large hard drive that has been partitioned to have a bootable partition then copy your back ups to the other partition and then copy your image once you are complete with all your back up to the machine.

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 17th 2009 11:35AM]

Sponsored by Verizon Wireless??? Wow say goodbye to whatever credibility this website had before. How can readers expect engadget to give unbiased reviews on new products when they are sponsored by VZW. What a joke...

[AbeFroman Posted Jul 17th 2009 8:33PM]

Verizon doesn't provide any content, advice, credibility or lack there-of. They just pay Engadget to put their ads up. Thats it. No conspiracy, just commerce.

[drumdbeat Posted Jul 17th 2009 11:07AM]

Winner.

:D

[drumdbeat Posted Jul 17th 2009 11:07AM]

That was to infi

[wunch Posted Jul 17th 2009 11:33AM]

A couple of ideas:

Option 1:
If you're making a DVD copy of the image anyway, can't you just backup directly to the DVD and save yourself a step? If the system supports booting from USB, boot from a bootable USB thumbdrive with your imaging software on it, which doesn't require a separate cable or power source, then backup directly to the external DVD.

Option 2:
In fact, now that I think of it, if the images are small enough to fit on a DVD, they're small enough to fit on an 8Gb USB thumbdrive, too. So, just replace the HD in your current method with a thumbdrive.

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 20th 2009 4:10PM]

Good point

ToddDiroberto
http://www.prwebphotowire.com/releases2/imid1448864.htm?id=1448864&prid=2437704

http://www.docstoc.com/search/Degrassi-The-Next-Generation-Episodes-Online/

http://www.newsguide.us/art-entertainment/movies/

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 22nd 2009 1:20AM]

Has anyone seen this:

http://en.vipower.com/products01_01.php?ID=840&PageID=0

I'm trying to get a demo unit. Looks like a nice all-in-one....external, internal, and even D2D backup...

[(Unverified) Posted Aug 6th 2009 5:41AM]

Thanks for giving good information.pass4sure