Perfect way to access an old hard drive removed from a computer you needed to upgrade from. Like the description stated it is simply a plug and play device. I can't comment on some of the other reviews regarding the heat generated while using the device since our intent was only for periodic access to the hard drive removed from an older machine. Both hard drives were using Windows 10 so there were no compatibility issues at all. My new computer immediately recognized the external device and access was glitch free. I am not a tech guy so if I can get it to work anybody can!

Recently had a hard drive crash and realized the hard way that I didn't have all of my files backed up to my external hard drive. A friend who works in IT told me to try using an enclosure to retrieve my lost files and it just sounded to good to be true. I ordered this Sabrent enclosure based upon its Amazon reviews and plugged everything in with my dead hard drive expecting nothing to happen...while I don't consider myself technologically challenged, it seems that tech items don't like to cooperate for me on the first, or second, or third....try, so imagine my shock to see all of my lost and already mourned files right there just like a regular external hard drive was plugged up to my computer. A miracle! No problems and all of my children's photos and videos, our movie library, everything there for the retrieval! I do understand that it doesn't always work that easily, but was so pleased that it actually worked for me. I have read that if you are using this enclosure to turn a regular hard drive into an external that you should watch out for the heat. I left the door open while using it to try to keep it a little cooler.

For years I've been using a little USB-to-IDE-or-SATA adapter. While it worked fine it was a tangle of wires and only had USB2 speeds (not great if you're trying to transfer a half terabyte from SSD to SSD!). This enclosure is much nicer.

If I have any complaint about it at all -- and this is about as nit-picky as you can get -- it's that your typical 2.5" SSD can be relatively difficult to remove because it's hard to grip well enough to slide it out of the connectors and you can't get underneath it that easily with your fingers since it sits entirely inside the base. I solved that with a bend piece of cardboard inserted under the drive before pushing it into place; lift the cardboard to lift the drive and you can get a better grip.

Oh, one more caveat-not-even-up-to-the-point-of-nit-picking: There's a nice big power button on top of the enclosure, a convenience for making the drive electrically safe during removal/replacement. Unfortunately being right on top like that makes it pretty easy to hit if, say, you absentmindedly put the iPad (on which you were reading instructions on how to do the absurdly complex disassembly of an Mac mini to get to its failing drive) on top of the enclosure. If you were to do such a thing you might hear a little click and find that the drive shuts off in the middle of the data transfer. Not that I would have done such a thing, of course, because that would have been stupid, but ... you might want to be a little careful about putting things on the enclosure while it's in use. :-)

Great Plug and Play drive, which is fast and efficient, not too large (desk saver) and gets the job done. I like the fact that you can use your own bare drives with it and are not tied to a specific drive. You do need to take precautions with bare drives and storage can be tricky, but the positives far outweigh any negatives or inconveniences in my opinion. I plugged it in and Windows 7 recognized it immediately after quickly installing a driver. I didn't have to do anything. I have also used it successfully on Windows XP and Windows 10 while transferring some data, without any problems or hiccups. The fact that it is USB 3.0, if you have 3.0 ports on your computer, makes data transfer a breeze and I am usually moving TB of data, so the speed is especially helpful. If not, no worries because it is backwards compatible with USB 2.0 and works fine as well, you just lose out on the additional write speed. I use WD Caviar Black drives in it, so if you are using something else you performance may vary, but I have had no problems and have been greatly pleased with this external drive. Great external drive at a great price.

After sending off my hard drive to be repaired, I needed a new case so that I could get the data off of it once they sent it back. I'm a huge fan of reading reviews and seeing what people ACTUALLY think about products, and I came across this case. I'm very glad I decided to get it for a couple reasons. One, the price was great. Two, its very nice and high quality. And Three, it works perfect! I actually have a few different hard drives laying around and I am able to just easily pop them into this and it works great every time. It also has a power cord so there's no need to worry about the USB providing enough power to spin your drive. Simply open the door, pop your drive in, and turn it on and it shows up instantly. I use it for my mac with no issues. Would definitely purchase other Sabrent products if they are all like this!