SABRENTUSB 3.0 to SATA External Hard Drive Lay Flat Docking Station with Built in Cooling Fan for 2.5 or 3.5in HDD, SSD [Support UASP and 22TB] (EC-DFFN)

What's Good About the Sabrent EC-DFFN External Docking Station1. The case is lightweight and well made.2. It works well. I was able to transfer about 500gb of data per hour.3. It's quiet and attractive.4. It utilizes USB 3.0 which is about 10 times faster than 2.0.5. The included cables are just the right length.What's Can Be Improved1. The price. I paid $32 for mine.2. The screens meant to protect your fingers impede the fan's air flow.3. The rubber feet need to be taller to improve the fan's air flow. The current design creates a lot of back pressure that prevents the fan from operating at its full capacity.The Sabrent EC-DFFN external USB 3.0 docking station is well made. However, it can be improved. Read on if you would like to learn how to modify the case and improve its air flow. That's important if you are going to be running your external hard drives for long periods of time like I do.*********************************************ONE WORD OF CAUTION:Take your time, you don't want to damage your docking station's case.Tools You'll NeedA small Phillips head screwdriver, an Exacto knife and a thin knife or a razor blade. All three will work. This modification takes about 15 minutes to complete.Parts You'll Need1. Four — 6 x 3/4" Flat Head Screws (Phillips Head) Note: 6 is the diameter of the screw.(These are used to mount the rubber feet.)2. Four — 6 x 1/2" Pan Head Screws (Phillips Head).(These are used to mount the grill to the fan.)3. Two — 80mm Computer Fan Grills (sometimes listed as 8cm grills).4. Four new rubber feet approximately 1/2" by 1/2" inch is ideal. However, the ones pictured in the photos are 1/2" tall by 3/4" wide (tapered, cone-style feet). I already had those, so that's why I used them.How to Improve the Air Flow on the Sabrent Docking Station(Be sure and refer to the pictures for additional help.)1. First, make sure it's unplugged before you do this modification.2. Remove the rubber feet on the bottom of the case. They are glued in place.3. Remove the screws that you find underneath the rubber feet.4. Remove the screws holding the fan in place and remove the outer screen.5. Use an Exacto knife or a thin knife blade to pry open the bottom of the case.6. With the bottom off, wiggle the fan loose from its four anchor posts.7. Remove the inner fan screen.8. Slide the fan back onto the posts and press into place.10. Reattach the bottom of the case.11. Mount the grill onto the fan by screwing it in place with the Pan Head screws.(Indented side of the grill needs to face outward from the case.)12. Attach the four rubber feet to the corners of case with the Flat Head screws.(You have now completed the modification.)In my opinion, the docking station doesn't need a grill to protect the inward facing side of the fan because the lid and the drive you insert already do that — just be sure and turn off the power before opening the lid. The fan stops spinning in about three seconds, and only runs when there is a standard hard drive installed. It does not run if you insert an SSD drive because they don't get very hot and don't need the extra cooling. The docking station automatically senses if the drive you have inserted is an SSD or standard (spinning disc) hard drive.Note: If you decide you want to install an inner fan grill you can. Just remember it will make the grill on the bottom bulge out another quarter of an inch. If you do install an inner fan grill, be sure and insert it with the indented portion of the grill pointing towards the inside of the case.Things You Need To Know Before You Connect And Use The Sabrent Docking Station1. Insert your hard drive and connect all the cables to the case and your PC before you power it on.2. Turn off the power to the case before you disconnect the hard drive or cables.Note: Once you have powered down the docking station, you do not need to turn your computer off to disconnect it. Think of the docking station as a flash drive you have to power on to use and power off to disconnect.Some Useful Hints You Need To Read Before You Begin This Modification1. Don' t be in a hurry.2. Be careful when you pry open the bottom of the case. If you slip with the knife, you'll scratch it.3. It will be easier to remove the bottom of the case if you use a small, stiff wire that you have formed into a "J-style" hook and slide it into one of the holes left by the removal of screws. Pull up on it as you pry open the base. (A paper clip works great.)IMPORTANT — PLEASE READ:Before you put everything back together, take the appropriate screws (Flat Head or Pan) and semi-install them into the holes in the posts that hold the fan and the rubber feet in place. SCREW THEM IN ONLY HALF WAY to avoid stripping out the plastic threads and then remove them. Doing that, presets the screw hole and makes it easier for you to reinsert them when you do the final installation of the rubber feet and fan grill. However, be careful not to over-tighten them. To work properly, they only need to be tightened to the point that they are snug.One final note, when not in use, turn off your Sabrent Docking Station. It will help extend the life of your hard drives.It's just a guess, but I believe this modification almost triples the air flow — keeping your hard drive nice and cool. That's important if you have tons of data to transfer, as hard drives can get very hot if not properly cooled.By the way, the largest drive I have used in these docking stations is a 10 terabyte drive. So far, they have worked flawlessly.

After my 6 year old computer faltered, I needed a way to access my internal drives to save the data.My PC would not start up, and all I got was a black screen.I created a bootable disk with the operating system on an external SSD and managed to start the device, but it would not recognize my 2 SATA internal drives.Since one was an SSD and the other a traditional hard drive, I wanted an external enclosure that would accept both.The Sabrent was the perfect choice. Once my drives unmounted and connected to the Sabrent, I was able to view the data on each of them, and save it to another computer.The Sabrent comes with a power supply and a USB 3 cable (compatible with USB 2). Once you have unmounted your drive from the computer, simply slip it into the Sabrent, and it works like an external drive. No tools needed.You can turn the Sabrent on or off, but it will go in sleep mode after a certain period of inactivity.It has a fan to keep things from overheating. At no time did I feel the drive was getting too hot.Simple but great little tool!

Works as advertised - great device to help with upgrading / switching computer system hardware.

The unit has been working flawlessly so far. After successful testing by transferring massive files and also thousands of small files, I am using a 2.5" disk from a kaput laptop in it for recording tv. First tested with a 3.5" disk and also tested with a 2.5" SSD.A fan is a good idea, but this implementation is severely lacking.1. As noted in other comments, the feet on the enclosure leave it so close to the supporting surface that there is not much room for the air outflow.2. As noted in other comments, the screens on either side of the fan are quite dense, limiting air flow.3. The only place for air inflow to the enclosure (assuming the lid is down) is a space at the very bottom of the unit between the lid and the tray. The space is there primarily to allow a 3.5" disk to be slid onto the tray. (Well, at least there is the possibility to leave the lid open).4. The drive sits immediately against the flat bottom of the tray. There is no space to allow air to flow under it to be output via the fan.A 2.5" drive is small enough that a significant portion of the fan input area is exposed. But air will come in at the bottom end and go out the fan, mostly bypassing the drive, just cooling that corner.A 3.5" drive covers the tray and the fan completely, blocking input air. So the fan would seem to just be stirring up air against the bottom center of the drive. Better than nothing, but not a lot.For the manufacturer to make the fan far more useful, if it stays located on the tray:1. The tray bottom and sides should be molded to provide airways below the drive to the fan.2. There should be access to input air above the drive such that air can flow around it.3. The feet on the device should be a somewhat higher for better outflow.4. Make the screens around the fan less dense to allow more airflow.

If you have a serial hard disk drive you need to access, this is definately the way to go. Easy to use and install hard drives.