My $60 external enclosure killed 3 hard drives before I caught on

Bought some cheap Sabrent enclosure off Amazon because I needed to pull data from an old laptop drive. Took out 3 drives across 2 months before a buddy tested the voltages and found it was pumping 13v down the 5v rail. Anyone else run into a shady enclosure that killed their gear?

2 comments

2 Comments

emma_mitchell7d ago

before a buddy tested the voltages and found it was pumping 13v down the 5v rail" that is just wild... honestly it reminds me of how careless so much stuff is these days. I bought a cheap phone charger off Amazon once that almost melted a charging cable in my car. It's like there's no quality control at all on these cheap enclosures and chargers and stuff, people just throw parts together and hope nobody notices until the return window is closed. Three drives though... man that's brutal, I'd be so mad. I've started testing everything with a multimeter before I even plug it into my gear now, especially stuff from no name brands. It's a shame you can't trust basic electronics to not fry your stuff anymore.

kai5647d ago

Yeah that's rough. Always check the PSU sticker first before plugging stuff in. Learned that one the hard way too.