Hi, The problem I have is that i have a pc with a SATA mobo, I have an internal SATA HD in the pc. What i want to do is buy another SATA HD but i want to fit it to an external enclosure. I would like it to be a 5.25 enclosure so that i could also fit a DVD-RW into the enclosure at times when i would have the new HD out of the enclosure and inside my pc(i have a spare SATA connector free on the mobo). The reason i want this is that im away from home and i want to purchase a DVD-RW and HD to use on my girlfriends pc, it doesnt have any free drivebays and its an old mobo (no sata connectors). Iv searched through hardware sites and i have only found one sata 5.25 external drive. Where the confusion sets in is that if i want to use the DVD-RW in the enclosure aswel as a SATA HD, I will need an IDE to SATA convertor to be able to plug the DVD-RW into the enclosure. The SATA enclosure i saw is black and i would much prefer an aluminium/silver enclosure. I thought of just buying an IDE HD and IDE enclosure as they are popular and easy to get, but whats the point when i already use SATA on my own machine. Can anyone refer me to somewhere i can buy a SATA 5.25 external enclosure or think of any other ways i can get around this? I think using an enclosure would be the ideal way for me to make my media portable, which i need really for to be able to use it on my girlfriends pc. Any ideas would be welcomed, Cheers

I would doubt such an enclosure exists. There ould need to be two different controllers inside. You would be better off using an IDE Harddrive in the external enclosure. Any speed advantage the SATA had is lost once you start transferring across USB or firewire cables. I just put together exactly what you want last week. Right now I am just using it for the IDE HD but I wanted the option to install an optical drive. The one advantage of the bigger exclosure is the drive should stay cooler. Mine came from CompUSA. My son works there. That makes it less money. Mine has a fan in it too. I just realised that you may think you must have a SATA external drive because the internal drive is SATA. That isn't the case.

They do exist! They may be a little awkward to hook up since computers normally do not have any external connectors for SATA. 3.5" Serial ATA External SATA Hard Drive Mobile Storage Enclosure Case with Cooling Fan and Anti-Shock Design: SE720 $42.99 http://www.xpcgear.com/satase720.html

I know SATA external exclosures exist. What I thought probably didn't exist was a 5.25" External enclosure that would accept a SATA HD OR an IDE DVDRW. I also know that there is at least one manufacturer making SATA burners. The point is this, why spend the extra money for anything SATA here when the USB connection will bog the thing down anyway. I was thinking maybe the poster thought that because the internal drive is SATA that the external had to be SATA also.

Thanks for your replys, I already knew that when the SATA HD is in the enclosure i wont get the speed of SATA because it will obviosuly be firewire or usb. (Although i have seen sites in the uk selling enclosures that u can connect to a SATA PCI card etc). The thing is, its fine that i could get a 5.25 IDE enclosure and buy and IDE HD as they are cheaper but i dont wana do that because im planning to plug that HD internally into my main PC which has one SATA connector free (the HD i have in there is also SATA) So if i buy an IDE HD il have one of each, i want to stick to SATA. Theres plenty IDE to SATA converters but no SATA to IDE ones, that would solve all my problems. I cant see why a SATA to IDE wouldnt work in theory. Any more ideas would be helpful. Thanks

Here is the missing part from my previous post. This bracket has a cable that provides an external connection needed for an external SATA hard drive. SATA External Port Pass-Through Bracket Extention for SE720 Enclosure Allows you to connect our External SATA Enclosures to your exisiting SATA Port! $9.99 http://www.xpcgear.com/sataptbracket.html