IDE to USB 2 adapter

thewolfe · Post by **thewolfe** » Mon Sep 20, 2010 3:17 pm

Will the above work on a computer that only has USB 1?

The machine is a Dell 4400. Does it matter whether I plug the USB in the front or the back?

Also I can see it under Disk drives in the Device Mgr.

Got another drive to work.

Krom · Post by **Krom** » Mon Sep 20, 2010 3:57 pm

Yeah it'll work over USB1 but it will be quite slow.

thewolfe · Post by **thewolfe** » Mon Sep 20, 2010 4:56 pm

Thanks. I'm trying Darik's Boot and Nuke on a machine with only USB 1. But wouldn't be devastated if I nuked something I shouldn't.

I have a Dell laptop with Firewire but need to play with the Boot & Nuke before using it on my \"everyday\" laptop.

Grendel · Post by **Grendel** » Mon Sep 20, 2010 6:30 pm

If the port works w/ USB thumb drives it will work w/ an IDE interface (same thing from USBs POV).

Technically it won't work on USB 1.0. The IDE interface uses so called USB bulk endpoints that are only supported in USB 2.0. This can be USB 2.0 full speed tho, which is most likely what you have -- you should get these annoying \"this device could work faster\" messages when you plug in a USB thumb drive.

Krom · Post by **Krom** » Mon Sep 20, 2010 6:55 pm

It should also be noted that DBAN has to write random numbers to the entire drive three times over (in order to reach DOD level security), which over USB1.x will take forever and a week on larger drives. So basically if you want this done sometime within your lifespan you should find an old desktop with SATA and IDE ports that you can use as a DBAN machine.

thewolfe · Post by **thewolfe** » Mon Sep 20, 2010 7:49 pm

Good point Krom. I'll look for a machine I can leave the side off of. This Dell I'm using opens like a \"clam shell\". A real pain.