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AcomData E5 HybridDrive External Hard Drive

I hate getting cheated too, but actually, every hard drive needs to allocate a certain amount of its space to the directory of files so it can find stuff, and if you plan to create lots of files especially with long names (multiplying the permutations for storage), you need to allocate more. This can be controlled manually using old fashioned DOS commands (look up the Microsoft support page). Your computer may be allocating more than you need but it should be proportional to the amount of space--more for a larger drive; a 250 GB drive will allocate only 232 GB to actual content, a 320 GB drive 298 GB (that is, 4 GB more to the index). If you don't believe me, reformat a drive and create partitions of unequal size, and you'll see the files system will cut a proportional amount from each of your partitions. Pretty odd way for fraudsters to work.

Say, anyone reading this know how to troubleshoot the SATA PCI card that comes with Acomdata's E5 250 GB external SATA drive (not eSATA, has internal SATA connections used externally)? I had to move the PCI card to another slot to Acomdate a dual monitor AGP card, and now the card is not detected at all, though the drive itself works fine if connected to the SATA motherboard connectors. I tried uninstalling and reinstalling the Dura Micro RAID controller and SATA adapter, even installing manually, but I get an exclamation point over the SATA adapter in Windows XP device manager, indicating that it is not working. Acomdata says try moving your card but I can't switch any of the other cards--the SATA cables are too short and my audio card has an odd cable coming out of it.

Claude Steinberg
Thu, 04 Oct 2007 05:11:32 +0000

Any idea where I might be able to get an extra AC adapter? The first time I used my hard drive, I heard a pop and it stopped working. I believe it's the AC adapter, since the light on the adapter doesn't come on when plugged in. This looks like a nice drive but it's useless if I can't replace the adapter.

Thanks for any info,
Ray

Ray
Sat, 17 Nov 2007 15:48:05 +0000

Sounds like your drive is under warranty. Why not just return it and replace it with a new one. I think it's easier than getting a new AC adapter. Otherwise, I'm sure you can get a replacement AC adapter directly from Acomdata.

Chieh Cheng
Sat, 17 Nov 2007 16:41:38 +0000

I did not get the Welcome screen when plugging in mine. None of your screen shots look familiar. I am not sure what's going on. I am on an XP computer. I don't even see the driver listed in Device Manager.

I have not been able to pull up a welcome screen, nor management menu to do the other stuff. Any ideas?

Sean
Sat, 26 Apr 2008 02:07:09 +0000

Did it ever worked before? You turned it on and the light on the front came on right? Maybe it's defective. Try it on a different computer, if you got one. Or maybe return it and try another one.

By the way, how fast is your computer? On my newer computer, the recognition is almost instant. On my 500 MHz Windows XP laptop, it takes almost a minute for the computer to recognize the drive.

Chieh Cheng
Sat, 26 Apr 2008 17:53:03 +0000

For a few years now, MB 'officially' means one million bytes (decimal). GB means a billion (10^9). So the manufacturers are legal.
To mean 2^10 (what used to be a kB) you say 1 KiB, or 1 kibibyte. (bi means binary and the Ki is so you can pronounce it, I think). So, for 2^20 bytes, say 1 MiB, for 2^30, 1 GiB (1 gibibyte). See www.nist.gov.

Ken McFarlane
Sun, 13 Sep 2009 04:18:58 +0000

Acomdata has relatively convoluted RMA requirements. See the following:
"1. No RMA Service without a copy of the sales receipt or invoice. No credit card statements will be accepted. RMA Service will be honored only to the original purchaser. No RMA service on non-Acomdata authorized re-sellers...
8. In the event that the drive mechanism fails and needs to be replaced our technical support will contact the End-User via: phone/e-mail to ask permission if not previously stated. Since Acomdata is not responsible for data loss, if there is no response from the End-User within 30 days the unit will be shipped back unrepaired regardless if it's still under the warranty period."

Let me point out the extreme stupidity of #8 if it's not obvious. (In all my days as a computer tech, I have never seen anything like this before.) I never recieved their original email that I was supposed to get--I don't know if it got caught in a spam filter somewhere or what. So if they send me an email before repairing my defective drive and I don't get it, they will ship the drive back unrepaired. Then, I have to go through the hassle again and pay shipping costs again. And don't you dare lose your original receipt for this drive! Otherwise, the piece of crap will be completely wasted when it fails. And don't forget what a problem you'll have if the place you bougt it from isn't an official "authorized reseller." As an insider in the industry, I can say that I would NOT recommend hard drives from this company no matter how cheap they are.

Nate
Tue, 03 Nov 2009 21:14:06 +0000

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