Question 1

Picture has no individual power or cloning buttons like the USB 2.0 unit. How do you control cloning and/or individual HD access as well as HD power?

Accepted Answer

The StarTech USB 3 based hard drive duplicator has a rocker type power button on the back of the case, like the power button on the power supply of a desktop PC.  Flip one way, its off, flip the other way, it's on.  The lights on the front come on, when power is turned on.  On the front of the case, at the lower right is a Clone button.  It is small, so that users won't accidentally press it.  To start cloning of hard drives, two drives must be inserted in the unit, and the user must press and hold down the Clone button for about 3-4 seconds for cloning to start.  There is a similar sized (but recessed) Erase button on the back of the case.  When it is pressed and held for 3-4 second, erasing will begin on any hard drive that is inserted in the duplicator.  Erasing will occur for either slot.  The button is recessed, so that accidental erasing will not occur.  Hard drive access for file reading or writing can be done by plugging a USB 3 cable (provided) into the back of the case in the USB 3 port, and also to a desktop or notebook PC.  The front lights will become activity lights for the individual hard drives inserted into the duplicator unit.  Access to the hard drives is by the normal Windows Explorer, or other software on a PC that the duplicator is connected to.  This way, after cloning, a hard drive may be updated by manual or automatic means from the hard drive in a PC, without installing it physically into the PC.  I only use my cloned drives as emergency backup hard drives, in case of hard drive failures or in the event of file corruption, and keep all of my data backed up, manually and automatically on portable drives, connected to the same PC, and stored both on site, and off site.

Question 2

Anyone tried cloning a win8 Drive. My old startech duplicator won't do it.

Accepted Answer

I have been successful in doing a clone of windows 8-8.1. I first downloaded the apk from M.S. on the source drive. There's complete instructions on how to do this on their website  (as of a yr ago*). 
MS has a clone type install for 7(All) and 8-8.1 All versions. I don't know about Win10... As long as you have a M.B with the built-in key, I have been able to get a "free OS" on a new hard drive. I hope this helps someone else out there- Questions? Ask pls...

Question 3

Is this unit backward compatable with USB 2.0?

Accepted Answer

Yes it is BUT remember that usb 2.0 only transfers at at top speed of 480 Mbps. So even tho this unit has a USB 3.0 connector capable of tranfering data at a max of 5 Gbps,  if it then gets connected to a USB 2.0 connector then it will only transfer data at the USB 2.0 connector speed of 480 Mbps speed. Yes, It IS backward compatable but at the much lower & much slower 480 Mbps speed !

Question 4

Does it do the dod erase?

Accepted Answer

That would be awesome, but no.

Material	Plastic
Item weight	1.08 kg
Memory storage capacity	4 TB
Compatible devices	Laptop, PC
Hard disk form factor	2.5 Inches
Max number of supported devices	4
Data transfer rate	573.44 Megabits Per Second
Global Trade Identification Number	00065030843881, 00172302685732, 00666670087606
Manufacturer	StarTech
UPC	650308438816 999996648641 172302685732 163120772483 934818656039 777785636006 666670087606 029126821733 806291854724 132017581842 763615974660 803982821645 012951717531 753030679073 999997081812 778889435717 065030843881 851975716362 012303193631 168141459382 012304316480 320127556564
Product Dimensions	28.45 x 17.27 x 9.65 cm; 1.08 kg
Batteries	1 AAAA batteries required.
Item model number	SATDOCK4U3RE
Series	SATDOCK4U3RE
Form Factor	3.5 inches
Processor Brand	Refer_Manual
Processor Type	Unknown
Processor Count	1
Hard Drive Interface	Serial ATA
Voltage	12
Wattage	78 watts
Power Source	AC
Operating System	Windows 2000/ XP(32/64-bit)/ Server 2003(32/64-bit)/ Vista(32/64-bit)/ 7(32/64-bit)/ Server 2008 R2, Mac OS X, Linux
Battery description	110 - 240 VAC
Are Batteries Included	No
Lithium Battery Packaging	Batteries contained in equipment
Lithium Battery Weight	6 kg
Number Of Lithium Ion Cells	4
Item Weight	1.08 kg
Guaranteed software updates until	unknown

SATDOCK4U3RE

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