Need More Storage for Your Laptop? The Drive Dock USB-C Dual Drive Bay Is the Answer
An inexpensive Way To Add Hard Drives To Your Laptop When At Home
A laptop can be a “desktop” computer for when you’re home as well as a portable one to take when you go out. But unlike a desktop which can add inexpensive high storage capacity internal hard drives, a laptop must instead rely on smaller capacity, more expensive drives. But OWC’s Drive Dock USB-C Dual Drive Bay lets you use these internal hard drives as if they were external ones that came in a case. The procedure is simple and the way it works with your laptop is truly ”plug and play.”
How The Drive Dock Works
The Drive Dock is a square box sans with its own power supply and two slots on top. Each slot can accommodate a 2.5” or 3.5” hard drive which would normally go inside a desktop computer. The Drive Dock doesn’t care what the physical size of the hard drive is or how much storage it is able to hold (expressed as gigabytes, for example a 500 gigabyte hard drive), but it does have to be a specific type of drive. The type of hard drive that can be used is called SATA, and this is a recent technology that makes for a fast drive — here “fast” refers to the speed in which data can be transferred from the hard drive to the computer (up to 981MB/s).
Each of the two hard drive slots are accompanied by their own power switch and LED indicator. Further down is the all-important interface that connects the Drive Dock to the laptop (or desktop, should you want to do so). USB-C (aka USB 3.1 Gen 2) is the data transfer method being used; this requires not just a compatible USB cable to be used (supplied), but also that the laptop has a compatible input to be plugged into (the laptop must have USB-C built into its hardware as this can not be updated or upgraded later on). As mentioned, the power supply is internal but it is also universal in that it can work in any country — i.e., wherever a wall outlet can be found.
Set Up and Use
Set up takes just a few minutes and, once done, the Drive Dock can be left as is for use at any time. Plugged in for power and connected to the laptop, you turn on whichever slot you want to use (or both). You then take the hard drive that you want to use and insert its end into the slot (spending a few minutes looking at the illustrations provided will show you how to do this properly). Push down on the drive to make a good connection and you’lol hear a mild whirring sound indicating that the drive is spinning up to speed. If the laptop is already on, you should shortly see an icon that shows the drive has been recognized. You can now treat the hard drive in the usual fashion by clicking on it, etc.
To remove the drive you go through the same procedure on as you would with any drive. Once you hear that the drive has stopped spinning, you can just grab and pull it straight out or leave it as is and turn off the Dock. A word of warning: static electricity can be damaging to a hard drive (especially an internal model as it doesn’t come inside a protective case), so be aware of this should you be walking or working on a rug or in weather conditions that promote static (there are simple solutions to avoid this found online, but in general the idea is to touch metal so as to discharge any static electricity on your person before handling a drive).
A Simple Soluton That Saves You Money
The Drive Dock USB-C Dual Drive Bay retails for under $119.00 and lets you add internal hard drives in a non-invasive and cost-effective manner and doesn’t require any knowledge of how computers work. Those looking for a simple way to add storage capabilities when using their laptop at home without having to spend a lot to do so should find this very attractive.
