ioddIodd2531 - USB3.0 - HDD - SSD - Virtual CD-ROM - Enclosures - Made in Korea … (1 Unit/lot)

Awesome! This is an incredibly useful product that has done away with CD/DVD drives. I have all my useful ISO's in one place and no longer need to worry about scratched disks. It works great, and makes clean installs of operating systems. It also is great for using the Acronis TrueImage bootdisc for backups and restores of computers.I must say that this case is the best purchase I've ever done. I work doing many system reinstalls, diagnostics tests from live cd's (now images thanks to the case), and that kind of stuff. I used to have tons of DVD's and CD's all over the place because it's the simplest approach, since having tons of USB flash drives with all my software just doesn't quite get the job done and doing bootable drives is a nightmare for some programs.However, the virtual drive function of this enclosure is worth multiple times the price you'll pay for it. Basically, you throw your ISO images into a folder on the drive, and after a quick rescan, they appear on the menu. You can then use the rocker switch on the side to select the ISO file you want, and it gets presented to the computer as if it were a CD-ROM. It is so nice to be able to boot an ISO image right from the device and it is super fast on USB 3.0 as well.I do not have words for how useful this is! Not only is reading the CD data off of a hard drive much faster than reading off of a real disc, but you can carry your entire disc collection with you in this small package. If you're an IT guy, this is a must have item. If you're not, you can still copy your discs onto the drive and stash the originals away safely. I highly recommend this Iodd 2531 VE300.

This is a really cool product and it works great.I got this one because I liked the minimalist look, as opposed to the big keypads on the 2541 and Mini (and I didn’t care about the hardware encryption in those models) But with the very minimal UI on the 2531 (one-line screen and a single up/down/in button), it can be hard to remember how to do some of the actions (“eject the virtual fixed hard disk and return to normal mode”). I’ve needed to keep the quick start guide handy to use as a cheat sheet.

A nice usb attached file based cd/dvd-rom emulator. It let's you "emulate" a real physical cd/dvd (read-only) optical disk drive. The case has a small electronics section with a multi-line backlit LCD panel that produces pixelated symbols, graphics and text. The "jog switch" on the Left side of the unit allows thumb control up, down, and momentary press into the body of the device. The "jog switch" allows scrolling through a two line text menu which displays wrapped text if items have labels that are too long. Then pressing in on the "jog switch" selects the item. - The device arrives without a hard drive, it will take a spinning drive, or an ssd. The software requires the drive be formatted as a "simple" MBR volume, and not a GPT volume. Once the volume type is chosen, the drive can be divided into partitions and formatted with a file system. The enclosure electronics only support NTFS and FAT file systems. The device can function (both) as a USB hard disk, and as a USB CD/DVD-rom drive "simultaneously" or as one or the other (HDD or CD/DVD) "exclusively". Once the drive is formatted creating a folder called _iso and putting iso files into the folder activates the ability to "mount" the iso files in emulation mode. The first time after the _iso directory is created the device must be unplugged and replugged in, so that the device sees the _iso folder and starts in "dual HDD and CD/DVD-rom emulation mode". Once in dual mode the LCD screen lists the iso files it can see in the _iso folder. Scrolling up and down the list with the "jog switch" then selecting one by pressing into the body of the device with the jog switch.. automatically mounts the selected iso file and exposes the file as virtual CD/DVD physical media to the computer. In dual mode, the computer "lists" a USB hard drive and a virtual USB CD/DVD drive (empty), pressing the jog switch to "mount" an iso file is reflected on the computer as "actively inserting a CD/DVD" physical media piece into the virtual drive, and will activate Autoplay. Pressing again on the jog switch emulates "actively ejecting a CD/DVD" physical media piece from the virtual drive. The Last virtual CD/DVD "mounted" is remembered when the device is unplugged and plugged back into the computer.. this is called "saving".. which means "save the current state of the device to memory".. so that when it starts again.. it immediately mounts and exports the iso file as a "filled CD/DVD virtual device" with bootable media already in its slot. The silver switch on top of the device is called the "Backup" button.. which means.. "backup the current state of the device to the device memory, before unplugging it" in my experience it remembers state without doing this.. but if you do press the Silver top button and hold it down long enough the LCD displays "Data Saving..." as a confirmation. Microsoft VHD and RMD read/write formats are also supported, but I have not tried those. WindowsToGo is supposed to be supported but I have not tried that yet. A virtual CD/DVD-R burn function to allow a computer to burn virtual media would be helpful, but the current software does not emulate read/write media that looks like a piece of CD-R or DVD-R media. It comes with a black neoprene carry case wrapped in black fabric. It also comes a white USB cable that is 3 feet long, has a USB 3.0 micro-B style end (not a type C) [this is the split, dual sided connector that looks sort of like a mini-SATA connector] that plugs into the top of the device and a normal size type A connector on the opposing end to plug into a computer. The internal drive connector is a normal SATA drive style connector with power and signal sides. The case does not have a facility for mounting the drive, the drive is plugged in and shoved into the case and held in place by friction and a landing zone at the bottom made of plastic that works to center the drive in the case. The case display and electronics are bolted into position by "peeling" the flexible top of the rubber strips on eithr side away from the grooves to get access to screw holes in the side of the case. The electronics package with the drive attached is shoved into the case until the copper accented holes of the electronics packages line up with the holes in the case. A minature screw driver 1 inch long and four tiny screws are provided.. however you only need two to secure the drive electronics to the sides of the case.. and by association, with the entering plastic base inside the case for the user supplied SSD or spinning drive.. the drive is also secured. The rubber strips are then "pressed" back into the sides to cover up the screw access holes used to secure the electronics package. Because the ends of the rubber strips are narrower than the main body of the rubber strips they flex underneath the groove edges and smooth out of their own accord. Advanced menus contain a LCD panel brightness, USB volt meter, Drive model and serial number and manual mode control. Some antivirus suites will (hide) the HDD by default, and it must be manually forced (online) from the Windows Computer Management > Disk Management - control panel component, by right clicking the Left drive grey control box and clicking on (Online) to bring it online and automatically assign it a drive letter. Hot swap and possible data corruption depending on the Operating System handling of USB devices is still a problem enforced by the Operating System behavior. The enclosure Advanced menus do provide features to manually Safely disconnect.. but mostly it just seems to work. The GPT volume limitation, and requirement for MBR volumes only.. means 2 TB is the (limit) to the supported drive size in this device, anything larger will be be unreachable outside of the first 2 TB of drive space. This drive model is not encrypted, data is breachable if lost. A different model supports on the fly drive encryption.

I don't know how I've lived so long without this. Screws for drive installation are in the carry bag, I almost missed them. Setup was a breeze and now I've got over 20 OS builds, multiple versions of Linux, and all my boot disk tools on one simple device. My only issue is that it doesn't use a standard micro-usb cable, but the data+power style. Did come with a name-brand cable though. Another complaint was that the carry case it comes with won't fit the cable as well, and is so tight that I feel like if I used it a lot it would damage the jog wheel on the side. Don't hesitate just buy!

Awesome product, I own a computer store and we use them for the bench, bought 1 and then a second.....

I have the Zalman ZM-VE300 and the ZM-VE200 before that. The jog wheel failed on the 200 and now the USB 3 connector is intermittent on the 300. Both were incredibly useful devices if you need the ability mount or boot any device from DVD (install operating system, disk tools etc) and to be able to add an ISO image to the device, limited only by the size of the standard 2.5" laptop Sata disk you install.The device is a disk caddy (you need to add a laptop sized HDD/SSD), that can present itself as a Hard Disk drive (HDD), an Optical Disk Drive (ODD - CD/DVD etc) or both concurrently. The Optical Images are stored as .ISO files in a special directory called _ISO on the HDD. You can add/delete the images in this directory from your PC when the device is connected in HDD mode. With the device in ODD mode, use the jog wheel to scroll down the list of ISO files and push to mount.When the 300 failed I looked for a replacement and found Zalman devices were no longer produced. The IODD looked the same, so worth a punt! Turns out it IS the same - and a closer inspection of the Zalman ZM-VE300 shows that the circuit board was made by IODD (take a look)!! It looks as if the only difference was the firmware which displayed the Zalman brand name.Based on my experience and comments from other posters, the device needs to be treated gently as the mechanical components are prone to fail otherwise. This is the only device that I have found with the functionality, so I will have to make it past. Shame you cannot buy spare 'heads'!! It is overpriced for what it is, especially given the perceived quality, but that is a price I will pay for its functionality - and it fits in the more robust Zalman sleeve (the IODD comes with a fabric sleeve)Hope this helps anyone else who has a faulty Zalman, needs reassurance that this is a viable replacement and has not heard of IODD (their web presented is at IODD.KR)

Tenía una cantidad de imágenes ISO y cada vez que necesitaba una tenía que instalarla en un pendrive para usarlas. Hasta ahora!! He copiado todas esas imágenes a un disco duro SSD que compré y santo remedio.He probado con ISOs de varias distribuciones linux (arch, lubuntu, deepin, etc), android (AOSP, x86, Plasma, etc), forenses y windows y con todas he podido iniciar diferentes dispositivos. Incluso con imágenes de pendrives y también ha funcionado.También he probado a leerlo como unidad USB y como CD una vez iniciado el sistema operativo y sin problemas. Realmente ha sido una compra fenomenal para mí. Ahora puedo probar cual distro va mejor en un equipo simplemente seleccionado la imagen ISO al iniciarlo.Si te ha resultado útil, espero que dejes tu voto :-)

Das Gehäuse ist der Wahnsinn.Das Gehäuse besteht aus Aluminium, somit hält es einen kleinen Sturz auch mal aus.In dem Gehäuse ist Platz für eine 2,5" HDD oder SSD, man kann auch wie ich eine mSATA in ein Adaptergehäuse packen und die dann in das iodd Gehäuse packen, funktioniert auch ohne Probleme.Als ich das Teil das erste mal genutzt habe, dachte ich mir nur: "Wie konnte ich die letzten Jahre nur ohne das Teil überleben?" Nagut so schlimm ist es jetzt dann nicht :DAber... Das teil ist einfach Spitze, man legt auf der Platte einfach einen Ordner an und nennt ihn "_iso" dort packt man all die CD/DVD Images ab die man oft braucht, z.b Windows 10 Setup, Bootbare Backupsoftware..... egal was auch immer. Über den kleinen Wippschalter an der Seite kann man die Dateien dann in ein "Virtuelles CD Laufwerk" legen und der PC erkennt es als Optisches Medium in einem Optischen Laufwerk.Außerdem kann man zwischen 3 Modis umschalten:Dualmodus -> HDD sowie Optisches Laufwerk (ODD) stehen zur VerfügungHDD Modus -> nur die HDD steht zur VerfügungCD Mode -> Nur das ODD steht zur VerfügungUm zwischen den Modis hin und her zu schalten muss man nur den Wippschalter ein paar Sekunden gedrückt halten.Auf dem Kleinen Display werden alle Informationen angezeigt, z.b Welcher USB Modus genutzt wird (3.0, 2.0 oder 1.1)Ob die Virtuelle CD eingelegt ist (kann man mit einem kurzen druck auf den Wippschalter ein und auslegen),in welchem Modus sich das Gerät befindet (HDD, CD oder Dual)Bisher hatte ich nur bei einem Älteren PC Probleme das alte XP Setup über das Virtuelle Laufwerk zu starten, das denke ich kann ich aber dem Alten PC zu lasten legen und nicht dem Gehäuse, denn mit Aktuellen OS und PCs funktioniert das bestens.Als Schwachstelle sehe ich den kleinen Wippschalter, hier wären vllt. Tasten an der Oberseite besser als so ein kleiner Schalter.Als Beigabe gibt es noch eine Praktische Stoffhülle in der man das Gehäuse aufbewahren kann.Zusammenfassung:+ Virtuelles CD Laufwerk+ Einfache Bedienung+ Funktioniert sehr guto Wippschalter---------------------------------+ Positivo Neutral- Negativ

BonjourJe ne regrette pas mon achat en effet j’ai acheté ce boitier pour éviter de me trimbaler des tas de clef USB outils, Linux et Windows ce boitier est très simple d’utilisation et possède trois :- mode dual le boitier donne la possibilité d’émuler un live ISO et de bénéficier de l’accès au dd- le mode single CD c’est juste le live ISO- le mode single DD ou la cela fonctionne comme un boitier classiquePersonnellement j’emplois le mode single CD seulement quand je wipe un disque dur afin que le processus ne m’efface pas les données du disqueSatisfait du produit