Three Computers In One.
Written: Apr 13 '03
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Security, Peace Of Mind.
Cons: Installation
The Bottom Line: Buy it for peace of mind. To keep current backups.
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| mfarris2's Full Review: VICTORY MULTIMEDIA ROMTEC TRIOS RX-910T6 MANUAL BO... |
Let me first say I build computers as a hobby for friends and family.
I first discovered the Romtec Trios Drive selector about two years ago. I have since STRONGLY recommended them to each friend I have and will build computers for.
They are useful in several different ways.
With the push of a button,...you can boot from a different hard drive. You can have up to three different operating systems on one computer if you like. Or you can have a separate operating system (Like a separate computer) for each member of the family. Or what I really like is to have a complete back up of your computer on an separate hard drive.
You can use one hard drive as your main hard drive. Install, uninstall, do updates,...ETC on the one main hard drive. Then when you have had several days to make sure you do not have any system conflicts,...with the flick of a button during start up you can switch to the back up hard drive. You can then install only what you know works. Thus keeping your back up hard drive current and up to date.
I love this feature, as people who I build computers for are always messing up the operating system. Thus with a few quick cable connections using one hard drive as master and one as slave. And using Norton Ghost,....we are back up and running in less than two hours with all software still installed.
(One quick note. Using the NEW Romtec Trios 2 may not even need cables switched around to do this. More on the Trios 2 later in this review.)
Installation of the Romtec Trios is fairly straight forward. The drive selector takes up one large drive bay in your computer case. One IDE cable connects to IDE #1 on your motherboard,...then connects to the Drive Selector. The Drive Selector then has three IDE cables that connect to each of your (up to three) hard drives. You then connect one of the small (Floppy disk style) power supply plugs into the Drive Selector. Then plug the supplied power out cable to the drive selector and into each hard drive.
The IDE connections on the Drive Selector are put together very closely. So they are troublesome to connect,...but can be done with some patience. All IDE cables and the power out cable is supplied with the Drive Selector.
One thing to watch is your cable routing, as now you have additional cables and need to be aware of air travel as not to over heat your computer.
The tech support can only be discribed as EXCELLENT. I recently called and was told the specialist was not at work that day. He had some things he had to do at home. But they freely volunteered his home phone number and I called and was given support from his home. (Although I had to pay long distance charges for that call.)
One good safety feature is that you cannot accidentally change hard drives while the system is up and running. You can push the buttons all you want and nothing happens unless the power is completely shut down.
The one thing I have noticed is that these units seem to last only about two years. I recently had to replace two of my original units. One just completely failed and the other started failing to start up on one of my three hard drives.
This time I purchased the Romtec Trios 2 Drive Selectors.
There are several noticeable differences. One there is no large drive bay being used. Another feature is the need to use up one PCI slot. But this is helpful as I can put the card very low in the computer case. Thus keeping the cables very low and out of the air flow path. It also does not use the Floppy Drive power supply type plug. It actually used an ATX Jumper that plugs directly into your motherboard.
Another feature is the ability to start up using two hard drives. I think this will allow me to use Norton Ghost to Copy one hard drive to another without ever opening the case. (I have not tried this yet,....but it looks promising.)
The control for the Trios 2 is a small panel that you can stick using double sided tape anywhere.)
A word of caution though. If you own a Western Digital 30 or 40 Gig hard drive. The Trios 2 will not work for you. (Will work with the original Trios Drive Selector) I had to Norton Ghost to a Western Digital 60 Gig. I had no problems with Maxtor and IBM Hard drives as well. I also have Western Digital 120 Gig SE hard drives and have had no problems. Support specified the WD 30 and 40 Gig hard drives as trouble some with the Trios 2.
All in all,...this is a life saver and gives me peace of mind. I have over twelve hours of software installation to do a fresh install. Now I can copy everything over in less than two hours while watching TV most of that time.
Asked would I recommend it,.......If I built your computer and am going to help you if you get into trouble,..........NO,.....I INSIST on it!
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
mfarris2
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Reviews written: 29
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