Today we would like to present to your attention the Zalman ZM-SHE350 external box with the function digital password to access the hard drive. This compact solution protects your data and makes it easier for you to work with your personal data. Excellent price, nice design, compact size, all this allows you to attract the attention of buyers. Let's get to know the device a little closer and start the review.
Zalman ZM-SHE350
How often do you use portable media? USB flash drives? Personally, our experience shows that portable HDD It is simply necessary in your work, because all the necessary and important information is always with you, because it is very convenient and practical. But there are often cases when strangers try to steal this data by copying it to their own Personal Computer or laptop.We recently came across a very interesting device, the Zalman ZM-SHE350. This is an external housing that looks like an entrance intercom, but in fact its function is completely different - to protect your data on the HDD. How does this happen? Everything is very simple, but before we look at the functions and operation of the device, let's take a look at the package and external design.
Zalman ZM-SHE350 review
Contents of delivery
The device comes in a small premium clear packaging that allows you to read all necessary information and get acquainted with the characteristics of the Zalman ZM-SHE350. The package includes:- Myself Zalman body ZM-SHE350
- USB 3.0 cable for power and data transfer
- Operation book
- Rubber insert for increased thickness hard drive
- Compact case
The device comes with everything you need for full operation. Small additional bonuses, such as a cover and a special rubber insert to increase the width of the HDD, if necessary, I cannot but please my customers.
Characteristics
- External box - Zalman ZM-SHE350
- 2.5-inch supported SATA drives. Maximum thickness (depth) of HDD is 9.5 mm.
- Interfaces of connected HDDs - SATA III, SATA-I/SATA-II
- PC connection interface - USB 3.0/USB 2.0
- Case material - plastic
- OS support - Linux, Mac OS, Microsoft Windows 2000, Microsoft Windows 7, Microsoft Windows 8, Microsoft Windows Vista,Microsoft Windows XP
- Dimensions (l/w/h) - 135/75/16 mm
Appearance
As we have already said, the device externally resembles a door intercom. The device is completely made of black plastic. The build quality is good, no creaks. But I didn’t quite like the fact that when dropped slightly from the height of the lid, the devices immediately diverge to the sides. Perhaps developers will still need to think about the reliability of the entire case, because opening it and simply picking up the hard drive is not particularly difficult.
On the front of the device there are the main control buttons: numbers from 0 to 9, the “Lock” button and the “Enter” button. Here, just above the buttons, there are light indicators, and opposite them there is information about their designation.
On the top edge there is a micro USB connector. The other faces lack any controls.
The back cover opens. Below it is a connector for a 2.5-inch SATA drive. The thickness of which should not exceed 9.5 mm. If the disc is thinner, you can use a special rubber insert that allows you to obtain the required thickness.
One of the minuses should be noted that the back cover is not protected from opening in any way. That is, anyone can open it. In other words, if with the help of the Zalman ZM-SHE350 you can protect information from being transferred to other PCs or laptops, then you will not be able to protect your hard drive, which is located inside the Zalman ZM-SHE350.
Setup and operation
First, let's figure out how to configure the device, in other words, how to install a hard drive in the Zalman ZM-SHE350 and make it work. First, you need to purchase a hard drive, since it is not included in the package; let us remind you that 2.5-inch SATA drives are supported. Then everything is very simple, open back cover, install, close and connect to the PC.After connecting the device for the first time, you will need to go through several simple steps. The beauty is that above the panel with numbers there is a small information panel where certain actions are prescribed; you just have to carry out the one next to which the indicator light will light up.
The first step is to come up with a password. Next, you need to confirm it, after which, using this password, you will be able to open access to this hard drive. Don't forget to go through the process of initializing, marking, and formatting your hard drive. HDD for normal use and recording through your operating system. How to do it this process, you can find out using the instruction manual, everything is described in detail and clearly there. In short, the following steps need to be taken:
- Connect Zalman ZM-SHE350 with an inserted HDD to your PC
- Next open "Control Panel/Administration/Computer Management/Disk Management
- In the window that opens, you will see that your PC cannot recognize the HDD, since it was initialized only through a software program.
- Next you just need to click right click mouse to this external drive and select “Initialize disk”, then go through a short procedure.
- Once initialization is complete, you can begin the markup and formatting process
- If you press Lock - 0 - Enter in turn, you can change the current password to a new one.
- The key combination Lock - 9 - Enter starts the HDD initialization process
- If you press and hold the Lock button for more than 2 seconds, the HDD will be connected/disconnected, in other words, the device will be safely removed.
Transfer speed
I was pleased that the Zalman ZM-SHE350 uses USB connection 3.0, which allows you to get very fast speed data transmission. During the writing of the review, the transfer and recording speed to the hard drive ranged from 40 to 100 Mbit/s.
Plus, we should add to all this that the Zalman ZM-SHE350 can be connected to any device that has a USB host and play your media files through it. What happens if your Zalman ZM-SHE350 with important information is somehow stolen? If the attacker does not know the password, then he will not be able to obtain your information. Yes, you can remove the hard drive and connect it to the computer directly, but there is a small nuance, this will not do anything, your PC simply will not see the hard drive, and accordingly will not be able to show the information that is inside. The PC will detect that a device has connected to it and install it on it. necessary drivers, however, will not allow you to use this disk. Agree, very convenient and practical.
Where does such security come from, you ask? The answer is simple, Zalman ZM-SHE350 uses AES 256 encryption, which allows you to completely secure your data on your hard drive. But there is another side to this trick: if for some unknown reason you forgot the password that was installed on the device, then you will not be able to recover the password without losing all the data on the hard drive. Yes, you can contact service center companies, however, even if they help you there, the data you recorded on the HDD will still be erased.
Results
To summarize, it should be said that the Zalman ZM-SHE350 is not just a box through which you can connect your HDD to a PC or other devices and view your saved files, but a real, reliable protector of information stored on the hard drive. Without knowing the password, in the hands of attackers, the Zalman ZM-SHE350 will be an ordinary box for storing HDDs, since it will not be possible to obtain information from it in any other way. Of course, you can’t carry it in your pocket, but the Zalman ZM-SHE350 won’t take up much space in a backpack or bag. It all comes down to this this decision cannot fail to attract the attention of buyers; of course, such security is not necessary for all users, so to some the Zalman ZM-SHE350 will seem like a meaningless “toy”. The choice is always yours, we can only show and tell.There are a lot of stereotypes in the modern world... for example, that Japanese cars are better than South Korean ones, or that money is best kept in Swiss banks. Sometimes it can be interesting to see how much existing stereotypes actually justify themselves. Electronics produced by South Korean companies such as LG or Samsung have always been considered a good compromise between product quality and cost. The hero of our today's testing is an external 2.5" enclosure for hard drives, Zalman ZM-VE200, also made by a South Korean manufacturer. Zalman actually has a good reputation among manufacturers of cooling systems for computers. But HDD enclosures are not cooling systems. Let's see how The Zalman company is doing well in the “HDD pockets” market.
The factory packaging turned out to be relatively small, as was the product itself. On its front side there is an image of a black HDD pocket, on the sides of which two silver devices are placed in the background. Apparently, the manufacturer has set itself the goal of presenting an external HDD box to the buyer at a glance, and in the same way help him decide on the more desirable color of the product. The packaging is well balanced and not overloaded with secondary information; only the basic names and designations of the external HDD pocket ZM-VE200. Despite the laconicism of the packaging, one inscription still makes you pleasantly surprised: “External HDD Case + Virtual Drive.” Wait a minute, is the virtual disk included? This is great, but let's talk about everything in order.
Let's first take a brief look at the main features and technical characteristics external pocket for Zalman ZM-VE200 hard drives, which can be found both on the back of the package and on the manufacturer’s official website.
Key features of Zalman ZM-VE200:
Aluminium case
Pre-installed software for mounting CD/DVD images from ISO files: no additional software is required to mount any ISO image.
Built-in screen that displays information about state of rigid disk
Protective case included
The ability to mount ISO images, a built-in screen on which information is displayed - yes, it looks like we have here a case with its own operating system, no less!
Technical characteristics of Zalman ZM-VE200:
Dimensions (LxWxH): 135.3x78.6x13.1 mm
Weight: 98.5 g
Material: aluminum, acrylic, polycarbonate
Type: 2.5" SATA HDD
Interfaces: USB 2.0 (compatible with USB 1.1), eSATA Direct HDD Access
Data transfer rate: USB up to 480 Mbit/s, eSATA up to 3 Gbit/s
Spindle speed: 5400 or 7200 rpm
Nutrition: USB
Color: black, silver
The factory packaging opens from the top, after which you can take out another additional cardboard package (gray, without beautiful pictures), in which, in addition to the HDD pocket itself, a protective case, a short user manual, and a screwdriver with bolts are neatly packed. It's nice to note that USB and eSATA cables also come standard. Obviously, the device comes without a hard drive. The protective case is a very nice bonus that protects appearance HDD case, especially considering that the ZM-VE200 can be located in it while it is connected to the computer, without fear of overheating.
As mentioned above, the outer case for the hard drive can be either black or silver. The USB pocket we received for testing is painted silver, and in my opinion, it is more attractive than black, since it contrasts more with the overall appearance of the product.
Connecting and using the Zalman ZM-VE200 will not cause any trouble even to the most ordinary PC user. On the right, on the upper side of the HDD case is located USB port, write-protect function switch, hard drive activity LED, factory firmware recovery button, and eSATA port. Unlike other 2.5" and 3.5" devices, this HDD box is powered only by a USB or eSATA cable, which explains the absence of a special power connector. This fact is both a plus and a minus at the same time. The fact is that not all today's eSATA ports support the function of powering the devices connected to them, so it would be nice to still leave a special connector for powering the hard drive if necessary, or at least emphasize the fact of incompatibility with the eSATA standard.
Installing a hard drive in the Zalman ZM-VE200 we tested today turned out to be even easier than I could have imagined. All you need to do to install your hard drive inside the pocket is to connect the HDD itself to a special controller via the appropriate connectors, and then insert the HDD along with the connected controller inside the pocket (HDD first, the controller remains at the top). Once you have connected and inserted the hard drive inside, all that remains is to securely fasten it inside using a screwdriver and two bolts, which the South Korean manufacturer thoughtfully included in the delivery package. During installation, you need to slightly open the rubber band that hides the mounting holes. By the way, after installation, this tape will stick out a little due to the tightened bolts, and this, although small, is still a flaw of the Korean engineers.
After installation is complete, it would be a sin not to test the strength and build quality of the case of our today's test subject. Simply shaking and moving the device convinced me that the engineers had designed the case well and that it was strong and reliable. While most 3.5" devices aren't designed for everyday carry, the ZM-VE200's 2.5" HDD pocket—one of the smallest HDD enclosures I've ever handled—is specifically designed for maximum mobility and portability.
The undoubted advantages of this device also include the LCD display. Few modern HDD enclosures can boast of its presence; in fact, I have never encountered similar devices before. And while external hard drives usually don't need a built-in screen (which is probably why they don't come with one), having a display on the ZM-VE200 is a really important option. Of course, with the help of an LCD, the user will be able to monitor such minor indicators as the temperature of the hard drive (the pocket in any case must provide the necessary ventilation for the HDD, otherwise problems may arise serious problems), but also with the help of LCD you can quickly obtain information about the status of more important parts.
In addition to its main functionality of turning the internal hard drive into an external one, the ZM-VE200 also boasts one very interesting feature– virtual CD/DVD drive. And this is really a very nice bonus. Zalman ZM-VE200 is the first HDD box to offer a virtual CD/DVD drive option. Even its predecessor, the ZM-HE100, did not have such a feature, which offers a wealth of new possibilities for the end user.
By the way, do you want to know why the LCD display is so important for this device? It allows the user of the ZM-VE200 not only to switch the mode of use of the device between HDD, ODD or both at the same time - with its help the user can easily mount existing ISO files, which in itself is an alternative to CD, DVD and yes, you guessed it, BD-ROM drives. The user can mount any ISO image, as long as it is located in the "_ISO" folder on the HDD. If necessary, additional subfolders can be created in this folder, each of which can accommodate up to 32 images optical disks.
The USB 2.0 HDD port of the ZM-VE200 pocket has some specifics of working with the SATA port of the hard drive itself. First you will need to remove the protective coating on the chip, and then read a special disguised code printed in very small font. The thing is that the interface converter board is based on the OXU931SF controller from Oxford Semiconductor, now a division of PLX Technology (http://www.plxtech.com/products/consumer/oxu931sf), which entails some features of its use.
Three modes of operation Zalman ZM-VE200
The idea of the South Korean manufacturer Zalman to integrate a virtual CD/DVD drive into a HDD box is actually very good. In theory, this additional functionality will greatly expand the capabilities of the ZM-VE200, and perhaps even transfer this HDD case to new level. However, this virtual optical disk not without flaws. Simply put, I'm not very happy with this new functionality.
As stated above, this device can operate in three different modes: HDD, ODD and Dual Mode. HDD mode is a hard drive mode in which the ZM-VE200 can be used as a regular HDD pocket. ODD mode is an optical drive mode in which the user only has the option of mounting ISO files into a virtual drive using it like a regular CD/DVD device. In HDD mode, the user does not have the option of directly mounting ISO images into a virtual drive, and vice versa. In fact, the ZM-VE200 will be recognized by your operating system as two different devices, two disks: the first for storing information, that is, for normal work with hard drive(HDD mode), and the second - for work virtual drive(ODD mode). Despite the creation of two virtual devices, the data is stored on one internal hard drive. That's why the ZM-VE200 can still be considered a "normal" external HDD pocket. Well, the last mode is Dual Mode - a combination of the first two modes.
Technically, there is one more mode left - eSATA, however, this mode is kept “apart” from the first three, and here’s why. The first three modes are very easy to use. On the left side of the HDD pocket there is a special switch with which you can activate the mode you need: by sliding the switch down and connecting the USB cable, the device will turn on in HDD mode, switch up + USB cable - ODD mode, switch inward + USB cable - combined mode. All three modes create virtual devices in your computer, while eSATA is activated when you connect the cable of the same name, and is used only for normal information transfer between the computer and the HDD pocket.
A physical drive can only handle one optical drive at a time. The same applies to the virtual CD/DVD drive in the ZM-VE200; Only one ISO image can be downloaded at a time. I was easily able to mount my existing DVD images, game and music CDs, as well as software disk images. There was no need to use the OS to control the device when the device itself can control the OS. A special jog-switch, together with the LCD display, made it possible to quickly and easily view existing ISO images, mounting which took approximately 5 - 10 seconds, depending on the size of the ISO file itself.
Among other things, the Zalman ZM-VE200 can not only emulate a virtual CD/DVD drive - it allows you to create up to 4 floppy drives, and they can work simultaneously. Interestingly, Zalman did not provide any information about this functionality. Of course, floppy disks are rarely used these days, but this feature will help target the product at a very specific market where technicians sometimes still use floppy disks to run system diagnostics.
Testing
For testing, we used a Samsung HM160HI hard drive; the external box was connected via USB to the computer. The results are as follows: reading - 27.8 MB/s, writing - 21.6 MB/s.
During our work, sometimes the built-in hard drive was detected as empty, and the operating system offered to format it. It is also known about some “floating” glitches in this model, which are software in nature.
conclusions
Today it is very easy to buy a cheap 2.5" hard drive enclosure. In fact, there are big choice various HDD boxes. However, a smart choice would be to purchase a device that not only supports USB 2.0, but also consider options that support eSATA and perhaps even USB 3.0 interfaces. The good news is that the Zalman ZM-VE200 doesn't fit the usual criteria for choosing external HDD pockets. The fact is that the Zalman ZM-VE200 we are testing today is more than just an external HDD case.
From a theoretical point of view, I see a dual external HDD box, with an optional virtual optical drive, as a great addition to the main unit. Why hasn't this idea been used before? Who knows.
The nice and slim design allows the user to effectively use the internal hard drive as an external drive. And such “little things” as an LCD display and a “jog-switch” switch make it easy to mount the necessary images of optical disks, or switch the mode of using the HDD enclosure. Although the Zalman ZM-VE200 has distinct advantages, it also has disadvantages. The disadvantages include the use of an aging USB 2.0 interface, which makes this purchase less promising. Let us also remember that this HDD enclosure is incompatible with the eSATAp interface; The manufacturer should have provided the possibility of using an external power supply.
With all this, the Zalman ZM-VE200 is a kind of unique product that will appeal, first of all, to enthusiasts and lovers of technical innovations, for whom the novelty of the product is important and who value the quality of the materials in the product.
We thank OST-COM, the official distributor of Zalman in Russia, for the equipment provided.
V.Golub
04/08.2011
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The kit includes an aluminum ZM-VE300 case, a thick carrying case, USB cable 3.0, installation CD with programs, quick start guide and a small screwdriver with bolts for fixing the hard drive.
Zalman ZM-VE300 has an impressive design: a lightweight aluminum case with plastic inserts on the sides, a small LCD screen that displays the status of the disk. On the top edge there is an activity indicator, a socket for connecting a USB cable and a “Backup” button. In addition, on the left side of the box there is a three-position joystick-wheel, with which almost all actions are performed. The activity indicator is two-color. White color is used to indicate operation in USB 2.0 mode, blue - in USB 3.0 mode.
In order to install a hard drive in the Zalman ZM-VE300, you need to remove the top board with the display and connect the drive itself to it. Then insert the resulting structure into the aluminum housing.
Of the three 2.5" drives we tried, the Zalman ZM-VE300 refused to work with one, but accepted the other two normally. I did not find any pattern in its preferences, and, as it became clear from reviews on various Internets, I was not the only one who had this problem. So it's probably better to have a few different drives ready.
When the disk is installed and functionality has been verified, you need to secure it. Bend the seal from the sides of the case; holes for the bolts are hidden under them. As I already said, bolts and a small screwdriver are included in the kit, so there shouldn’t be any problems with fastening. But the seal doesn’t want to go back up, since it is made of hard plastic and after bending it starts to hang out. A trifle, of course, but it spoils the impression. A regular rubber seal would look more harmonious here.
In the first Zalman ZM-VE300 models, the firmware only allowed working with disks formatted in FAT32 to support file NTFS systems I had to install alternative firmware from a similar device - iODD-2531. In new batches, the firmware is more recent, with it NTFS drives are perfectly supported without additional steps. You can download the latest firmware version and the programs necessary for updating on the website.
ZM.VE300.Firmware.Upgrade.R1288N.zip (343,728 bytes)
In order to install firmware from iODD-2531 on Zalman-VE300, you will need to slightly modify the firmware program. I corrected the latest firmware version. After installing it, the device is identified in the system as iODD, but this will not work any worse. On the contrary, all new features from the iODD-2531 will be added to the functionality, which include official firmware Zalman-VE300 does not exist and is not expected.
iODD.2531.to.ZM.VE300.Firmware.Upgrade.R1600N.zip (345,755 bytes)
Entering and exiting the Menu occurs by pressing the side switch for more than 3 seconds. Navigating through the menu and selecting items is done using the joystick; returning to the previous level is done using the "Backup" button.
- Main menu:
- Mode Select- setting the device operating mode
- Setting- adjust the brightness of the LCD display and Sleep mode
- Information- view information about the HDD and firmware version
- USB Connect- USB connection setup
- Advanced- setting up a virtual HDD connection
- Mode Select menu:
- Dual Mode- work in combined mode, external HDD and virtual DVD-ROM/Blu-Ray drive
- ODD Mode or CD Mode(for iODD firmware) - works only in DVD-ROM/Blu-Ray mode (this mode is usually used when installing the OS)
- HDD Mode- the device is detected only as an external HDD (this mode is used when connecting to devices other than a PC)
- Settings menu:
- LCD Bright- adjust the brightness of the LCD screen backlight
- Idle Bright- adjustable LCD backlight in sleep mode
- Standby time- setting the time to go into sleep mode
- Load Default- return to default values
- Menu "Information":
- S.M.A.R.T- S.M.A.R.T information
- HDD Model- display the name of the hard drive model
- HDD Serial- display serial number hard drive
- Firmware Ver.- display firmware version
- USB Speed- display the type of current connection (USB2.0: Hi-Speed, USB3.0: Super-Speed)
- USB Input Volt- display the lowest input voltage by USB port after connecting to PC and current input voltage
- Menu "S.M.A.R.T":
- HDD Temp.- display HDD temperature
- HDD Health- display the HDD status (Good, Warning, Bad). If a Warning or Bad appears, immediately backup all data and check the HDD
- "USB Connect" menu:
- Refresh- reconnect the device to the PC
- Safe Removal- safe removal of the device
- Advanced menu:
- Umount VHDD- unmount all disk and floppy images
- Write Protect- enable or disable write protection
- Instant Save- remember the image immediately after selecting it (only in iODD firmware)
- Force USB 3.0- USB 3.0 priority mode (only in iODD firmware)
It is not indicated anywhere in the documentation, but it has been experimentally established that there should be no more than 32 images in the “_ISO” folder at the same time, otherwise the Zalman ZM-VE300 will display the message “Too Many Files”. This can be easily circumvented by creating subfolders, although this still leaves a limit of 32 files per folder. There are alternative firmwares that do not have such a limitation, but personally, I have the entire necessary set of distributions in a dozen files. By the way, as a cheaper alternative to the Zalman ZM-VE300, unscrupulous sellers may offer you enclosures for hard drives of the brand Konoos. Such a replacement is far from equivalent, since low-end models of Konoos cases support only one image, while more sophisticated ones support only three. Naturally, online shopping sites are modestly silent about this.
The Zalman ZM-VE300 comes with a utility for Reserve copy Backup Utility. It's on CD, but latest version always available on the website. As you might guess, it is used to make backups selected files and folders from your computer to an external hard drive in Zalman ZM-VE300. In the program, configure the required paths, then click the “Backup” button on the box and the utility copies the information.
But that's not all she can do. Using Backup Utility, you can create virtual disks and then save them to the "_ISO" folder on an external hard drive. WITH virtual disks It's worth understanding better. "Virtual HDD" are empty files given size with the ability to connect them as external drives. Naturally, the Zalman ZM-VE300 is responsible for the connection and emulation functions.
Everything should also be clear with the “Safe Removal” function. You can safely turn off the Zalman ZM-VE300 by pressing the wheel or the "Backup" button on the device itself, or you can do this at the initiative of the computer through this Backup Utility function.
And this is how the system displays physical hard disks and virtual drives connected or created using the Zalman ZM-VE300.
Returning to the topic about installing Windows XP on the HP Mini 210-1130ER netbook. The inconvenience of installing the system from a flash drive was the last argument for me to buy the Zalman ZM-VE300. After purchasing it, I conducted an experiment: I recorded the prepared image on an external hard drive, installed a blank hard drive in the netbook, then mounted the image onto a virtual CD and tried to install the system. As I expected, everything went well.
The instructions that come with the kit are very sparse. All you can learn from it is where to attach the bolts and how to install backup software. There are instructions on the Internet for in electronic format, even translated into Russian, but in essence they are no different from the paper version. According to rumors, complete documentation is available in Korean, but this is unlikely to be of any help. So you'll have to be content with what you have.
Zalman.ZM.VE300.Manual.RUS.zip (546,663 bytes)
Zalman.ZM.VE300.Manual.ENG.zip (492,463 bytes)
Because the instructions are quite brief, and they do not describe all the capabilities of the Zalman ZM-VE300. In preparing this review, I collected from various sources and systematized useful tips and undocumented functions. Other possible problems discussed in detail at the IXBT conference.
- If you hold down the "Backup" button while connecting the device, write protection will turn on.
- If you hold down the joystick wheel while connecting, the write protection is removed and the device goes into “Dual Mode”.
- If you hold the joystick wheel up while connecting, the “ODD Mode” is set.
- If you hold the joystick wheel down while connecting, the “HDD Mode” mode is set.
- If you turn down and hold the joystick wheel during operation, the device will be safely turned off. The same thing happens if you press and hold the "Backup" button.
- If you turn up and hold the joystick wheel while working, the “_ISO” folder will be rescanned and the list of images contained in it will be updated. This is very convenient if new images were recorded on the device in “Dual Mode” or “HDD Mode”.
- In order for Zalman VE-300 to remember the last mounted image, it must be safely disabled. Install the desired image, press and hold the "Backup" button or scroll down, wait for the "Data Saving..." message and disconnect the disk from the computer. After this, Zalman VE-300 will start with the selected image.
- To unmount a floppy disk image or drive from a "Virtual HDD", you need to go to the "End Of List" item and hold down the wheel for 3 seconds.
- When connecting to a desktop computer, it is better to use the USB ports that are located on the back system unit, not on the front panel.
- If the hard drive installed in the case is divided into several partitions, then the partition with the "_ISO" folder should be Primary.
- It is not recommended to install SSD drives in the Zalman ZM-VE300, as they are more sensitive to insufficient power supplied via USB and may fail.
The most convenient way to defragment files and directories is to use free program WinContig. Its main feature is fast defragmentation separate files without having to defragment the entire disk. Just launch WinContig, select one or more image files and defragment, after which the Zalman ZM-VE300 quietly mounts everything.
What can I say to sum it up? Zalman ZM-VE300 is a very cool thing that justifies its cost to the penny. Now the problem with preparing installation flash drives and a stack of CD/DVD disks with different distributions has been solved once and for all; all this remains a thing of the past. The Zalman ZM-VE300 will be an excellent assistant for system administrators and advanced users who often have to rearrange the system or use different boot disks.
Despite all the advantages, there are some disadvantages. Neither the instructions nor the website contains a list of recommended hard drive models that work with the Zalman ZM-VE300. As a last resort, it would be possible to indicate the recommended characteristics, such as amperage and rotation speed, so that you can independently select the desired model, but this information is not available anywhere. The USB cable included in the kit is short and VERY stiff, which is why there is a risk of damaging the housing connector with frequent use. It would not hurt to provide additional power so that the Zalman ZM-VE300 can be connected to older computers. Of course, no one bothers you to find and purchase the right cable yourself, but it’s strange that the manufacturer made such a wonderful device and saved on a cheap cable. Judging by the reviews, for some hard drives you have to add an additional seal to the case so that the drive does not hang around inside. In my case this was not necessary, but in general I agree that the fastening system could have been thought out better. Otherwise, I am very pleased with the purchase.
UPD. After the untimely death of the Zalman ZM-VE300 (connected it to a problematic system unit, and there was a breakdown of electricity on the USB port), I purchased the original iODD-2531. So, there are no problems with seals described there. They are of sufficient length and have “horns” at the end, which are tucked under the side plugs and hold perfectly. Zalman also has these “horns”, but the seal itself is shorter, as a result they are useless. The cable is also long and flexible. The only thing is that the iODD case is uncomfortable - soft. I replaced it with a vacant case from Zalman. So it makes sense to purchase original iODD devices, rather than crookedly copied replicas.
An external hard drive today has become one of the essential items for everyone whose activities are in one way or another related to PC maintenance. The choice of discs and containers is large - for every color, taste and budget. However, there are solutions that stand out noticeably in the general series, one of them can be called an external container Zalman ZM-VE300 which, in addition to serving as an external drive, can serve as an optical disc drive emulator.
This allows you to kill two birds with one stone, since an external ODD drive and a stack of disks for it are the same essential items for system administrators, service engineers and simply computer enthusiasts. Installation discs with the OS, various service and diagnostic Live-CDs - in the end we get a rather impressive list of disks that you should always have with you, and important drives not yet in one copy. Otherwise, it will be very unpleasant when, at the most crucial moment, a “worn out” disk refuses to be read.
But first things first. At first glance the cost Zalman ZM-VE300 may seem very overpriced, paying about 2000 rubles for an external container without an HDD, even from a renowned manufacturer, is somehow too much, for this money you can easily get a good external drive. But this is only at first glance; as we will see later, the device fully justifies its price.
The container is supplied in a medium-sized cardboard box, on which the manufacturer emphasized the main advantages of the device.
It's obvious that Zalman ZM-VE300 in virtual drive mode, it is significantly ahead of any existing optical drive. Even in USB 2.0 mode, which is the main one, when using this container as a boot drive, only Windows 8 can currently be loaded via USB 3.0, and not always successfully, since USB 3.0 controllers from different manufacturers have their own characteristics.
To evaluate the performance of the virtual drive as a bootable one, we compared the startup time of the Ubuntu 13.0 LiveCD by burning it to new disk DVD+R.
Optical drives showed quite expected results: the external drive is the slowest, the internal drive is slightly faster. Zalman ZM-VE300 once again showed a significant lead - loading the image in less than a minute. This is a truly excellent result, which will be appreciated by those who often boot their PC from optical discs.
conclusions
We have before us a truly excellent product that fully justifies its price. Its main advantage is a virtual optical drive, which will allow you to abandon the use of optical discs and external drives. In addition, a virtual drive allows you to work with disk images much faster than any optical drive. All this does Zalman ZM-VE300 an indispensable assistant for administrators, service engineers and simply computer enthusiasts.
The total shrinkage of the optical storage market under the onslaught of external hard drives and flash drives is due to completely objective reasons, but it also leads to some unpleasant side effects. In particular, software is still actively sold on CDs and DVDs, so installing it on computers without drives is not always a trivial task. Of course, installation packages can often simply be copied to the same hard drive, but fiddling with a huge number of small files is simply inconvenient. The best way The solution to the problem is to use images, since each disk turns into one file, and you can put a lot of them on one small drive. However, it is necessary convenient solution problems of subsequent use. When translating from clerical into Russian, on a computer you will need installed program for working with recorded images. But what if it’s a “someone else’s” computer where it’s not there? Or, even worse, there is no system at all that just needs to be installed? Microsoft, of course, offers a utility for Windows migration 7 from a disk to a flash drive (or other USB drive), but the range of those on the market is not limited to this operating system. And there are also all sorts of special disks for diagnosing or restoring the system, and just LiveCD for getting acquainted with various operating systems, etc. In general, when all this was recorded on a CD, it was easier - insert the disk into the drive, and that’s it. If necessary, just boot from it. Moreover, from any ready-made disk, since all products are independent of each other and there is no need to prepare a bootable flash drive every time (not to mention the fact that not all software correctly transfers migration from a CD to a USB drive).
Whether there is a convenient way solve all these problems? Now it is. It’s even strange that it appeared so late, although the problem became relevant quite a long time ago. And it is doubly strange that the solution to the issues raised was not taken up by one of the old participants in the external drive market, but by the Zalman company, better known for its coolers and other related products (although in fact the original developer here is actually different, as is often the case, but he is generally unknown to the general public). Now here is a breakthrough into a completely different market. Moreover, solving the problem of using ISO images on any system is one of the main features of the ZM-VE200, but not its only advantage. Which makes you want to get to know the product better.
Design
Even externally, the device is slightly different from most “typical” external modules, although it has the same design. The case, measuring 135.3 x 78.6 x 13.1 mm and weighing 98.5 grams, is mostly made of anodized aluminum and can be had in black or silver. Soundly, even if not exclusive :)
But the small monochrome LCD display at the top of the front surface is an unusual element. But it is very useful, although its main task is just to select a “working” image (which is done using the jog-dial on the left side of the box), which will be mounted on the virtual optical drive. However, in addition to this, the screen allows you to get information about installed disk, its temperature (how many paranoids miss this in “regular” boxes!), operating mode, firmware version (it can be updated), etc.
All other active elements are traditionally concentrated on one of the short ends and include eSATA and USB mini-B connectors, as well as a write lock slider. An extremely important thing for a person involved in computer servicing (and simply often going to suspicious places) - you don’t have to worry about catching and taking away some kind of infection with you. In general, the latter plus support for two interfaces and, to a lesser extent, built-in diagnostic tools are already enough to make the product interesting for purchase. And we haven’t gotten to this point yet main feature! For now, we’ll just note that if support for ISO images and the eSATA interface are not required, you can save a lot of money by purchasing the ZM-HE100 model: it too is equipped with write protection.
Contents of delivery
In the box with the device, in addition to the device itself, you can also find a pair of interface cables (USB and eSATA), each 50 cm long, a pair of bolts for securely fixing the assembled drive, a miniature screwdriver for screwing/unscrewing them, and a protective leatherette cover. The design of the latter allows the use of the hard drive without removing it from the case, although if you plan a long continuous operation, it’s still worth taking it outside out of harm’s way - it will cool better. And one more element of the kit - a transparent film, approximately the size of a hard drive - baffles, as it turned out, many buyers who cannot find a scope for it, and this issue is not addressed in the manual :) In fact, we have an example touching care of Zalman designers about little things - it should be placed under the hard drive and placed. The rationale is simple: the box itself is made of aluminum, i.e. it conducts electricity, and on the “belly” of the hard drive there is an open printed circuit board, so theoretically something could fail to close and it would fail.
Functionality
And finally, we got to the “delicious” part. The fly in the ointment, however, is that in “high-speed” mode (i.e., when connected to a computer using eSATA), the device does not have any additional functionality to simple copying and storing data. The display simply displays “eSATA Mode”, and that’s it. Even, by the way, the ability to find out the current temperature of the disk disappears.
So in order to fully enjoy the “features”, you should connect the box to the computer when USB help. And there should also be a folder on it with the name “_ISO”, in which there should be ISO images in an amount not exceeding 32 pieces (by the way, when using firmware earlier than 61F from April 29, it is also required to use it on disk file system NTFS - FAT32 and exFAT were added only to it).
If all this is observed, we get the opportunity to select one of three operating modes, and the current one is shown on the display: HDD Mode Similar to the eSATA mode (and 99% of external modules and ready-made HDDs on the market), the device works like a banal external hard drive. ODD Mode In this mode for the VE-200 system it looks like a USB CD/DVD/BD-ROM into which one of the “disks” recorded in the folder is installed. Which specific ISO image will be mounted can be selected manually using the wheel on the left side, controlling the process by the file names changing on the display. Unfortunately, in addition to the above, they will have to be “called” with short names and not use Cyrillic characters: long ones are cut off, and characters not related to the Latin alphabet are displayed with spaces. However, it is difficult to consider this such a serious limitation. For particularly inquisitive tuning fans, we will briefly hint that the problem of Russification, as well as expanding the list of supported types of disk images (to be fair, all sorts of exotic ones), can be solved by using firmware, but at your own peril and risk... And flash it instead of the “native” one should not be too trivial (but look for it on the Internet yourself ;)). Dual Mode Compilation of the two modes described above: connected to a computer external module generates two devices - both VZD and optics. Accordingly, we get access to all stored files (and, as mentioned above, it can be limited to read only, which is very useful when working on someone else’s potentially unsafe computer), as well as the ability to work with ISO images.
The latter is possible in two modes. The first and simplest, namely mounting images while the operating system is loaded, always works great and does not cause any problems. Thus, you can throw away all CDs and DVDs with distribution kits stored at home, having previously “rolled” them into images. The limit of 32 files will not interfere with this much - after all, images can be stored in different folders(such as “ISO_office_program”, “ISO_linux”, “ISO_windows_system”, “ISO_games”, etc.) simply renaming the one you need to “_ISO” before use. A more serious limitation, perhaps, is that this format is not very suitable (or at all) for storing some copy-protected toys. But there are no complaints about Zalman here - the company did not plan to encourage piracy. And such disks are not system disks, so you can work with them the old fashioned way - using software virtual CDs.
For system drives (from different Linux distributions to all sorts of “reanimators”), another use case is most relevant, namely loading from a virtual CD drive! Let’s be honest, not everything is going smoothly with her. As practice has shown, such virtual drives are not supported by a considerable number of motherboards Intel (more precisely, the BIOS versions used by the company), not only sold as a separate version, but also found in laptops. This problem applies not only to the ZM-VE200 - we also encountered it, for example, when testing Silicon Power Ultima 155, where the controller is clearly different. So the culprit should be sought among the programmers who worked on the loading module (the problem only appears at this stage), but this, of course, does not make it any easier. However, most tested computers do not have such problems - booting from a virtual drive is exactly the same as from a regular one: you just need to select it in the BIOS or (which is available on most modern motherboards) use a special boot menu. Accordingly, you can install any operating system - not necessarily originally designed for this type of use (which is true for Windows 7) and without any traditional dancing with a tambourine and fiddling with third-party programs (which are needed for such an installation of Windows XP). At the same time, unlike flash drives, some of which support the allocation of part of the disk space for a virtual CD, it is not necessary to limit yourself to just one system - there can be several “boot” disks. You just need to choose the one you want - and it will be a special LiveCD for “repairing” the system or a bootable one Windows disk 95, it doesn’t matter to the drive (and computer) :)
Testing methodology
The question arises - did all this developed functionality affect how the hard drive obtained after installing the hard drive will cope with traditional tasks, such as storing and transferring information? That's why we subjected it to traditional testing. The technique is described in detail in a separate article. There you can get acquainted with both the configuration of the test bench and the used software. The only change is that instead of the Seagate Momentus 5400.5 ST9320320AS hard drive traditionally used in testing external modules, which is already too small and slow from the modern point of view, we decided to take the top Seagate model: Momentus XT ST95005620AS. It is clear that for an external hard drive this drive with a platter rotation speed of 7200 rpm and an additional flash buffer is redundant (especially since it costs about twice as much as a “regular powder” of the same capacity, and 750 GB in a traditional version can be purchased cheaper), but in this case you can be absolutely sure that it will not become a “bottleneck”. And we will compare the test subject with fast dual-interface models.
Competitors
As the latter, we took the recently tested Verbatim Store'n'Go (with Samsung HM500JI 500 GB inside) and Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex (with Momentus 5400.6 ST9500325AS 500 GB inside) with a “standard” interface module (supporting USB 2.0) and Power eSATA Upgrade Cable. While the GoFlex doesn't offer versatility the easy way (you have to change the interface module to go from USB 2.0 to eSATA and back again), it's one of the few (like the Verbatim drive) that supports powered eSATA upgrades, which is somewhat better than a couple of cables VE-200, for which the latter can be blamed. But you don’t have to quibble :)
Lavalys Everest 5.0
As for the data transfer speed over the interface, the Zalman product has nothing to brag about - regardless of the interface, it lags behind its competitors. Let's see how this affects tests that are closer to practical use.
IOMeter
But in random operations, where the determining factor is the hard drive installed inside, the kit we assembled easily and without straining unconditionally takes first place.
Intel NAS Performance Toolkit
A fast hard drive coupled with eSATA allows the VE-200 to successfully fight for leadership, but as soon as you switch to the more common USB 2.0, it immediately begins to lag behind its competitors.
A similar situation occurs when recording data. However, should we be too upset? Yes, of course, about 20% lag is a lot, but the external module supports not only USB 2.0. So it’s enough just to use eSATA - this option is many times faster than USB. And regardless of the implementation;)
If, of course, you rely on using the HDD to transfer information, and not as a “working” drive, the situation cannot be corrected with a quick interface. Alas, this is the price to pay for a functionally complex controller.
Prices
The table shows the devices in Moscow that were relevant at the time you read this article:
| Zalman ZM-VE200 |
| N/A(0) |
Total
If you try, you can make a whole list of complaints about the Zalman VE-200: no support for USB 3.0, eSATA without power, performance is lower than it could be. All this is so...
However, the real and potential shortcomings are more than compensated for by truly unique functionality! In principle, as we have already said, initially this was not a Zalman development, but since the company was able to discern good idea and become the world's main seller of its implementation, the reward, it seems to us, will be quite right :) Indeed, the need for something like this has long been in the air, since often the only task performed by the optical drive in modern computer, is the setting operating system. Or any service activities. In general, for the sake of occasional loading, keeping such a device (despite its low price) in the household becomes uninteresting. With the ZM-VE200 we get a very convenient and fast CD/DVD-ROM in addition to a capacious and productive external hard drive. Moreover, all the shortcomings of the second functional component are not critical - against the backdrop of the still well-selling VZD, equipped only with USB 2.0, it demonstrates a completely different level of performance in favorable conditions;) Which is only aggravated by the support for write protection, which, judging by our Conference , for many users of mobile external drives, who are forced to work with them on potentially unsafe computers, is very relevant. And there are no complaints about the first one at all, if you compare it with, for example, a USB drive. It's all in one. It is possible, of course, that the price will scare off some potential individual buyers, but in the household of a system administrator, service engineer or real computer equipment enthusiast, such a box, it seems to us, will be an irreplaceable thing.
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