Transferring data from one computer to another can be cumbersome without special file transferring programs, especially if you’re trying to move data from an old Windows hard disk to a Macintosh. For an easier solution, just yank a hard drive out of one computer and connect it to a second computer as an external hard disk. Of course, this requires buying an external hard disk case and making sure the external hard disk case works with the particular interface of your hard disk. In case you don't want to worry about learning different hard disk interfaces, Newer Technology offers the Universal Drive Adapter, a product that connects to any hard drive no matter what type of interface it uses.

The product itself consists of a small box that provides three types of hard disk interfaces: IDE/ATA, ATAPI, and SATA, along with the necessary cables. Just find the type of interface your hard drive uses, plug one end of the connecting IDE ribbon cable or SATA cable into the Universal Drive Adapter, and plug the second end of the cable into your hard drive. If you have a 2.5-inch hard drive, you can plug it directly into the product without the need for a connecting cable at all.

Now plug the power cord directly in the hard drive, plug the included USB cable into the Universal Drive Adapter, and connect it to any computer with a USB port. This adds the hard drive to your computer without requiring any special drivers at all no matter which operating system you may be using. Your computer simply sees the hard disk as another drive whether you’re running Windows 2000/XP/Vista, Linux, or OS 9/Mac OS X.

When using this product, the connecting hard drive remains exposed so this is meant more as a temporary measure than a permanent fixture, such as when you want to transfer files from one computer to another and then move the hard disk to another computer. Besides working with hard drives, the Universal Drive Adapter can also connect to any internal drive that uses an IDE/ATA, ATAPI, or SATA interface such as CD/DVD drives or Iomega Zip drives. This can be handy for connecting an Iomega Zip drive to a computer, transferring files off multiple Zip drives, and then disconnecting the Zip drive after you’ve safely copied all your Zip drive data to your computer.

The Universal Drive Adapter may not be the type of product that novices may feel comfortable using since it requires connecting computer parts together, but for anyone familiar with yanking computers apart and plugging the pieces back together again, this product can be a handy device, especially if you’re a computer technician or troubleshooter. For only $34.99, the Universal Drive Adapter is well worth the cost to insure that you’ll always be able to copy data off any hard drive no matter what type of interface it uses.