Frankenware: Modern flash storage on vintage computers: IDE to CF, SD, SATA & SSD

I compare and contrast the various options for replacing mechanical hard drives on vintage computers. I review and test the following options: IDE to CF, IDE to SD, & a IDE to SATA adapter with a Solid State Drive. Comparing reliability, speed, and cost.
Here is a list of the materials recommended and equipment I use in my lab:
SSD/SATA to IDE converter
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SSD HARD RIVE
Kingston 120GB
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SATA/IDE TO USB 3.0 (To connect HDs to modern computers for imaging)
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DESOLDERING GUN:
Hakko FR301-03/P Desoldering Tool
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SOLDERING STATION:
KSGER T12 Soldering Iron Station
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CAPACITORS:
I recommend buying Nichicon or Panasonic brand from either Digikey or Mouser.
Solder:
Kester Solder 63/37 .015 Dia. 1LB Spool
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Flux:
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Soldering Iron Tip Cleaner
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Solder Wick
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FAN:
KOTTO Solder Smoke Absorber
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MULTIMETER
FLUKE-101 Digital Multimeter
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SNIPS:
Klein Tools D275-5 Pliers, Diagonal Cutting Pliers with Precision Flush Cutter
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SOLDERING MAT:
Premium Heat Resistant 932°F Silicone Soldering Mat
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ESD WORK STATION MAT:
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ESD FLOOR MAT:
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MICROSCOPE
AmScope SM-4TZ-144A Professional Trinocular Stereo Zoom Microscope w/ Light
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WORKSTATION
The workstation I got from Uline, they call it their "Deluxe Workstation" with ESD top and customizable accessories.

[@andystandys]

For me, the are two downsides to CF cards. They are getting harder to find, especially the 8GB and under variety. I've also had problems with bent pins on some of my CF card readers. *But,* they are fast and I like the physical size of them.

[@colinmanton2992]

As a follow up, try the Startech IDE to SATA with an 80 wire cable as see how much faster your PC boots

[@techjesse]

I'll check it out. Thanks!

[@DavidStahlOLDHAPPyMACs]

Great review I like the solid state option SATA always had great results on the vintage 68k Macs I use the blue SCSI They work fantastic great video

[@techjesse]

Thanks David!

[@Allen811973]

that one you suggested as a 2nd drive little washers and off of temu you can get this 2.5 to 3.25 one that you can put it a reg hard drive space its only around 2 or 3 bucks in USA btw without a 3d printer

[@rockycassiano4756]

When W98 installs with errors, I set PIO to 2 instead of auto and it loaded fine.

[@alexwisniewski8014]

Hi. Great video. Thank you. Do you have a link to the IDE to SD card reader on Amazon?
I know it had issues but was curious to the price and reviews as of recent.

[@techjesse]

Thanks! This is the one I got which has good reviews. A lot of it comes down to the quality of the card itself rather than the reader. amzn.to/3QYViTv

[@alexwisniewski8014]

@@techjesse Thank you. I appreciate it.

[@SenileOtaku]

Big problem using Compact Flash is it's becoming harder to get reasonably priced CF cards, and availabity in general is getting harder too.

[@techjesse]

Yeah as I mentioned in the video I think SSD is the way to go these days. After using them in many machines and for quite a few months since I made this video, I am even more confident SSD is the way to go.

[@delysio]

I see you are using cheap SD cards. This adapter is very sensitive to poor quality cards. I had similar problems which disappeared after inserting good quality media. I recommend the Sandisk and Samsung EVO brands - while being careful of fakes from eBay.

[@CompuforceWally]

Same here, using 2x of these, 1x as OS and 1x Multimedia stuff along with optical drive as slave, running pretty solid no issues. OS SD is a 4GB (Windows 98se) Lexar branded and multimedia SD is a 32GB SanDisk.

[@techjesse]

Thanks, good to know!

[@antdavisonNZ]

2.5" sata Hewlet-Packard 654540-001 adapter sleds plus sata2ide adapter with a decent bridge chipset
number 1 chipset choice would be Marvell 88SA8040 or 52, as used by *some* StarTech adapters
number 2 would be JMicron 20330 chipsets as used by the better chinese no name adapters, look for the ones with the lowest profile, like around 12mm, they should have JM silkscreened somewhere on the PCB if you cannot read the text printed on the chip, or they dont tell you what chipset is used, OK for PCs bad for old xBox consoles
absolute worst choice is the chinese adapters using chipsets with the letters SUN in them, avoid like the plague
czcams.com/video/z27b40T6lLs/video.html has quite a good review / speed test of this and other options

[@techjesse]

Good info, thanks!