I purchased this unit as a 'great idea for a laptop' especially since most of my new laptops come without a floppy. However, this unit did not work on any computer I tried it on. And if you read the user support forum you find several people waiting for answers on why it doesn't work.The tech guy suggested a driver upgrades and disabling devices to get the unit to work but other than messing up my machine the unit would not work. He suggested getting another unit since it must be a bad card reader but the second one responded the same - floppy works, but no card readers.
So far two different explanations have been floated. One is that it doesn't work with XP Pro machines - which seems to jive with my experience and the second is that it is a USB 2 issue. One of my machines is a USB 1.1 and it didn't work there either.
Bottom line - buy and try - make sure you can return the unit when it doesn't work on your machine.
This is a try it before you buy it item. Make sure the place you get it from has a good return policy just in case.This is one of those dream devices.
Capable of true multifuntion.
Floppy drive, card reader, and you can even hot-swap cards in and out without having to stop the device in the device manager....
Pros:
Floppy + multicard reader all in one.
USB 1.1 capable.
You can hot swap memory cards -- not many card readers will do that without crashing. This is one of my favorite features.
Multiple cards can be read along with floppies. Neat.
Cons:
Does not work with any USB 2.0 connections I have tried.(NEC, ALi, or VIA chipset usb 2 controllers)
I could never get this device to work with a hub -- 4 computers, about 8 different hubs, no dice. Pay attention to that if you own a laptop. You have to connect it directly to the port in the computer for it to detect the device correctly.
Overall impression:
Works great when it works right. Once IO Magic gets some of the bugs worked out with the interface, it will truly be a winner of a product.
When it is happy, it is the best external floppy drive and card reader you have ever used. When it is not happy, you are pretty much out of luck.
