User Illusion gives our IODD 2541 5 out of 5 stars and writes:
Good device with few weaknesses
Right away, the weaknesses are bearable. I'm a bit annoyed by the keypad, which is a bit cheap in feel, and the not-so-smooth handling of virtual discs (VHD). The manual confused me. That was it! Otherwise, the thing works flawlessly.
For the price range you get an absolutely secure encryption for the included harddisk and an ingenious possibility to start images from iso images. You can put several ISO files in a directory and then choose which one to insert via the menu in the display. On the PC connected via USB, this is then recognized as a CD/DVD drive. The hard drive is recognized as an external USB drive.
I could not boot the ISO with UEFI and created a VHD as a workaround, which I then named in the file extension .rmd (removable device). Then this file was recognized by the computer as a USB stick after selection in the display. I then wrote the ISO with an ISO to USB program and voila, UEFI could also be booted.

User Grom65 gives and 5 out of 5 stars for our IODD 2541 and writes:
Ingenious for supporters in the IT environment - "must-have" product.
I work in support and am really excited about the possibility to boot from an ISO image via this external USB enclosure (hard disk or SSD has to be installed by yourself according to your personal requirements) like a mounted external CD/DVD. I have ordered two pieces (one for use with PC/NTFSnand one for Mac/exFat), but one device makes problems: hard disk and virtual CD drive log off spontaneously during operation or the device restarts, so there are unfortunately only four stars for quality. However, it makes a quality impression and the error-free device has already saved me a lot of time. My opinion: Indispensable for support - I would buy it again at any time!

User Andre R. gives us 5 out of 5 stars for our IODD 2541 and writes:
simply the hammer
This case is worth the money, just awesome.
I now have all ISO files on one HDD and no longer have to run around with 8 sticks, also I can partially do without an external DVD drive when installing programs where you can create an ISO from the disk.

Simply select the ISO via the keypad, Enter and the installation can begin.

Supplied with protective case and protective films.

User Grendelbox gives us 5 out of 5 stars for our IODD 2531 and writes:
For every PC technician and administrator a MUST-HAVE gadget !!!!
I already have since 2014 the quasi identical Zalman (with a 1TB Samsung built) in use
and have me the iODD 2531 now (because of the firmware support) purchased as a second device.
I have now given it directly an SSD....da everything goes off again a bit faster.
With Zalman does unfortunately update-technically nothing more, because the device has expired with them.
and the iODD firmware I get (tested it) in the Zalman also not pure to be up to date here.
Well, it was worth a try.
What I found clearly better with the Zalman is the protective cover, which has the device perfectly framed
and left the display directly visible without having to pull it out of the case.
No matter ! The device has proven itself to me even so without end
and has also saved the "neck" of several people ;-)
I always ask myself how I could ever live without this great part in everyday life at work and at home.
I used to carry around 2 big binder rings full of "Kingston DataTraveler DTSE9H 8GB" USB sticks
to be prepared for every staging case and every operating system variant at work and at home.
With this fine part, all that is "water under the bridge".
Copying a new bootable ISO on it is also much faster and less work than
to copy the ISO bootable to a USB stick with some tool.
Ok, let's go....
- Install the HDD/SSD into the case (mini-screwdriver is included)
and then format the disk in dual- or HDD-mode with NTFS (the firmware in the delivery state expects this)
- Create a folder named "_ISO" in the HDD root directory.
- Then copy your - hopefully - bootable .ISO files into it
With this you are quasi finished !
I recommend before setting up a computer at a running system
then switch from Dual- or HDD-Mode to the pure "ODD-Drive-Mode
and select the desired .ISO in the display and mount it.
I recommend the pure "ODD-Drive-Mode" for setting up,
because some PCs/laptops - and especially the older ones - may not be able to handle the DUAL mode
may not get along with the DUAL mode and do not want to boot.
Therefore don't mess around ;-)
Then connect to the computer you want to reboot.
The BIOS should be prepared accordingly.
Start the computer and select the boot menu in the bios.
(if not already "Boot from USB" has the prio)
When you turn on the computer, the selected ISO should be mounted and ready to use.
Usually the message "Boot from DVD/CD-Rom..press any key" etc. etc. appears.
confirm this then with a key promptly and off goes the whole "Aufsetz"-Spass....
The device works fine with old MBR boot strategies as well as with the new UEFI/Secureboot stuff.
The latter is in companies quasi "security standard" for the devices (UEFI+Secureboot+TPM enabled).
Of course you can put whatever you need outside the "_ISO" folder...
That's the beauty of the part....man has everything on one device
All in all, the device is the great all-round talent that you wanted as a technology freak for just such a thing.
You could think someone would have read my thoughts, what you need as a PC-fuzzi ;-)
Bingo ! That was a bull's eye !

User Harald gives us 5 out of 5 stars for our IODD 2531 and writes:
practical, well working part with unique features
Since I needed a hard drive enclosure with USB3 anyway and I also just had an insane CD/DVD change orgy on the occasion of the EFI-based installation of a laptop behind me, I made the decision to buy this device.
Under Linux it is actually possible to mount ISO images in the bootloader and you can also mount ISO images and also hard disk images in operation. So you might think that hardware emulation would be unnecessary.
Unfortunately I had to learn that the software emulation of ISO images at boot time is anything but perfect (and it is probably not even 100% possible), so there are quite a lot of live CDs, rescue CDs, Windows installation CDs etc. that don't work that way.
Therefore I always kept a stack of various CDs ready.
As I unfortunately also had to find out, after about 5-10 years of these CDs were also quite a few unusable because of read errors (even burned). Of course, this happens just when you need it the least.
That's over now!
The hardware emulation of the ISO images by the IODD is absolutely perfect so far. I have compared practically all my CDs/DVDs with the emulation and the behavior was always absolutely identical. Except for...
...tra-raa, except for the speed! It really is extremely time-saving to start (or use) a CD in emulation (in my case from hard disk). This makes "CD "s fun again.
The use of hard disk images is another feature, but I have not yet fully explored its range.
Anyway, it works just as well as with ISOs.
You can simply put all images into the _ISO folder and then you can select them in the LCD display.
You can, for example, turn a Windows 10 system into such an image and then boot from there.

User Axel Foley gives and 5 of 5 stars for our IODD 2541 and writes:
Fully satisfied to date !
I myself am also satisfied with the device. I would have preferred if instead of this USB 3.0 Micro-B socket, the more stable version USB 3.0 B socket had been installed. It might take up a bit more space, but it's good for frequent plugging and unplugging. Otherwise, I have nothing to complain about at the moment. All other features have already been mentioned by other reviewers. And yes, the company now seems to sell only new devices as NEW. I got a new device right away. The complaint to Amazon from reviewer "Votan", seems to have worked. Now hopefully more interested people will buy such a device. If I find any serious flaws after prolonged use, I will of course revise my review. At this point, everything is 1a.

User R., Mathias gives us 5 out of 5 stars for our IODD 2531 and writes:
Versatile and practical
The device allows the insertion of any 2.5" SATA disk or SSD.

After that, there are three ways to use the hardware:
1) as a normal USB hard disk for the purpose of data transport
2) as a USB CD/DVD drive. - Works only if the BIOS 1) supports USB devices and 2) can boot from USB devices (nowadays ALL)
3) Mixed mode --> boot from ISOs AND use as a mobile hard disk for data transfer

The device offers via display the possibility to declare one of the above modes as default, and also to select the currently loaded CD/DVD ISO.

I have been looking for this for a long time, and am pleased that it meets my requirements.
If you do a lot of maintenance, you need a bootable ISO of operating system XYZ every now and then.
In the past, you had a lot of USB sticks with you, which (after preparation) then contained the appropriate operating system ISOs....
That is over now. Now you simply "dump" all the ISOs you have onto a 2.5" USB HDD, slide it into the removable frame offered here, and you have everything you could possibly need. - It is prepared for all eventualities. - Both thumbs up!