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Home » External Drives and Enclosures » OWC Mercury On-The-Go Pro Portable Drives (USB 3.0 + FW800)

OWC Mercury
On-The-Go®

0GB
Bus-Powered, Multi-Interface Enclosure Kit

Mac / PC / USB 3.0 & 2.0 / FireWire 800 (FireWire 400 Backwards Compatible)
  • Mac
  • PC
  • FireWire 800/400
  • USB 3.0
The OWC Mercury On-The-Go USB 3.0 & 2.0 / FireWire 800 (FireWire 400 Backwards Compatible) Enclosure Kit packs an incredible punch into a 3″ W x 5.5″ L x 1″ H 11 ounce package!
If you're looking for one of the most compatible mass storage solutions made, look no further! The OWC Mercury On-The-Go drive is all you'll need! Packing a one-two punch of super fast USB 3.0 and FireWire 800, the OWC Mercury On-The-Go has what it takes to truly work cross platform.
Outstanding Features
The OWC Mercury On-The-Go features the latest in performance with an Oxford combination FireWire and USB chipset creating one perfectly integrated storage solution.

The OWC Mercury On-The-Go's fanless design offers near silent operation while still keeping your drive cool. The built-in aluminum heatsink underneath the drive and passthrough cooling vents on the top of the case work in tandem to provide optimum results.

The On-The-Go "Add your own Drive" Kit enclosure is ready to accept your own 2.5" SATA Hard Drive or SSD. Now you can upgrade your Mac or PC notebook's internal drive and retask that old drive as a new external drive for even more backup and storage capacity! This solution will give you an excellent transportable storage device, or a backup option that you may have not had!
 Drive Not Included – Needs 2.5" Serial ATA (SATA) Hard Drive or Solid State Drive
2.5" sata hard drive
OWC NOTE: This drive enclosure requires a 2.5" Serial ATA (SATA) drive mechanism.
OWC Mercury On-The-Go
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If your OWC or NewerTech brand product should require service during the warranty coverage period, we are committed to delivering the fastest possible service.


Upon receipt of your unit, OWC will make every attempt to service it and arrange shipping back to you all within 48 weekday (Monday-Friday) business hours, excluding U.S. national holidays. This warranty service timeframe does not include data recovery attempts, out of stock items/components, or upgrade/product replacements.


Read additional information.

OWC's A Closer Look

Take a closer look at
OWC's On-The-Go Pro.
OWC's Step-by-Step Install Video

How to install a Hard Drive in a
Mercury On-The-Go Enclosure.

Includes

Mercury On-The-Go includes
  • OWC Mercury On-The-Go Pro Bus-Powered, Multi-Interface, USB 3.0 & 2.0 / FireWire 800 (FireWire 400 Backwards Compatible) Enclosure Kit for SATA 2.5" Hard Drives
  • 15" High Quality Double Shielded FireWire 800 connecting cable (9-9 Pin cable)
  • 18" High Quality Double Shielded USB 3.0/2.0/1.1 (9 pin mini A – B) certified connecting cable
  • Carrying Case
  • Assembly Manual & User Guide
  • 1 Year OWC Enclosure Limited Warranty with 48-Hour Turnaround Time

Gallery

Gallery Pic 1 Gallery Pic 2 Gallery Pic 3

Product Specifications:

Bus Interface

  • FireWire 1394B (IEE1394A/B/iLink Compliant), 2 9 Pin (powered) ports, backwards compatible with FireWire 400 (9-Pin to 6-Pin Cable) – requires FireWire 800 to 400 Cable/Adapter for use with 1394A Interface, see related items.
  • USB 3.0 / 2.0 / 1.1 Backwards compatible 9 pin mini "B" port.

Cables

  • All cables included. The USB cable connects to systems with USB, USB 2.0, and USB 3.0. No additional USB cable is needed to connect the drive.

Chipset

  • Oxford 944 and ASMedia 1051e FireWire/USB chipset

Drive Mechanisms Supported

Max Data Transfer Rate

  • FireWire 800 – 100MB/sec
  • FireWire 400 – 50MB/sec
  • USB 3.0 – 500MB/sec
  • USB 2.0 – 60MB/sec
  • USB 1.1 – 1.5MB/sec

Macintosh System Requirements

  • Mac OS 8.6 to 9.2.2 compatible, OS X 10.1.x and later. (10.2 or later required for FW800 and USB 3.0)
  • FireWire 800: Macintosh with FireWire 800 interface, either built in or via PCI FireWire 800 card.
  • FireWire 400: Macintosh with FireWire 400 interface, either built in or via PCI FireWire 400 card.
  • USB 3.0: Macintosh with USB 3.0 interface, either built in or via PCI USB 3.0 card.
  • USB 2.0: Macintosh with USB 2.0 interface, either built in or via PCI USB 2.0 card.

UASP (USB Attached SCSI Protocol) Compliant

  • Yes

Port/Interface Bootability

  • Can I use this solution as an external startup drive?
  • FireWire 800: Supported on Macs and PC's meeting minimum requirements. - Click for more info
  • FireWire 400: Supported on Macs and PC's meeting minimum requirements. - Click for more info
  • USB 3.0: Supported on Macs and PC's meeting minimum requirements. - Click for more info
  • USB 2.0: Supported on Macs and PC's meeting minimum requirements. - Click for more info

Windows System Requirements

  • FireWire 800: PC with FireWire 800 interface, either built in or via PCI FireWire 800 card.
  • FireWire 400: PC with FireWire 400 interface, either built in or via PCI FireWire 400 card.
  • USB 3.0: PC with USB 3.0 interface, either built in or via PCI USB 3.0 card.
  • USB 2.0: PC with USB 2.0 interface, either built in or via PCI USB 2.0 card.

Linux Requirements

  • Linux compatible via supported USB and FireWire interfaces.

Related Items

Power Supply*

  • Bus Power via FireWire 800 supported on all models equipped with an available FireWire 800 port either factory stock or via add on FireWire 800 PCI Card.
  • Bus Power via FireWire 400 on all models made in 2001 or later via Factory ports or any model with add on FireWire 400 PCI Card.
  • Bus power via USB on most computers with factory installed USB 2.0 or USB 3.0 port.
  • Optional AC Adapter* (available as a separate purchase here)
    * AC adapter not required for most applications provided computer bus supplies appropriate power needs.

External Case Dimensions

  • 3.5" (W) x 5.5" (D) x 1" (H)
  • 88.9mm x 139.7mm x 25.4mm

Unit Weight (no mechanism)

  • 0.44lbs. (0.19kg)

Product Manual

Operating Environment:

Temperature

  • Dependent on mechanism installed

Relative Humidity

  • Dependent on mechanism installed

Vibration

  • Dependent on mechanism installed

MTBF (hours)

  • Dependent on mechanism installed

Warranty

1 Year OWC Enclosure Limited Warranty

The best warranty is one you never have to use, but should the need occur – OWC is proud to provide a superior level of support and warranty coverage to our customers. Even when not used, we understand the peace of mind afforded by a longer warranty period. OWC's industry leading coverage is a testament to our confidence in the reliability of the solutions that we offer. OWC solutions are engineered to demanding quality standards in order to deliver the most reliable, highest performance available on the market in each storage category.

View more information about the 1 Year OWC Enclosure Limited Warranty
Manufacturer provided specifications for Other World Computing p/n MSTG800U3K UPC#: 810586032483

Reviews/Awards

Videos


Customer Ratings

Write a Review 4.8 / 5 90 out of 98 (92%) reviewers would recommend this product
1 2 3 4
Verified Buyer
Reviewer: SuperMarlin-95576
Rating: 5/5 Fast and more then promised May 3, 2021 Quick hasslefree delivery with a small bonus software license. Drive works flawless!

I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from 500GB SSD OWC Mercury On-The-Go FireWire 800 / 400+USB3 SSD Portable Bus Powered Solution..

Verified Buyer
Reviewer: AnxiousSalamander-70959
Rating: 1/5 Stopped being recognized on new Macbook pro within two days. April 28, 2021 Not a good piece. Connected to firewire but stopped being recognized on my laptop. All other drives (and devices) show upon problem.

This review is from 2.0TB SSD OWC Mercury On-The-Go FireWire 800 / 400+USB3 SSD Portable Bus Powered Solution.

Verified Buyer
Reviewer: Enossified Location: Boston, MA Age: Over 65 Experience Level: Power User Owned Product: less than a month
Rating: 5/5 Perfact for Firewire users December 3, 2020 Some of us keep our Macs going a long time, a decade or more, and as I/O ports change over time it's harder to get drives that will work with them. Any Mac with FW800 doesn't have USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 is much slower. Luckily OWC is still supporting Firewire and this enclosure is perfect for repurposing an older SSD. I can use it with FW800 for my old Macbook Pro and iMac or with USB 3.0 for my current MacBook Air. Even after my Firewire macs are finally retired, the USB 3.0 port will still be useful with newer Macs.

This is a nice step up from the less expensive OWC Express in terms of build quality. There's even a power switch, great for leaving the drive connected but powered off after ejecting. If you will be moving the drive around, the included storage pouch is a nice touch. Even better is that a USB-A to USB-C adapter is included, which I wasn't expecting.

I would recommend this item to a friend!

Verified Buyer
Reviewer: tritimmy Location: Los Angeles Experience Level: Home User
Rating: 5/5 excellent drive and service September 2, 2020 Your Solid State drives continue to work great. Your customer service excels.

This review is from 500GB SSD OWC Mercury On-The-Go FireWire 800 / 400+USB3 SSD Portable Bus Powered Solution..

Verified Buyer
Reviewer: dba767 Location: NY, NY Age: Over 65 Experience Level: Home User Owned Product: 1-3 months
Rating: 5/5 Exceeded Expectations July 8, 2019 I was looking for a solution to speedup my aging 2010 iMac. The good folks at Bombich Software (Carbon Copy Cloner) pointed me to this external SSD FireWire drive. The FireWire is the fastest external connection available on this vintage iMac. My idea was to clone my internal hard drive including the operating system to the external drive and use it as my boot drive. It took a few hours to clone the drive, but after that, the setup worked flawlessly. I highly recommend this drive.

I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from 500GB SSD OWC Mercury On-The-Go FireWire 800 / 400+USB3 SSD Portable Bus Powered Solution..

Verified Buyer
Reviewer: katsat Location: Honolulu, HI Age: Over 65 Experience Level: Home User Owned Product: 1-3 months
Rating: 5/5 Solved a big problem October 31, 2018 My husband has been using my old iMac which was good enough for his basic needs. Unfortunately, the internal hard drive gave out and it was too old / too troublesome to find a replacement for. After much effort I was able to hook it up with an old external hard drive, and that worked for a while, but that gave out, too. I finally found this external SSD hard drive with the discontinued FireWire800 connection and connected it to the old iMac. After some fiddling around, it finally worked like magic! Very happy with this product that marked the successful end of a big struggle.

I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from 1.0TB SSD OWC Mercury On-The-Go FireWire 800 / 400+USB3 SSD Portable Bus Powered Solution..

Verified Buyer
Reviewer: Macsolvers Location: San Francisco Bay Area Experience Level: Power User Owned Product: 1-3 months
Rating: 5/5 Was able to put to use quickly October 28, 2018 I have installed 2.5 inch drives in several of these enclosures before, and this one was just as easy to assemble. I am using the drive enclosure as a supplemental backup system.

I would recommend this item to a friend!

Verified Buyer
Reviewer: driveeater
Rating: 4/5 installation was a bit difficult, but otherwise it's perfect October 23, 2018 I purchased this to use with an SSD drive from a mid-2009 MBP. Out of the box, i couldn't make it work, as the drive was a tinier bit wider than the space between the sides of the metal mounting tray. So i pried the sides a bit wider, manually [it took some force!], and then it barely slid in. Other than that, it's perfect -- fast, quiet, and i appreciate the shorter-length data cords.

I would recommend this item to a friend!

Verified Buyer
Reviewer: TheBridge Location: Canada Age: 45-54 Experience Level: IT Professional Owned Product: less than a month
Rating: 5/5 Incredible Value October 6, 2018 This beautiful little case gave new life to an iBook G4 that refuses to recognize its internal drive. I'm able to boot using a FireWire 400 to 800 cable and supply power to the drive at the same time. USB 3 + FW interfaces means it's a no-brainer to quickly get files from my newer MacBook Pro onto this drive.

One of the earlier reviews of this device criticizes the difficulty of swapping out the drive because the back plate is very snug and deep... you risk damaging the circuit board if you try to pry the back plate out. I solved this by securely fastening two strips of tape to the top and bottom of the back plate to give me something to grip if I ever need to remove it. Works like a charm.

My only criticism of this device is that the rails of aluminum plate that the circuit board slides into bent inwards so that when it came time to slide the drive itself into the plate, it would not fit. A simple enough fix; I just gently straightened out the rails a bit at a time with pliers.

All in all an excellent product and, for the price (even with the exchange rate) an amazing value. I highly recommend.

I would recommend this item to a friend!

Verified Buyer
Reviewer: awebdancer Location: Seattle Age: Over 65 Experience Level: Hobbiest Owned Product: less than a month
Rating: 5/5 Go Pro Hard Drive July 1, 2018 The Go Pro Hard Drive was very, very easy to install. I have an older mac and all the hard drives I looked at required a current OS system. I had attempted to install a Seagate that was made for my older mac and had to take my mac to an apple store, because the drive messed up my mac big time. The Go Pro was pretty much plug in - install the hardware, ask the time machine to set it up and it was good to Go!

I am very pleased.

I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from 2.0TB OWC Mercury On-The-Go Pro Portable FW800&400/USB3 5400RPM Storage Solution.

Verified Buyer
Reviewer: Cricketphan Location: Hendersonville, NC Age: Over 65 Experience Level: Home User Owned Product: 1-3 months
Rating: 5/5 Compact & Fast June 21, 2018 This is our 2nd On-The-Go Mercury drive from OWC (1st one ran out of space) and we couldn't be more pleased. Connection to our 2010 MacBook Pro was seamless, and the backup speed is outstanding. Truly plug and "play". THANKYOU, OWC!!

I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from 1.0TB OWC Mercury On-The-Go Pro Portable FW800&400/USB3 7200RPM Storage Solution.

Verified Buyer
Reviewer: KlownGuy Location: Portland, ME Age: 55-65 Experience Level: Power User Owned Product: 1-3 months
Rating: 5/5 Second one April 26, 2018 This is the second one of these that I have purchased. Although my first one that I bought in 2011 was 500GB and it still works, I needed some more space. This one is the SSD version. I hope it lasts like the first one!

I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from 250GB SSD OWC Mercury On-The-Go FireWire 800 / 400+USB3 SSD Portable Bus Powered Solution..

Verified Buyer
Reviewer: TheEudoraGuy Location: San Diego, CA Age: 55-65 Experience Level: IT Professional Owned Product: 1-3 months
Rating: 5/5 It's always the same April 2, 2018 Excellent products, stellar service. OWC never changes.

I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from 2.0TB OWC Mercury On-The-Go Pro Portable FW800&400/USB3 5400RPM Storage Solution.

Verified Buyer
Reviewer: Josh12 Location: Josh12 Age: 35-44 Experience Level: Home User Owned Product: 1-3 months
Rating: 5/5 Drive enclosure kit February 22, 2018 Very easy to install an SSD or HDD.

I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from (*) OWC Mercury On-The-Go 2.5" Portable FW800 + USB 3.0/2.0 Drive Enclosure Kit.

Verified Buyer
Reviewer: Mike3334 Location: Northampton MA Age: Over 65 Experience Level: Home User Owned Product: less than a month
Rating: 5/5 Just what I needed January 22, 2018 This little portable hard drive was just what I needed, easy to set up and exactly as described. Another good experience

I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from 1.0TB OWC Mercury On-The-Go Pro Portable FW800&400/USB3 7200RPM Storage Solution.

Verified Buyer Top 250 Contributor
Reviewer: DougB Location: AZ Age: Over 65 Experience Level: Home User Owned Product: 1-3 months
Rating: 5/5 Fast and Dependable December 8, 2017 This drive is plenty fast enough for my purposes, as is FireWire 800. I've found FireWire 400 & 800 connectors to be very reliable, while USB has been comparatively finicky, now and then disastrously so. This package is a bit like a two-speed drive, first gear so you're sure to get there promptly no matter what, and second when top speed is the priority. My iMovie and Aperture working libraries are on this drive, and unlike on a USB3 thumbdrive that proved glacial, this Mercury kit on lowly FireWire creates no delays in working the programs. The enclosure isn't glamorous, but it nicely gets the job done, especially since this 5400 RPM drive needs no separate power supply.

I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from 2.0TB OWC Mercury On-The-Go Pro Portable FW800&400/USB3 5400RPM Storage Solution.

Verified Buyer
Reviewer: ADAV Location: Toulouse, France Age: Over 65 Experience Level: Home User Owned Product: less than a month
Rating: 5/5 Handy and good looking October 30, 2017 Nice manufacturing quality, good looking and all working at he first time. Excellent

I would recommend this item to a friend!

Verified Buyer
Reviewer: MATT66 Location: Asia Age: 45-54 Experience Level: Power User Owned Product: 1-3 months
Rating: 2/5 The product not reusable friendly October 11, 2017 Bought the casing only and doing HDD self-installation. I have many different type of casing all this years and this is the only one i felt is not reusable friendly. Easy to install and the product was compact and nice but after you have pushed in the back plastic panel to complete the installation, it will be impossible to pull out again in future if you want to upgrade the HDD. Not recommended for someone if they want to swap the HDD often.

This review is from (*) OWC Mercury On-The-Go 2.5" Portable FW800 + USB 3.0/2.0 Drive Enclosure Kit.

Response from OWC, Call center October 23, 2017 The Mercury Elite Pro is designed for a single hard drive, and is not really meant to be swapped out regularly. The back panel can be removed, but it is not the easiest process. If using multiple drives with the same enclosure is a factor, we would recommend one of our docking stations, such as the Voyager Q.
Verified Buyer
Reviewer: diarma Location: Serbia | Europe Age: 55-65 Experience Level: IT Professional Owned Product: less than a month
Rating: 5/5 5+ | Great features | great design | September 22, 2017 5+ | Great features | great design | - simply, all is perfect!

I would recommend this item to a friend!

Verified Buyer
Reviewer: Woodstock Location: Avon, IN Age: Over 65 Experience Level: Home User Owned Product: over 6 months
Rating: 5/5 Never a problem May 2, 2017 I use my OWC Mercury On-The-Go Firewire portable drive to maintain backups of my 2009 MacBook Pro. No incidents at all to report and I'd not hesitate to buy the drive again...but I don't need to!

I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from 1.0TB OWC Mercury On-The-Go Pro Portable FW800&400/USB3 5400RPM Storage Solution.

Verified Buyer
Reviewer: Jedi Location: Vientiane, Laos Age: Over 65 Experience Level: IT Professional Owned Product: less than a month
Rating: 4/5 for use both on older and newer Macs! February 6, 2017 I just pulled out the original 500GB HDD on my mid-2010 MacBook Pro 15" (USB 2.0 and FW800 ports only), installed an SSD instead, upped the RAM to the max 8GB, and put the old HDD into the Mercury box. Worth doing, and while I had earlier bought the upgrade hardware from another source, OWC/MacSales would be an excellent supplier as well. Most of the rest of my Mac workstations and field use hardware is USB 3, so I was willing to pay twice of what an HDD case that had only USB 3 ports would cost to effectively double or triple my data transfer rates —compared to USB2— on the old machine, using the the FW800 interface, and also getting full USB3 speed on all the other machines in the house. Very robust design and clearly an excellent product. But again, probably not worth is if you have USB3 ports on your Macs, since FW800 is otherwise obsolete and long abandoned by Apple.

I would recommend this item to a friend!

Verified Buyer
Reviewer: redram Location: Lithia FL Age: Over 65 Experience Level: Home User Owned Product: less than a month
Rating: 5/5 excellent support January 17, 2017 after calling to address a case where the unit was making noise , Iwas well taking care of. problem. It appears to be low power from USB cable so I switched to firewire as directed by support. no problem since.

I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from 1.0TB OWC Mercury On-The-Go Pro Portable FW800&400/USB3 7200RPM Storage Solution.

Verified Buyer
Reviewer: BubbaJ Location: Texas Age: Over 65 Experience Level: Power User Owned Product: 1-3 months
Rating: 5/5 Great Product November 25, 2016 I got this drive to be used as a Time Machine backup drive for an older Mac Book Pro. No problems & runs great. I've hooked it up to the laptop using both USB & Firewire (cables came with it).

I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from 1.0TB OWC Mercury On-The-Go Pro Portable FW800&400/USB3 7200RPM Storage Solution.

Verified Buyer
Reviewer: OldWorldComputing
Rating: 4/5 you may need the AC adapter November 20, 2016 I have several of these drive enclosures. They're very handy for tossing in the laptop bag. I also use them for rotating off-site backups. My only complaint is that, with some drives, they may require more power than is provided by USB or Firewire, which means you have to carry one of the AC adapter wall-warts AND be near a power outlet. This reduces the portability considerably. This drawback is barely implied by a tiny footnote on the product page, and is more explicit in the documentation that comes with the product. I suggest you buy one of the AC adapters and keep it with the unit, at least until you're sure the drive works reliably without it.

(I encountered the problem with HGST 1TB drives; some work without the AC adapter, some don't. Frustrating, especially until I figured out what the problem was.)

I would recommend this item to a friend!

Verified Buyer
Reviewer: Fdisk2k Location: Lima - Peru Age: 35-44 Experience Level: Power User Owned Product: less than a month
Rating: 5/5 Perfect enclosure for backups November 8, 2016 Perfect enclosure for backups or transport your digital media. Purchased a bare kit, since I've already my hard drive, the kit comes with cables and a plastic pouch.

I recommend this enclosure to do your backups always, don't wait until you are in big trouble.

I would recommend this item to a friend!

OWC 0GB OWC On-The-Go® Mfr P/N: MSTG800U3K OWC SKU: OWCMSTG800U3K Bus-Powered, Multi-Interface Enclosure Kit 1 Year OWC Limited Warranty Ships: Same Day
Reviews (98)
Only $59.99OWC Price $49.75
Add to CartOther World Computing MSTG800U3K In Stock, Click to Buy Now
Additional Capacities & Kits: 5400 RPM Hard Drive Models
  • 1.0TB
    • Ships: Same Day
    • Only $114.99
    • OWC Price $99.88
  • 2.0TB
    • Ships: Same Day
    • OWC Price $127.88
7200 RPM Hard Drive Models
  • 1.0TB
    • Ships: Same Day
    • OWC Price $124.88
Enclosure Only
  • 0GB
Solid-State Drive Models
  • 120GB
    • Ships: Same Day
    • OWC Price $87.00
  • 250GB
    • Ships: Same Day
    • OWC Price $102.00
  • 500GB
    • Ships: Same Day
    • OWC Price $149.00
  • 1.0TB
    • Ships: Same Day
    • OWC Price $259.00
  • 2.0TB
    • Ships: Same Day
    • OWC Price $449.00
  • 4.0TB
    • Ships: Same Day
    • OWC Price $949.00
Recommended Items:
Black USB Y Cable Black USB 3.0 "Y" Cable Connect and power your external hard drive via USB on systems that lack sufficient power via USB! From $9.99
Power Adapter Optional AC Power Adapter for all OWC Mercury On-The-Go, Mercury Express AL 2.5" FireWire and/or USB Enclosures From $9.79
FireWire 800-400 Adapter FireWire 800-400 Adapter Provides a simple way to connect FireWire 400 devices to a FireWire 800 port From $7.99
FireWire 800-400 Cable FireWire 800-400 Cable 12″ FireWire 9-Pin to 6-Pin Interconnect Cable From $3.99
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