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#1
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cheap external hard drive
i am going to buy a usb to sata adapter.
i want to run a hard drive (3.5 sata) outside of the case (bare) to transfer files i have a spare power supply that can connect to the hard drive the molex on the power supply will connect to the hd and the sata data cable will connect to the usb-sata adapter. will the hard drive power up and operate without being connected to a motherboard? -- |
#2
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cheap external hard drive
On Mon, 16 Sep 2013 05:31:15 +0000 (UTC), "donut"
wrote: i am going to buy a usb to sata adapter. i want to run a hard drive (3.5 sata) outside of the case (bare) to transfer files i have a spare power supply that can connect to the hard drive the molex on the power supply will connect to the hd and the sata data cable will connect to the usb-sata adapter. will the hard drive power up and operate without being connected to a motherboard? It's connected to a MB as soon as the USBSATA adaptor decides it is. I've a USB docking station for 3.5" SATA drives, with electronics and a PS on it, that, as soon as connected to a computer's USB root hub, picks it up for a storage device to assign appropriate driver letters when a drive is seated. You'll be attempting the same thing from a distinct PS with the required HD voltages to run one in an effective "hot-swap" USB/SATA adaptor capacity. |
#3
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cheap external hard drive
donut wrote:
i am going to buy a usb to sata adapter. i want to run a hard drive (3.5 sata) outside of the case (bare) to transfer files i have a spare power supply that can connect to the hard drive the molex on the power supply will connect to the hd and the sata data cable will connect to the usb-sata adapter. will the hard drive power up and operate without being connected to a motherboard? One kind of solution is a drive dock. This one is USB3, but will still work if plugged into a USB2 computer. The dock accepts 2.5 inch or 3.5 inch drives, and a spacer takes up some of the space when the 2.5 inch drive is being used. "VANTEC USB 3.0 Hard Drive Dock $50" http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817392049 This is the other style of adapter. It supports 2.5 inch IDE (44 pin 2mm spacing), 3.5 inch IDE (40 pin 0.1 inch spacing), and SATA for 2.5 or 3.5 inch drives. Comes with its own power supply. "Vantec 2.5"/3.5"/5.25" SATA/IDE to USB 2.0 Adapter $18" http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16812232002 Always read the customer feedback reviews, as not all these kinds of products are good. On the latter one, you need to check the reviews for failing power supplies. And with any kind of adapter (if it is physically possible), watch for ATAPI compatibility for optical drives. In this case, you could use the latter one potentially with an optical drive, because it can be fitted. So you'd check the reviews for that as well. If you had the cabling inside a desktop computer available, you can also get SATA to IDE or IDE to SATA adapters, but the chips for those have gone out of style. The only chips remaining, might not be the best brands. In some cases, these plug into the back of the drive. http://www.startech.com/HDD/Adapters...verter~IDE2SAT Some of the chips used in those, are bidirectional, and then the one adapter can support both directions of adaptation. http://www.startech.com/HDD/Adapters...ter~PATA2SATA3 ******* I also just run the cables outside my PC, with the door taken off the side. Then I can run both power and IDE or SATA, to external drives. That's the cheapest solution. I made a home-made drive rack, to hold the drives while they're next to the PC. I also have an 80mm fan, to hold next to the drive, for cooling. Paul |
#4
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cheap external hard drive
donut wrote:
i am going to buy a usb to sata adapter. i want to run a hard drive (3.5 sata) outside of the case (bare) to transfer files i have a spare power supply that can connect to the hard drive the molex on the power supply will connect to the hd and the sata data cable will connect to the usb-sata adapter. will the hard drive power up and operate without being connected to a motherboard? Why not try a USB/SATA docking station? It provides its own power rather than try to suck out the 1/4 W from 1 or 1/2 W from 2 USB ports. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817801093 I got one of these to handle several external hard disks, including those for saving backup images. I don't know what you are looking at for a USB-to-SATA adapter to know how much you would spend on that. If you are doing this task just once and never expect to do it again then a docking station is probably more expensive than whatever adapter you are contemplating on using. If you are using an ATX power supply then you'll have to short the PS-ON (green wire) to ground (black wire) to get it to turn on when not connected to a motherboard. Some PSUs will not stay up if there is an insufficient load on them. The external drive does not rely on data signals to power up. In fact, you would have to use the proper command sent via data cable to spin down the drive. Once you apply power to the hard disk, it will spin up. Whether the computer can communicate with the drive depends on what USB-to-SATA converter you intend to use. They're pretty simple and can be had for about $10 but they're clumsy and inelegant as you end up with a spider cable setup. Yet if it is not for your personal use but something to put into your toolbox at a computer repair shop for when needed then it's all you need. |
#5
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cheap external hard drive
On Mon, 16 Sep 2013 05:31:15 +0000 (UTC), "donut"
wrote: i am going to buy a usb to sata adapter. i want to run a hard drive (3.5 sata) outside of the case (bare) to transfer files i have a spare power supply that can connect to the hard drive the molex on the power supply will connect to the hd and the sata data cable will connect to the usb-sata adapter. will the hard drive power up and operate without being connected to a motherboard? Yes, that will work, but you really don't need the usb-sata adapter. It's much better performance to go SATA all the way. Buy a SATA-SATA cable, of sufficient length to connect to connect to the MB SATA connectors (most MBs have several) and run it outside the box to the bare drive. Power your drive as you plan, and you're all set.... however for hotswap you might need a few other things.... a free program called Hotswap is useful to ensure your system recognizes the drive, and then frees it so you can disconnect it when finished. .... and, you night have to jumper a couple of pins on that spare power supply to get it to turn on.... I don't remember which ones, but if you run into that problem a post will quickly get you that information I'm sure. |
#6
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cheap external hard drive
donut wrote:
i am going to buy a usb to sata adapter. i want to run a hard drive (3.5 sata) outside of the case (bare) to transfer files i have a spare power supply that can connect to the hard drive the molex on the power supply will connect to the hd and the sata data cable will connect to the usb-sata adapter. will the hard drive power up and operate without being connected to a motherboard? -- i was planning to get one of these http://www.ebay.com/itm/USB-2-0-to-e...vertor-Adapter -2-5-hard-disk-for-laptop-PC-HMY-/290968253412?pt=US_Drive_Cables_dapter s&hash=item43bf0f33e4 |
#7
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cheap external hard drive
donut wrote:
donut wrote: i am going to buy a usb to sata adapter. i want to run a hard drive (3.5 sata) outside of the case (bare) to transfer files i have a spare power supply that can connect to the hard drive the molex on the power supply will connect to the hd and the sata data cable will connect to the usb-sata adapter. will the hard drive power up and operate without being connected to a motherboard? i was planning to get one of these http://www.ebay.com/itm/USB-2-0-to-e...vertor-Adapter -2-5-hard-disk-for-laptop-PC-HMY-/290968253412?pt=US_Drive_Cables_dapter s&hash=item43bf0f33e4 You shouldn't put your followup, after the .sig mark "-- " as then it doesn't get copied. I had to copy your second text into the message manually. ******* Yes, it's likely to work. If you use an ATX power supply, with +5V and +12V on a Molex, the ATX power supply will need PS_ON# connected to COM to turn it on. You'll need a Molex to SATA power cable, if the ATX power supply does not come with SATA 15 contact power connectors. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16812200061 Avoid making too complicated a powering setup. An ATX supply has a "safety ground" connection, and does not float. You preferably do not want two or more ATX power supplies in your hardware picture. One ATX supply should be OK. With the laptop, the laptop adapter floats, so there is no ground in that path. And the SATA data cable used with the USB adapter, ensures the external hard drive and its power source, are brought to the same ground potential as the laptop. You should be able to safely run the laptop off its AC adapter, at the same time an ATX supply is powering the hard drive. Since the SATA data cable has "Advanced" ground pins (a little longer than signal pins), you can even try plugging it hot and it should be OK. And to answer your original question, the USB adapter you're buying, is a replacement for your motherboard. And it does the talking to the hard drive, and makes it work. It implements the USB Mass Storage standard, and the OS on the laptop will know what to do with that. It will work, the drive will operate. In terms of jumpers on the drive, normally SATA has no jumpers. Some Seagates come with a four pin connector block, and you can visit the Seagate site to learn more about those pins. One pair of 2mm pins, is "Force150". The other pair is "Spread Spectrum" and only one Macintosh model needed that jumper used. So generally the Spread Spectrum jumper is not used. The Force150 jumper comes in handy occasionally, like with my VIA motherboard. Test the new adapter with a SATA II drive first. If you test with a SATA III drive and the adapter appears not to work, that may not be a definitive test that the adapter works. I would test the adapter with a SATA II drive, and if necessary, insert the Force150 jumper if the drive will not communicate. While in theory there should not be a problem mixing drives with the adapter, to know whether the adapter was busted or not, I'd want to test with a SATA I (forced 150) situation in hand. And a SATA II drive offers that option. SATA II drives become SATA I drives, when Force150 jumper is inserted. SATA III drives become SATA II drives when using Force150 jumper, and if a really bad USB controller chip is involved, the chip may not negotiate the cable rates properly. That's known to happen on VIA-based motherboards or older VIA based SATA cards, but I don't really know what the history of USB to SATA adapters is. I'm mentioning the potential for a problem, mainly for completeness, just because VIA blew it. Paul |
#8
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cheap external hard drive
donut wrote:
i am going to buy a usb to sata adapter. i want to run a hard drive (3.5 sata) outside of the case (bare) to transfer files i have a spare power supply that can connect to the hard drive the molex on the power supply will connect to the hd and the sata data cable will connect to the usb-sata adapter. will the hard drive power up and operate without being connected to a motherboard? -- do not put your followup after the sig mark? i am using xananews 1.18.1.6 do i select the original post and then reply or do i select the reply (eg your reply) and then reply |
#9
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cheap external hard drive
donut wrote:
donut wrote: i am going to buy a usb to sata adapter. i want to run a hard drive (3.5 sata) outside of the case (bare) to transfer files i have a spare power supply that can connect to the hard drive the molex on the power supply will connect to the hd and the sata data cable will connect to the usb-sata adapter. will the hard drive power up and operate without being connected to a motherboard? do not put your followup after the sig mark? i am using xananews 1.18.1.6 do i select the original post and then reply or do i select the reply (eg your reply) and then reply You click on my reply message, then you click "Post Reply". When you see the "two hyphens and a space", remove those with the editor, then put in your reply. Then hit send. I looked at xananews, and could not see an option to stop it from emitting an empty sig (two hyphens and a space). You would think if the signature file option was blank, the tool would not insert a blank sig. Such a signature serves no purpose. Neither does allowing you to type after the blank sig make sense. I must be missing something, as an egregeous bug this far along, must have been noted and commented upon already. So it must be some kind of design intent. I'd hoped there would be a registry setting (not visible in the program GUI), but didn't see anything. Paul |
#10
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cheap external hard drive
Paul wrote:
donut wrote: donut wrote: i am going to buy a usb to sata adapter. i want to run a hard drive (3.5 sata) outside of the case (bare) to transfer files i have a spare power supply that can connect to the hard drive the molex on the power supply will connect to the hd and the sata data cable will connect to the usb-sata adapter. will the hard drive power up and operate without being connected to a motherboard? do not put your followup after the sig mark? i am using xananews 1.18.1.6 do i select the original post and then reply or do i select the reply (eg your reply) and then reply You click on my reply message, then you click "Post Reply". When you see the "two hyphens and a space", remove those with the editor, then put in your reply. Then hit send. I looked at xananews, and could not see an option to stop it from emitting an empty sig (two hyphens and a space). You would think if the signature file option was blank, the tool would not insert a blank sig. Such a signature serves no purpose. Neither does allowing you to type after the blank sig make sense. I must be missing something, as an egregeous bug this far along, must have been noted and commented upon already. So it must be some kind of design intent. I'd hoped there would be a registry setting (not visible in the program GUI), but didn't see anything. Paul test reply after clicking on post reply below the cursor there were 2 hyphens deleted them thanks for your help |
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