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OT - SATA to USB thingy
mcerd1 - 31/8/11 at 09:01 AM

can some one recommend me a USB adapter thingy for SATA drives (2.5" and 3.5" )

not bothered about any kind of case, but it would be best if it was powered off the USB cable

cheers
-Robert

[Edited on 31/8/2011 by mcerd1]

HowardB - 31/8/11 at 09:20 AM

got mine from Maplin, not sure that there are any that are USB powered ones, but mine came with a nice PSU,....

£25 if I recall,....

hth

Daddylonglegs - 31/8/11 at 09:46 AM

I got one of 2.5 inch SATA HDD to USB 2.0 Enclosure Caddy -02 | eBay. I am assuming you have the drive, just need the adaptor right?

I'm happy with the one I have and it takes it's power from the USB port.

HTH

JB

stevebubs - 31/8/11 at 10:17 AM

2.5 inch will probably be able to be powered from USB port; doubt a 3.5inch one will....

stevebubs - 31/8/11 at 10:18 AM

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sumvision-Sata-Docking-Station-Reader/dp/B002AGWNSY

jossey - 31/8/11 at 10:19 AM

just buy a cheap one on ebay. they are about £5.00

get usb 2.0 as its a bit quicker. but all are simular and do the job.

I have 3 or 4 drivers now which all work well and all have different enclosures.....

dont worry abotu specific makes as most are re branded anyway.

good luck,

MikeRJ - 31/8/11 at 10:31 AM

You can't power a 3.5" drive from a USB port, and it's marginal with some 2.5" drives (many enclosures come with a cable to draw power from two USB ports to ensure it works).

balidey - 31/8/11 at 12:33 PM

I would say DON'T buy the absolute cheapest one off ebay. I did and it didn't read the drive. It powered up, the drive letter appeared, but no access. Same on several drives and several PC's.
Then bought a very slightly more expensive one, about £10, made by (or badged as) Dynamode and that worked as it should.

Madinventions - 31/8/11 at 12:34 PM

If you want to change drives frequently then a case is a PITA. Do an eBay search for 'USB 2.0 TO SATA / IDE CABLE FOR HDD W/ POWER ADAPTER UK' (ie Item number: 320383801768)



This is an in-line cable mounted adaptor that works with 3.5" IDE, 2.5" IDE and all SATA drives, and includes a power supply so you don't have to power the drive from USB. It also comes with all the leads you need, and it's only £9 with free postage.

Oh, and it works with Windows 7 64 bit (unlike some of the cheaper Chinese tat!)


Ed.

mcerd1 - 31/8/11 at 12:49 PM

cheers guys, the more options the better

quote:
Originally posted by MikeRJ
You can't power a 3.5" drive from a USB port, and it's marginal with some 2.5" drives (many enclosures come with a cable to draw power from two USB ports to ensure it works).

yeah I've got a cheap old 2.5" PATA one like that (similar to the one in Daddylonglegs's link)
but somehow I've never had an issue with getting the power from a single plug - I guess all my machines have good USB ports



looking at the options I might just get a cheap 2.5" cased one (and not use the case most of the time )
the big drives can easily be shoved into whichever pc I'm working on

MikeRJ - 31/8/11 at 03:11 PM

quote:
Originally posted by mcerd1
yeah I've got a cheap old 2.5" PATA one like that (similar to the one in Daddylonglegs's link)
but somehow I've never had an issue with getting the power from a single plug - I guess all my machines have good USB ports


Or your 2.5" drives have fairly low power consumption. The some of the 5400RPM and 7200RPM laptop drives didn't like being powered from a single port.

Desktops are much less of a problem than laptops as well.

[Edited on 31/8/11 by MikeRJ]

Phineas - 31/8/11 at 03:17 PM

If you're swapping drives frequently, or have both 2.5 & 3.5 drives to use...

http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Drive+Enclosures/External+(For+SATA+Drive)/CnM+3.5%22+%26+2.5%22+SATA+Docking+Station+?productId=33969&s ource=googleps

Works well (Windows 7)