Converting Internal Hdd To External

[ThaiLife]

I have a spare 350GB internal SATA HDD , that I want to use as an external HDD , ive seen many enclosures for sale at my local IT mall, ranging from around 1,000 Baht to 4,000 Baht . having never done this before is there any tips or comments you can give on what to look for in an external HDD enclosure , I really don't want to spend too much if possible, also is there a '' Cheap Charlie '' way of converting my internal SATA HDD for external use with out an enclosure ?

Thanks

TL

[Spoonman]

also is there a '' Cheap Charlie '' way of converting my internal SATA HDD for external use with out an enclosure

Not really, unless you want to run the Sata and power cables out the side of your Box, alternatively fit an E-sata card, will still need to power the HDD though but this does not really make the drive "portable" as any other machine would need a similar set-up.

Easiest way it to grab a caddy (External enclosure) Ive used these ones in the past Vantec 3.5" Nexsar enclosure.

[ThaiLife]

also is there a '' Cheap Charlie '' way of converting my internal SATA HDD for external use with out an enclosure

Not really, unless you want to run the Sata and power cables out the side of your Box, alternatively fit an E-sata card, will still need to power the HDD though but this does not really make the drive "portable" as any other machine would need a similar set-up.

Easiest way it to grab a caddy (External enclosure) Ive used these ones in the past Vantec 3.5" Nexsar enclosure.

Thanks for the advice, it seems the Vantec is the way to go , Ive used Invade before , and very happy with the results .

TL

[PattayaParent]

You need a Y-cable.

plug one end into the HDD and the other to the USB of your computer, 100 Baht

[Beggar]

You can get a good external enclosure for 3.5 " with FAN and USB2/SATA to USB2 for about 800 Baht. I have 3 of them and this for years. Don't take one without fan.

If you want to have more speed then you have to go to eSATA or even USB3. Don't think you will get the internal drive speed with USB2

[welo]

Some hints on finding the right case for you:

• Cases support either SATA or IDE harddisks - this is the internal connector, you need SATA of course. Not sure SATA1 or 2 really matters, I think not. Performance is still the same, especially with external cases, but somebody pls correct me if I'm wrong.
  
• You can go for any combination of external connectors available: USB2, Firewire, eSATA.
  Most cases come with USB2 only (the cheapest solution and the most compatible one - works on all modern computers without special drivers no matter what OS). If you wanna go for speed you might choose a case with both USB2 and eSATA. USB2 for compatibility and eSATA when connected to your PC. Some better equipped PCs and even Laptops come with an eSATA connector, but many computers will require an addon card (PCI for desktop PCs or Cardbus for Laptops). If your PC already has an eSATA connector I recommend to go for a USB2+eSATA case since it should be not much more expensive and it will give you excellent performance. In any other case you can probably safe the money for the extra addon card and go with USB2 only.
  I personally bought one with eSata, maybe will buy an addon card later - for now I just run on USB2.
  Firewire is... well, Firewire. Mac users might like it better go for USB2.0 which is more common.
  
• The more expensive case often come with media player or media server functionality, some with network support. These are pretty nice and useful toys, but also come at a price.
  
• While a fan helps keeping the harddrive temperature low, I personally find the noise from the fan sometimes annoying. I am not sure the fan is really necessary. Doesn't the harddisk get hotter inside a desktop PC case with all the other heat producing components than when running in a single external case?
  
• 3.5" cases always come with an external charger and cannot run from USB power alone (this works with 2.5" laptop harddrives only)
  
• Maybe you wanna check for a charger with a more standard connector - I had a (quality) case once with a weired PS2 like connector and had a hard time finding a replacement charger back then.
  
• You will find many different brands that all offer good quality cases made of aluminum or whatever. The controller chips used inside do all offer similar performance nowadays when it comes to USB2 performance. Maybe there is a difference with eSata controllers but I honestly doubt it.
  

welo

[Spoonman]

PattayaParent, please tell me how one would connect a 3.5" Sata HDD to a USB port using a 100b Y-Cable ???

Edited February 1, 2010 by Spoonman

[welo]

PattayaParent, please tell me how one would connect a 3.5" Sata HDD to a USB port using a 100b Y-Cable ???

...and so that it actually works

[ThaiLife]

Thanks Guy's for the comments and advice , its much appreciated , I was also wondering about the

Y-Cable option, can any one tell me more Please

[d0ndela]

It's not an option to put it simply.

You can get cables to use for it, but it has nothing to do with y-cables. You need a data recovery cable set, which consists of a cable that goes from SATA/IDE to USB and one power adapter which supplies power for both SATA and IDE drives. But it's messy and is not meant for permanent solutions.

[lopburi3]

HD inside a computer case has airflow from fan at all times to remove the heat - in an external case the case has to remove the heat and will become very hot with normal HD. Dedicated external drives seem to be designed for less heat. I would put the extra drive in computer if you can as will run cooler and much faster without any extra noise.

[ThaiLife]

HD inside a computer case has airflow from fan at all times to remove the heat - in an external case the case has to remove the heat and will become very hot with normal HD. Dedicated external drives seem to be designed for less heat. I would put the extra drive in computer if you can as will run cooler and much faster without any extra noise.

i really want to use this spare HD as an external unit so I can move it to and from different computers

so as far as I can see an external HDD enclosure with a fan , may give more cooling , but generates some fan noise

an enclouser with out a fan may provide some cooling from the metal enclosure its self, but no noise from an internal

fan ?

TL

[PattayaParent]

PattayaParent, please tell me how one would connect a 3.5" Sata HDD to a USB port using a 100b Y-Cable ???

Shove one end into the connector of the HDD and the other 2 into the USB ports of your computer.

[PattayaParent]

It's not an option to put it simply.

You can get cables to use for it, but it has nothing to do with y-cables. You need a data recovery cable set, which consists of a cable that goes from SATA/IDE to USB and one power adapter which supplies power for both SATA and IDE drives. But it's messy and is not meant for permanent solutions.

I have one of these sets of cables and it works for 3.5 and 2.5 inch HDDs.

You're right, cannot do it with Y-cables alone, my IT guy misinformed me. When I asked him to show me the cables he uses to connect our laptop HDDs to a desktop he showed me the cable, but did not tell me it needs the enclosure also!

[lopburi3]

You are taking the power from the two USB ports but it is not a recommended method as many 3.5 inch drives have a high requirement for power -

[Beggar]

I never saw an enclosure for a 3.5 " drive that takes the power from the USB cords. So the danger might be minimal to kill the USB controller of the computer. But China is big

[PattayaParent]

^ and ^^

If you're both referring to the post from d0ndela

You need a data recovery cable set, which consists of a cable that goes from SATA/IDE to USB and one power adapter which supplies power for both SATA and IDE drives. But it's messy and is not meant for permanent solutions

the set I have doesn't take the power from the USB, there's a separate power supply, and there's no enclosure. As he/she says it's not meant to be permanent.

[Spoonman]

^ and ^^

If you're both referring to the post from d0ndela

You need a data recovery cable set, which consists of a cable that goes from SATA/IDE to USB and one power adapter which supplies power for both SATA and IDE drives. But it's messy and is not meant for permanent solutions

the set I have doesn't take the power from the USB, there's a separate power supply, and there's no enclosure. As he/she says it's not meant to be permanent.

So you have a Sata to USB lead and running a seperate powersupply.....interesting.

Got any pics of the powersupply, Iam curious as to how this is set up.

[Beggar]

You need a data recovery cable set, which consists of a cable that goes from SATA/IDE to USB

It cannot be only the cable. You need an interface translating the data from IDE/SATA to USB. You could connect an external SATA drive with a SATA cable to a SATA port - just be careful when you stop it so that you do not lose data. But IDE/SATA to USB port with a cable only? Are you sure?

Edited February 2, 2010 by Beggar

[PattayaParent]

^ and ^^

If you're both referring to the post from d0ndela

You need a data recovery cable set, which consists of a cable that goes from SATA/IDE to USB and one power adapter which supplies power for both SATA and IDE drives. But it's messy and is not meant for permanent solutions

the set I have doesn't take the power from the USB, there's a separate power supply, and there's no enclosure. As he/she says it's not meant to be permanent.

So you have a Sata to USB lead and running a seperate powersupply.....interesting.

Got any pics of the powersupply, Iam curious as to how this is set up.

If I can remember the name of it I'll be able to find the website.

Otherwise I'll try to dig it out from my stuff under the stairs when I get home tonight.

[PattayaParent]

You need a data recovery cable set, which consists of a cable that goes from SATA/IDE to USB

It cannot be only the cable. You need an interface translating the data from IDE/SATA to USB. You could connect an external SATA drive with a SATA cable to a SATA port - just be careful when you stop it so that you do not lose data. But IDE/SATA to USB port with a cable only? Are you sure?

Me? No!!

I just copied that post from d0ndela, I don't know how it works to be honest, jsu tthat it does!

[Spoonman]

All i can say is it sounds dam_n messy, sooooooo much easier just to whack the HDD in a seperate enclosure, as for the heat issues mentioned above...... Only turn it on when you need to use it and you will not have any issues, leave it on 24/7 and you may cook the HDD.

THaiLife, where are you located, if your near Pattaya I have a couple of WD Mybook enclosures kicking around that I removed the HDD's from..... you can have one for Half a Dozen Big changs !!!!

Edited February 2, 2010 by Spoonman

[d0ndela]

Plenty of those around. We use some different models for data recovery.

See attached picture for box and un-boxed. The power supply on the right goes to 4 pin male internal power cable, and the set comes with a cable from 4 pin internal power female to 15 pin SATA power.

[Spoonman]

Thanks for that Dondela, I understand how it works now.

[welo]

On the fan issue:

I've been some reading on that matter and didn't find any conclusive article.

If the noise doesn't bother you a fan is surely a good thing in a hot climate such as Thailand's. Overheating can definitely decrease the life time of many PC components. If the fan really bothers you later you could probably disconnect its power source and see if the harddrive gets too hot

However, I wonder whether the cases with fan are constructed in a way that the airflow can actually go around the whole casing, not just blow at one end.

Btw many of the cases sold do not have a fan, neither has mine and never had one with a fan ever.

welo

[d0ndela]

This one has an 8cm! fan slot in the enclosure, I've never seen it "live" but usually the bigger the fan the less noise it makes.

And you are right, most enclosure boxes are made out of heat transferring materials, just like passive CPU/VGA coolers.

[PattayaParent]

You need a data recovery cable set, which consists of a cable that goes from SATA/IDE to USB

It cannot be only the cable. You need an interface translating the data from IDE/SATA to USB. You could connect an external SATA drive with a SATA cable to a SATA port - just be careful when you stop it so that you do not lose data. But IDE/SATA to USB port with a cable only? Are you sure?

Me? No!!

I just copied that post from d0ndela, I don't know how it works to be honest, just that it does!

SOHO USB Easy IDE

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SOHOUSB-EASY-IDE-USB...105237001r19450

Edited February 2, 2010 by PattayaParent

[Beggar]

ALL those cables have a controller interface build in. You can see the box for it. It is impossible to connect such a HD to a USB port without controller. IDE/SATA and USB are completely different worlds. The difference to an enclosure is that there is no box for the HD. The rest is the same.

Edited February 2, 2010 by Beggar

[welo]

This one has an 8cm! fan slot in the enclosure, I've never seen it "live" but usually the bigger the fan the less noise it makes.

Nice one!

Link is broken though, here a tiny url redirect. That fan makes definitely sense.

I wonder about the fan efficiency of enclosures like this

welo

Edited February 2, 2010 by welo