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Internal Hard Drive USB adapter

6K views 14 replies 8 participants last post by  bmsbms29 
#1 ·
I have a 2TB hard-drive that is thick, it was an internal hard drive in a tower.
Whenever I connect my SATA to USB cable it won't do anything i think it's because it's not getting enough power to connect.

Can someone recommend a product I can buy to access the Data from the fat internal hard drive through my laptop via USB.
 
#2 · (Edited)
because it's not getting enough power to connect.
By a Thick HDD do you mean a 3.5" Desktop HDD, on the right, as opposed to a 2.5" Notebook HDD, on the left?
2.5" HDD's do not require external power, but a 3.5" HDD requires external power. Are you hooking up a power plug to your HDD when using the USB Adapter? If not, it will not work.
Any USB Adapter or Dock with a power adapter will work
 

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#3 ·
All hard drives have to cable connections to them; a power cable and a data cable. The power cable should be a 4 pin molex or a SATA power cable.

Here a picture of a molex to sata adatper....this shows both cable connection types.
Electronics accessory Cable Electronic device Technology Networking cables



Are you sure you have both cables connected to the drive - power and data?
 
#5 ·
Your USB to SATA adapter should include a power adapter, like the adapter shown in the Amazon link. If you aren't using that, a 3.5" HDD will not power up. You can get a USB adapter, Dock or USB Enclosure with a power adapter from any computer store, or online to access this HDD.
 
#9 · (Edited)
When my laptop died I took my laptop to Office Depot to find out if it was my motherboard or my HD or what. - it was the mother board. I just wanted to copy certain files so they let me do the copying & they had a caddy - that was open (not closed/no lid, etc. just a frame) that looked like it would hold the larger HD. Their laptop & caddy kept having problems. It would have cost me $30 + if I had left them just do a backup.

So I left with my HD & bought a $10 caddy that my laptop HD fits in.
I've mentioned that because you don't have to spend a lot of money for it to work.
And mine works great.
 
#12 ·
In my experience sata to usb and ide to usb converters work about 1/2 the time, and I am not convinced on occasion simply trying the converter does damage to the hard drive. It is so much easier to plug into a desktop and requires no expenditure and little extra hardware, why not find a friend who has one you can visit.
 
#14 ·
You can live anywhere in the USA and purchase what you need on the internet and have it delivered to you. Either a Dock like @joeten or @Bassfisher suggested or a USB adapter like @BoulderBill suggested. I use a USB 3.0 Dock and a USB Adapter and find they work 100% of the time as long as you use the power adapter. The only time it doesn't work is if the HDD has failed.
 
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