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    Powering a 2,5inch HDD from USB

    Discussion in 'Sager and Clevo' started by Cookie, Sep 13, 2010.

  1. Cookie

    Cookie Notebook Evangelist

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    So I found this cable:

    DealExtreme: $10.20 USB/eSATA to SATA Converter Adapter for 2.5" HDD

    It is a SATA to USB/eSata cable. As you can see, the eSATA-plug is combined with an eSATA plug. The USB provides power and the eSATA provides data.

    I know the M570TU has a combined USB/eSATA port on the back. Do you believe this cable would work with that?

    If it works, I plan on modding my M570ETU to house two harddrives.
     
    Cookie, Sep 13, 2010
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  2. Paralel

    Paralel Notebook Evangelist

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    I don't know if I would trust any cabling from DX, especially if it involved high speed data transfer.
     
    Paralel, Sep 13, 2010
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  3. theriko

    theriko Ronin

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    In theory that should work.
     
    theriko, Sep 13, 2010
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  4. Cookie

    Cookie Notebook Evangelist

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    Well, it's just a piece of copper wire that connects one point to another......Not much that can go wrong; either the signal get there or it doesn't.

    Besides, the device's got good reviews. Also I've bought dozens of cables from them and they all work...

    What I'm worried of is that the combined eSATA/USB plug won't fit into the M570ETUs combined eSATA/USB port. Because afaik there are no standards for combined eSATA/USB type plugs...

    Also is 500mA enough to run a harddrive? Since USB is 5V, We're only talking only 2,5watts....so I dunno lol. If not, maybe it would it be possible to run two parallell USB-ports for a total of 5 watts?
     
    Cookie, Sep 13, 2010
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  5. Paralel

    Paralel Notebook Evangelist

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    Power shouldn't be an issue, depending on what size drive you use. In years of running external HD's run off of USB I've only run into an insufficient power situation once and that was years ago with what was at the time a high capacity 2.5 IDE drive which consumed way more power than today's drives. In that situation I had no trouble tapping a second port for more power and that fixed the problem.
     
    Paralel, Sep 13, 2010
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  6. Cookie

    Cookie Notebook Evangelist

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    Paralel, this was on your M570RU-U, yes?

    I have a 570TU and I suppose they use the same USB design. I'm hoping each of the 4 USB ports supply 500mA, but I know that on some laptops, the 500mA is shared between 2 USB ports so technically one port only has 250mA...
     
    Cookie, Sep 13, 2010
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  7. Paralel

    Paralel Notebook Evangelist

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    No, this was on a crap Toshiba I had years ago.

    I just tested all the ports on my M570RU-U, the first port on the side, closest to the front of the laptop is on one hub, shared with the webcam, while the remaining 3 ports are on a separate hub with nothing attached to it internally. Assuming your 570TU shares the same port arrangement, you could use both ports on the side to draw power from two different hubs, ensuring you can pull the max current from each one.
     
    Paralel, Sep 13, 2010
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  8. Cookie

    Cookie Notebook Evangelist

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    So all ports are on separate hubs? That's good news.

    Now I just need to find a way to cram 2 HDDs into the laptop...
     
    Cookie, Sep 13, 2010
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  9. Paralel

    Paralel Notebook Evangelist

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    You could use an optibay adapter to put a second drive in the modular bay if you don't mind not having an ODD installed all the time.
     
    Paralel, Sep 13, 2010
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