dragoon670 Posted July 24, 2008 Share Posted July 24, 2008 So I recently recieved at 3.5" 500gb Western Digital SATA hard drive as a gift, the person purchasing it for me thought that more space was what i needed, not portability of said space. So I've been looking into getting an enclosure for it, as opposed to attempting to return it and get an external device. My main problem though is that I don't want to have to deal with power supplies and an extra set of cables and I can't seem to find an enclosure that provides power over usb to a 3.5" SATA drive, am I swimming in circles looking for one? Is there a way to hack this system together if I can't buy one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MRGRIM Posted July 24, 2008 Share Posted July 24, 2008 Never seen a PoUSB Enclosure for a full size drive. I don't even think you could modify something as I'm not sure USB will provide enough juice to spin the thing up. I would advise against buying a cheap enclosure, I've had two or three now and they just don't seem to last... :/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaKo Posted July 24, 2008 Share Posted July 24, 2008 Even 2.5" Laptop SATA discs need an external power supply, there will be no chance of powering a 3.5" disc over usb sensibly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparda Posted July 24, 2008 Share Posted July 24, 2008 3.5" HDs need 12v. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MRGRIM Posted July 24, 2008 Share Posted July 24, 2008 Maximum USB is 5V ? It's a loooooooooooong time since I've done Electronics (or Physics) can you combine 3 Ports/Cables to provide 15V ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparda Posted July 24, 2008 Share Posted July 24, 2008 can you combine 3 Ports/Cables to provide 15V ? no, that's how it would work with 3 5V batteries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MRGRIM Posted July 24, 2008 Share Posted July 24, 2008 Not wanting to sound like a complete idiot... but what is the difference between using a battery and using 3 power supplies? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beakmyn Posted July 24, 2008 Share Posted July 24, 2008 You would need to create a custom cable to put the power supplies in series, think batteries stacked on top of each other. That would increase your voltage but your current output would remain the same. Stick with laptop HDD. they have less inrush current so your USB port won't cut off on a current limit. USB wasn't really meant to power an external harddrive that's why most external drive enclosures come with two cords. They parallel the USB power to provide the needed current to spin-up the drive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparda Posted July 24, 2008 Share Posted July 24, 2008 If you connect 3 5v power supplies in series like this: ===-+===-+===-+=== the first two burn out and the last one supplies 5v Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MRGRIM Posted July 25, 2008 Share Posted July 25, 2008 Ok, I'm just going to agree ;) not sure what the last two message said all I know is that it can't be done Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KRS 0N3 Posted July 25, 2008 Share Posted July 25, 2008 I have a 2.5 HD in a compartment and it runs solely on USB power. Works fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragoon670 Posted July 25, 2008 Author Share Posted July 25, 2008 alright that all makes sense, that's kinda what I was thinking. thanks all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaKo Posted July 25, 2008 Share Posted July 25, 2008 SATA, both 2.5" and 3.5", require a seperate power connector as do IDE 3.5" drives. However, IDE 2.5" does not require additional power, it will run fine from USB alone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shido Posted August 2, 2008 Share Posted August 2, 2008 just a thought doesnt a firewire port give of enough power to supply the hdd?? coz if it does then he can easily cut the cable and join it to an old firewire cable Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparda Posted August 2, 2008 Share Posted August 2, 2008 Voltage is specified as unregulated and should nominally be about 25 volts (range 24 to 30). Apple's implementation on laptops is typically related to battery power and can be as low as 9 V and more likely about 12 V. It's unregulated, which isn't some thing you should use with some thing like a hard drive. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firewire#Fire...EE_1394-1995.29 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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