Mount Notebook Drive In Desktop

[Don]

I have a spare 2.5 inch SATA notebook drive, and the 3.5 inch SATA drive
in one of my desktops sounds like it is about to die. Is there any kit
or hardware I can buy so I can mount and use the notebook drive in the
desktop case? I'm going to retire that box in a month or two so I don't
want to buy a new 3.5 inch drive if I don't have to.

Thanks

 

[Charlie Hoffpauir]

I have a spare 2.5 inch SATA notebook drive, and the 3.5 inch SATA drive
in one of my desktops sounds like it is about to die. Is there any kit
or hardware I can buy so I can mount and use the notebook drive in the
desktop case? I'm going to retire that box in a month or two so I don't
want to buy a new 3.5 inch drive if I don't have to.

Thanks

Yes. At the very simplest, you can get an adapter that plugs into the
2.5 drive and allows you to connect the SATA and power cables to it.
Then just let it lie in the case..... or if that bothers you, there
are also mounting adapters that allow you to attach the drive in a 3.5
inch slot.

But with drives as cheap as they are now, wouldn't it be wise to
simply clone the "failing" drive. You could always keep that extra
drive as a spare.

 

[Pete]

Yes. At the very simplest, you can get an adapter that plugs into the
2.5 drive and allows you to connect the SATA and power cables to it.
Then just let it lie in the case..... or if that bothers you, there
are also mounting adapters that allow you to attach the drive in a 3.5
inch slot.

But with drives as cheap as they are now, wouldn't it be wise to
simply clone the "failing" drive. You could always keep that extra
drive as a spare.

you can fit the cables from the 3.5 drive directly into the 2.5 assuming
they're both sata. some well placed m2.5 bolts can be used to bolt the
2.5 drive into the 3.5 bay but you need to drill one hole on each side.

 

[Paul]

I have a spare 2.5 inch SATA notebook drive, and the 3.5 inch SATA drive
in one of my desktops sounds like it is about to die. Is there any kit
or hardware I can buy so I can mount and use the notebook drive in the
desktop case? I'm going to retire that box in a month or two so I don't
want to buy a new 3.5 inch drive if I don't have to.

Thanks

The 2.5" SATA in my notebook, has the same connectors
as the 3.5" SATA in my desktop. I've already had the
laptop drive connected to my desktop, using nothing
more than standard cabling.

I remove the drive from the metal tray, so it
might get better cooling, depending on how you
mount it. There are mounting kits for 2.5" drives,
to adapt them to fit in larger computers.

This is if you want an "official" way to mount one mechanically.
You could even use two kits, like find a 2.5" to 3.5" single,
plus a 3.5" to 5.25" rail kit, if you needed to fit such
a drive into a 5.25" bay.

http://ca.startech.com/HDD/Brackets/35-Bay-to-Dual-25-SATA-HDD-Adapter~SATA35252X

*******

When you deal with a few SATA drives at the 1.8" level,
there is a "microSATA" connector. So for those, you'd
need an adapter.

http://ca.startech.com/Cables/Drive...o-SATA-with-LP4-Power-Adapter-Cable~MCSATAF20

If you have an older 2.5" notebook IDE drive with
ribbon cable interface, those are 44 pin on 2mm centers.
You can buy an adapter to go from 44 pin 2mm to 40 pin 0.1"
centers, for connection to a standard desktop IDE cable.

http://ca.startech.com/Cables/Drive/IDE/25-to-35-IDE-Hard-Drive-Cable-Adapter~IDE4044

When a drive has a "funny" looking connector on it, sometimes
the drives use an additional assembly with blades. I think
it's some kind of strain relief, so that if the laptop
is flexed, nothing gets broken. If you see a strange
connector when you pull a drive from a laptop (like, an
optical drive), inspect the connector carefully to see
if it's removable, and a different connector is underneath.

Paul

 

[GMAN]

Yes. At the very simplest, you can get an adapter that plugs into the
2.5 drive and allows you to connect the SATA and power cables to it.
Then just let it lie in the case..... or if that bothers you, there
are also mounting adapters that allow you to attach the drive in a 3.5
inch slot.

But with drives as cheap as they are now, wouldn't it be wise to
simply clone the "failing" drive. You could always keep that extra
drive as a spare.

Charlie, a 2.5 laptop drive and a 3.5 desktop drive have the same plugs . No
adapter needed

 

[Charlie Hoffpauir]

Charlie, a 2.5 laptop drive and a 3.5 desktop drive have the same plugs . No
adapter needed

My error... I was thinking the old 2.5 drive I removed from my
Thinkpad, it wasn't SATA, and I needed an adapter to clone it in my
desktop machine.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

I have a spare 2.5 inch SATA notebook drive, and the 3.5 inch SATA drive
in one of my desktops sounds like it is about to die. Is there any kit
or hardware I can buy so I can mount and use the notebook drive in the
desktop case? I'm going to retire that box in a month or two so I don't
want to buy a new 3.5 inch drive if I don't have to.

You're looking for a 2.5" to 3.5" mounting bracket. IIRC mine came
from NewEgg, it permits mounting two drives in a single 3.5" slot.