2.5" <-> 3.5" HD Adaptor

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December 13th, 2002, 10:04 AM
orange

2.5" <-> 3.5" HD Adaptor

Hi All,

I've bought one of those adaptor thingys so i can throw a laptop drive in a desktop system for whatever reason (I have a Contura with no floppy or cdrom that needs a new 2.5" HD).

Anyway....umm...this sounds really daft but i don't know which way round to plug it in. I've took some incredibly fantastic pictures to explain :rolleyes:

Heres the adaptor....well, the cabley bit anyway.

http://www.xtec.demon.co.uk/Images/Mvc-003f.jpg

And it will fit this way:

http://www.xtec.demon.co.uk/Images/Mvc-001f.jpg

Or, it will fit this way:

http://www.xtec.demon.co.uk/Images/Mvc-002f.jpg

So...does anyone know how it goes? I thought the power feed was the opposite side to a 3.5" drive so i plugged it in as per the 2nd picture...the drive didn't work so i turned it round....it still didn't work :( Luckily, the drive in question was the faulty "can 'o' nails" one but it did spinup in the laptop and doesnt anymore...so i've broken it...ummm.

Somebody please help me...i can feel teh gay coming on !!!1111
December 13th, 2002, 10:36 AM
Trout

I Wont Begin To Guess Which Way It Plugs In,,,, BUT

I WANT ONE OF THOSE

Please Pleae Post Info On Where To Get It
Trout
December 13th, 2002, 10:38 AM
Ya_know

It should be labeled with a pin 1, and pin 40. I had one that was labeled backwards. If I hooked it up the way it looked like it was supposed to, it didn't find a drive when you booted up. I thought about it for a while, and then hooked it up the other way and it worked. Nothing got fried surprisingly, I relabeled the thing with a sharpie and still use it today.
December 13th, 2002, 10:42 AM
Ya_know

Quote:

Originally posted by Trout
I Wont Begin To Guess Which Way It Plugs In,,,, BUT

I WANT ONE OF THOSE

Please Pleae Post Info On Where To Get It
Trout

Here is one, http://www.cablesnmor.com/hard-drive-converter.html , but you can find them as cheap as $6 US if you look around...
December 13th, 2002, 10:56 AM
Radical Dreamer

Yup, just find pin 1 on the card thingy and then find pin 1 on the drive and slap er in
December 13th, 2002, 11:29 AM
orange

Ummm yeah. The adaptor has pin 1 clearly marked...unfortunately, neither of the two 2.5" drives that i have does. Neither Maxtor nor IBM's site shows pinouts for the drives i have. Thats kinda my question really...how do i find pin 1 on the drive itself if its not marked?
December 13th, 2002, 12:01 PM
Damned Angel

when you plug it in correctly the adapter should strech from end to end of the hard drive perfectly and not overlap either side at all. I use one of those all the time and that is the only way I can remember each time I use it.

I have noticed though that if you plug it in the wrong way it does not release the magic smoke, the drive will just not power up. so if that happens, take it off and turn it around.
December 13th, 2002, 03:54 PM
ilovetheusers

Quote:

Originally posted by orange
Ummm yeah. The adaptor has pin 1 clearly marked...unfortunately, neither of the two 2.5" drives that i have does. Neither Maxtor nor IBM's site shows pinouts for the drives i have. Thats kinda my question really...how do i find pin 1 on the drive itself if its not marked?

put a regular drive cable in. see where the pink stripe is on it. that side is where pin 1 is.
December 13th, 2002, 10:50 PM
spdycml

On Notebook Drives pin 1 is located next to the block of four pins ( jumper pins...even though there is generally no need to set master slave since most notebooks are one drive only...) But ALL IBM Deskstar drives have this jumper block and pin one is the one located nearest the jumpers. check the label of the drive....it should tell you.
December 14th, 2002, 10:52 AM
Zonie

You can buy these adapters at Fry's Electronics all day for $6.99. I keep a spare for in the field.
December 16th, 2002, 01:48 PM
orange

Quote:

Originally posted by spdycml
On Notebook Drives pin 1 is located next to the block of four pins ( jumper pins...even though there is generally no need to set master slave since most notebooks are one drive only...) But ALL IBM Deskstar drives have this jumper block and pin one is the one located nearest the jumpers. check the label of the drive....it should tell you.

Your correct, there is a label on the IBM drive showing Pin 1, unfortunately it was under the warranty sticker and i didn't see it :rolleyes: No label on the Maxtor drive though.

Ok, so when the adaptor is plugged in, the power supply goes to the left side of the drive (opposite to a 3.5") and the adaptor sits to one side of the hard drive, not directly lined up as DA suggested. I guess there are lots of different makes of these things and they are all different. Anyway, i know how it goes now so thanks for the replies.