2.5" Enclosure using 1 ended cable

Deep · 3 Aug 2011 at 14:24

Hi Everybody,

I have an external 2.5" drive that I've taken out of my old laptop only paid £5 and its been great however it uses 2 USB ports.

I think one is for power and one is for transfer.

Are there any enclosures that I could buy that would just need 1 USB port to power and transfer data?

Thanks

Surveyor · 3 Aug 2011 at 14:41

USB 2.0:

Icybox IB-284StU-B External enclosure for 2.5" SATA HDDs

Akasa Noir 2.5’’ SATA and SSD Brushed Aluminium Enclosure - Black

USB 3.0:

Akasa Noir S 2.5" USB 3.0 Enclosure

The enclosures provide for power and data over a single USB cable.

If there isn't enough power from a single USB port to power the HDD that's when you have to connect to a second USB port.

Might be worth looking at what the power requirements are of your HDD.

Have you tried the enclosure you have now with just one USB connection?

It might work.

Deep · 3 Aug 2011 at 15:46

Surveyor said:
Have you tried the enclosure you have now with just one USB connection?

It might work.

I have once or twice and it has worked, however when I plug it into my NAS its not recognised.

The NAS is a synology DS411j and has 2 USB ports on it. If I plug 1 or if I plug 2 it still doesn't work.
I have to get my 3.5" external and use that which is just a bit of a hassle with the plugs and stuff

Ch3m1c4L · 3 Aug 2011 at 16:22

Most likely the NAS doesnt support NTFS over USB, try it formatted as FAT32 if you can, or get some custom OS/firmware for it

Deep · 5 Aug 2011 at 14:46

Ch3m1c4L said:
Most likely the NAS doesnt support NTFS over USB, try it formatted as FAT32 if you can, or get some custom OS/firmware for it

I'm almost certain it accepts NTFS.

That is WAY to advanced to me, something would most likely be on fire by the end of it!

panyan · 5 Aug 2011 at 15:05

some smaller laptops/netbooks dont give enough power through the usb ports so the cable is to ensure the disk gets enough power, i usually dont need the secondary power usb when plugging into my desktop

sithlord · 5 Aug 2011 at 19:38

My IcyBox USB 3.0 IB-250StU3-B comes with a double headed USB cable but I only ever plug in 1 USB.

Works fine, but I think it depends on what hard drive you have inside the enclosure.

Justintime · 5 Aug 2011 at 23:39

Found its mostly the 7200rpm ones that click with only one plugged in, and mainly older ones.

SupermotoMX · 6 Aug 2011 at 01:07

if you had a gigabyte mobo with the 3x usb power thing you would be fine with just the one plug, other than that everything else has pretty much been answered

Justintime · 6 Aug 2011 at 01:11

Yep 1.5A would definetly be a plus

Deep · 6 Aug 2011 at 18:04

It turns out my laptop will work perfectly with just 1 connector.

However, the NAS drive doesn't

Justintime · 6 Aug 2011 at 18:17

Just to confirm, was the NAS drive a 3.5 or 2.5?

panyan · 6 Aug 2011 at 18:22

Justintime said:
Just to confirm, was the NAS drive a 3.5 or 2.5?

it would be externally powered if it was 3.5 wouldnt it? not powered by usb :confused:

^oh hey - edmonton? im about 5 mins drive from you

Justintime · 6 Aug 2011 at 18:28

panyan said:
it would be externally powered if it was 3.5 wouldnt it? not powered by usb

^oh hey - edmonton? im about 5 mins drive from you

It would yes as USB can only provide 5v, but at 3.5 drive will connect to usb controller (just not in the enclosure), obviously it won't work but it is mechanically compatiable. lol where are you then?