Noob help with SATA and mSATA

[tonyr]

HI guys,

I've got an old Dell Vostro 360 (AIO) PC that I kinda quite like so I've been upgrading it as it was getting very slow...

I've just purchased a 120GB SSD to use as a boot drive with the idea of keeping the 1TB HD for storage - the problem is that I didn't open it up before ordering and now I'm a bit stuck!!

The HD had a normal SATA connection so swapping to the SSD went fine

But there isn't a spare SATA connection on the MB - not a problem I thought, i'll just bin the DVD drive as I've never used it and connect the HD to it's SATA but the DVD drive is a slimline and uses a thinner SATA connector (mini SATA????)

The motherboard is also weird as it's doesn't have standard power connectors - just some weird tiny (maybe 10mm max) connectors - the one for the HD / SSD has 2 red, 2 black and 1 yellow wire but the one for the DVD is slightly smaller and only has 2 red and 2 black wires.

I need the 1TB storage as I have loads of files I need access to so my options (I think) are:

1. Find a way of converting the mini SATA cable to connect to either the HD or SSD. (if a connector like that exists or would work?)
2. Buy an external USB enclosure for the HD - but my USB ports are USB 2.0 so would be quite slow?
3. Put the HD back and sling the SSD in a drawer!!

Any ideas???

Thanks

Tony

 

[Journey]

Buy a HDD to DVD-ROM style caddy. Basically the hard drive will fit inside of the caddy, shaped just like the one you removed, and you put the thing back in the slot you took the DVD drive from, anywhere from £7-20 depends on where you buy it and the type you get.

 

[tonyr]

Thanks Journey - I had no idea these caddy's even existed! Just ordered one off Amazon - £6 and delivered tomorrow