Can I install a laptop 2.5" SATA drive on a desktop without any adapters?

Question

My girlfriend's computer has had the disk so I'm going to reinstall the operating system. However, before I do this I need to get all the data onto another machine. As the laptop won't stay on long enough to do this across the network I'm going to take out the laptop's hard and transplant it.

Before I left for work I promised I'd do it tonight. However, I just remembered that last time I did this with an IDE drive I needed a converter. Is the same true of SATA drives or will I just be able to use the same SATA and power cables I already have?

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Update: Plugged it in and all worked happily.

Answer 1

The cabling is the same between SATA drives from 2.5" and 3.5", so you should be fine using the same SATA cables. You may need an enclosure adapter to ensure that the drive stays put when you put it in a 3.5" bay, however.

Answer 2

Yes, so long as the drive fits securely in the available space, a 2.5" SATA drive should work in place of a 3.5" drive, or visa versa, without special adaptors.

In fact, after only a tiny amount of tinkering, I currently have a 2.5" drive in a NAS device intended for 3.5" drives and a 3.5" drive in an external USB enclosure designed for 2.5" drives!

Answer 3

SATA connectors don't differ between 2.5" and 3.5" drives. Sometimes the connectors might be a little close, but they should work.

Answer 4

1,8" SATA need a special connector from miniSATA to SATA. All others are the same.

About mounting - 2.5" and 1.8" drives are very light, you can easily fix them with some mounting tape. If you don't need hot swap, this is the best and cheapest choice.