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I was thinking of buying an external HDD enclosure but I dont wanna spend that much. The 2.5 enclosure is cheap but my hdd is 3.5. Can i alternatively, use just a sata to usb connector and plug it in my pc permanently for storage?
jeffmangum
Posted 2013-10-20T04:47:52.213
Reputation: 103
-2
I would not leave a bare drive on a dongle as you describe. One minor bump or spill and the logic board would be toast, killing the drive and making the recovery of data difficult and expensive.
For $20 there are solutions that are much safer.
Austin T French
Posted 2013-10-20T04:47:52.213
Reputation: 9 766
Ok then i'll just go with that. Im sure there are more expensive when bought here. But since its the only option then i have no choice. Does that enclosure have extra power cord? Cause if it has then i dont have no more space to plug it in here. – jeffmangum – 2013-10-20T05:15:46.227
Not sure why the down votes, but as Jeff asked "use just a sata to usb connector and plug it in my pc permanently for storage" and I clarified "leaving the PCB exposed"... If you have input leave it. Otherwise I am thinking people aren't reading or clarifying. – Austin T French – 2013-10-21T03:31:46.497
@AthomSfere not that it matters, but if you put a hard drive in a computer case, the PCB is in a sense, more exposed than if you put it on the floor. if it's on the floor you can't even see the PCB. By the way, I know of somebody that had a window on their computer case, they flicked it open to take a nice look, and then spilt a drink into it. – barlop – 2013-10-27T01:22:19.010
@barlop at least inside a case you have the case as a barrier protecting the PCB. That is not less exposed than putting it on a desk or a floor where there would be no barrier to bumping, flipping or spilling on the drive. – Austin T French – 2013-10-27T15:41:42.983
@AthomSfere Flipping now? A computer box can be bumped or kicked or fall over. I'm not saying one is safer than another. Your answer might appear like a technical answer to an ignorant person. You talk about a "bare drive" as if there is such a distinction or as if, if there was, it's a different beast. Obviously if he's going to be spilling Ribena things over it or tredding on it then no it's not safe but a)that's not a technical answer at all b)don't try to make it sound like one. And to say "One minor bump...and the logic board would be toast" Not necessarily, and why (cont) – barlop – 2013-10-27T18:51:33.310
why say the logic board,it could b the platters.U're throwing in technical terms2something as simple as,you don't think a hard drive should be run outside of a case,cos u would spill drinks over it and kick it.that's really what you're saying.Of course,many of us run them outside of the box without spilling drinks over them or knocking them around.Though they can get knocked and be fine or bad.I've seen a computer case fall over,massive shock to a hard drive but the drive was ok.If u r more clumsy u could say never put a hard drive in a computer case,put it in a safe half buried in the ground – barlop – 2013-10-27T18:52:43.643
@barlop because the logic board is the easiest thing to kill being that it is susceptible to ESD... So running it and risking touching it is my biggest concern. Bumping it is too, especially say off a desk or something, but many drives are built to sense a drop and survive. No drive is built to sense and stop an ESD event. – Austin T French – 2013-10-28T13:35:34.960
@AthomSfere and how many drives have you broken by touching them? On a related note, I have heard of capacitors or something like that used to absorb static, what components if any use them I don't know, perhaps not hard drives. But I have -never- killed a hard drive by touching it. Never. Some people touch their running hard drive (the metal obviously, the top of it) to sense the temperature, no problem. I run a hard drive on a wooden floor, so perhaps no static,or minimal static. no problems at all. Obviously one doesn't run it on carpet,the HDD's PCB probably produces heat for one thing – barlop – 2013-10-28T14:16:18.323
In fact it's quite typical for a bad hard drive(even on its last legs) to be plugged in USB.. tech support people do it all the time, it's not exactly traumatic for the drive. And what the heck do you mean on a dongle..nobody has a hard drive dangling from a dongle and nobody is suggesting that. – barlop – 2013-10-28T14:21:20.897
@barlop So all you have is anecdotal evidence and best case scenarios and you would justify the risk with that? http://www.ontrackdatarecovery.ca/static-hard-drive/ I have handled plenty of drives, and I make sure to be grounded and avoid the PCB. Could I cut corners and be OK... Maybe, but why risk it?
– Austin T French – 2013-10-28T17:17:37.530-1
If your HDD is standard SATA 3.5" drive, and you want to connect it permanently, then biggest question is why would you ever want to use USB connection?
In practice, USB2 maxes out at 35MB/s bus speed, when SATA gives you 280 (SATAII) or 550 MB/s (SATAIII) bus speed. Typical HDD can read/write at 100-150 MB/s. In other words, by connecting to USB2, you create artificial bottleneck at USB cable and reduce performance by factor 3x-5x. By connecting to SATA (even SATAII), you get out maximum possible performance from any HDD (and much more from SSD).
If you were to use USB3, it changes equation, but still, it is much safer to put your permanent drive inside your computer permanently, and also using more reliable dedicated SATA power connection.
mvp
Posted 2013-10-20T04:47:52.213
Reputation: 3 705
"reduce performance by factor 3x-5x" -- How do you reduce something by using a multiplier that is >1? Otherwise your point is correct. Just the other day using HDTune, I measured ~100 MB/sec on SATA 2 versus ~26 MB/sec on USB 2.0. – sawdust – 2013-10-21T01:33:09.853
I meant exactly that: by connecting to USB2, you limit speed to 35MB/s for a drive which physically supports over 100MB/s. This is reducing performance by factor 3x. – mvp – 2013-10-21T01:53:33.630
So its not ideal to connect it permanently with just USB connection? The main purpose for that is to access my files in my old hdd. And play my music that is on that old HDD. So.. will there be problems? – jeffmangum – 2013-10-22T08:18:55.410
You are right, it is not very good idea to connect your drive permanently using USB for few reasons: 1. Performance (3x-5x slower) 2. Safety (USB is way too easy to accidentally disconnect at just wrong time) 3. Power (USB often needs second power connection to be reliable, SATA power is much more reliable) – mvp – 2013-10-22T08:52:10.000
@mvp I don't think he has much grasp on what is being said, considering that you think he's got the right idea and he is going for a usb enclosure http://superuser.com/questions/663551/use-hdd-enclosure-as-portable-hard-drive Though I wouldn't call connecting to unsafe as you do!
– barlop – 2013-10-28T14:34:46.457
And leave the PCB exposed? – Austin T French – 2013-10-20T04:54:34.447
@AthomSfere so its a no? – jeffmangum – 2013-10-20T04:58:45.500