Converting a 9 pin connector to a "normal" usb?

2

I bought a little drive from a flea market which is able to read various memory cards. I was interested because in my job I need from time to time to read such devices for various reasons (data transfer, recovery, etc)

I realized too late that the drive wasn't USB because it was all packed in duct tape (shame on me) and the cable ends in a 9-pin connector which needs to be attached directly to the motherboard. In all honesty, I've never understood anything about those conenctors and I would like to turn it into a USB portable drive instrad of a fixed motherboard drive.

On the bottom I’ve put some photos to help you having a clear idea of what it’s like.

Is possible to convert or plug/convey those cables into an USB plug and how to do so?

Instructions showing the connectors Pictures of the hardware

Liquid Core

Posted 2014-12-09T00:27:45.220

Reputation: 159

Wait. Is that connector on/to your card reader? – Journeyman Geek – 2014-12-09T00:38:42.553

@Ramhound What if you have a computer that does not have a standard motherboard or easy access to USB connections on the motherboard? Like a Mac Mini or a laptop? – JakeGould – 2014-12-09T00:38:43.870

For future use, here are all the images of the thread if anyone needs them and they get removed:

https://mega.co.nz/#%21RRogzCTL%21Ap674nYDBjW1kzWyqLyBdyz2AQvIEXSC7fyzx8o_9Nc

– Liquid Core – 2014-12-11T01:04:09.177

Answers

0

Just for anyone looking for a way to do it:

Thanks to

I managed to get the cables right. As soon as I plugged windows started installing various generic drivers... YAY!!! Here's what I got:

pic

But now Usb doesn't work and I cannot find the right slot for Mini Usb....

Liquid Core

Posted 2014-12-09T00:27:45.220

Reputation: 159

2

Possibly yes. That IDC connector is basically just the same electrical connections but just in a compact connector for motherboard connection use. Just look at this image taken from this Amazon listing for a, StarTech USB A to USB Motherboard 4-Pin Header F/F 2.0 Cable, 6" (USBMBADAPT):

enter image description here

Note the exposed wires as well as the text on the motherboard header connector. That’s your big clue! So basically if you wanted to clip off the connectors on your device and wire them to a male USB that could be done as long as you match data and power wires correctly.

And if you are afraid of doing that yourself, you could purchase this: “Adapter Cable, USB 2.0, IDC 5 Male (single row) to USB A Male”:

enter image description here

And as the description for the product states:

Used to connect devices designed to plug into USB motherboard header pins to an external USB 2.0 connector

That’s actually a neat tool because you can now use the device as you wish without having to mangle the cable; just plug the female IDC connector into the male IDC connector and bingo! You have a USB device.

But since your device has 10 connectors you would need two of those cables to make that reader fully work. It could be that one connector has certain media reader slots and the other handles others; so maybe scoring one cable and experimenting might be the way to go.

EDIT: An addition, but here is a cool image of how someone was able to use one of those male male IDC motherboard header connector cables to connect to a USB flash drive with a broken connector. This shows clearly what all 5 connectors are: 2 are data, 2 are power and 1 is for the grounding/shielding.

enter image description here

JakeGould

Posted 2014-12-09T00:27:45.220

Reputation: 38 217

I just realised we both misread the question. He actually does need a male connector. – Journeyman Geek – 2014-12-09T00:40:28.573

1@JourneymanGeek Hey! I think I got the question right. And check out the new cable I found. Hot stuff! – JakeGould – 2014-12-09T00:43:23.163

Ugh... ok so there I see a 4 pin connector already connected to a cable which ends on an usb. Now how I do with my 9-pin connector? Does an usb has at least 9 pins inside? How do I know where I attach every wire? – Liquid Core – 2014-12-09T00:48:07.640

1No you don't. You get a pair of those and plug them in in the right orientation - the header it connects to is essentially 2 usb ports. And ugh, this is a surprisingly hard question to grok ;p – Journeyman Geek – 2014-12-09T00:50:35.720

@user2212907 You have two choices based on my answer: You could cut the cable and manually attempt to splice it. I included that first cable because it clearly shows what wire is what. Or you could look at the second cable in my answer which would allow you to connect the device via USB without cutting, splicing or damaging anything. I would recommend just purchasing one of the second cable. Please check my edited answer. – JakeGould – 2014-12-09T00:50:50.860

Oh ok.... Any idea on where I could find more info on how to do the splice work myself? Do you think I will risk to burn or break the whole thing?

And about buying the cable, will it need drivers or such or it's plug n play? – Liquid Core – 2014-12-09T00:58:37.350

@user2212907 Look at the pictures you provided as well as the ones I provided. Note the writing on the cable header as well as the similar writing on the documentation. But honestly, I think you would be better off with buying the premade cable. As for the cable, it does not need drivers. It just connects the wires so you get a male USB connector. – JakeGould – 2014-12-09T01:09:22.490

@JakeGould Ok, one last thing, just to clear any doubt. As I showed you, my drive has 9 pins (not 5) with 9 cables (and not 5) put in all of them. The adaptor it's supposed to have 5 pins even if my drive had 9 pins or what?

Maybe it's a stupid question as the motherboard adapter had 5 pins... but whatever, I need to be sure – Liquid Core – 2014-12-09T01:54:37.810

@user2212907 Unsure about that. But I wouldn’t worry since if the connector only has 9 items then it could just be a wire for grounding. And since this is a single device it doesn’t need two of them. So if you got two of these cables, perhaps you would have to bend or snip off one of the 5 connectors on one of the cables, but I think it will work fine. – JakeGould – 2014-12-09T01:57:49.740

1

@JakeGould I'm extremely tempted by my geeky nature to try to do it myself, but I'm scared to break it and not be able to use it anymore... I think I'll buy the adapter.

Thanks for all the info, and take a look at this, might be useful ;)

http://www.reddit.com/r/LifeProTips/comments/19t98m/lpt_recover_data_from_a_busted_usb_flash_drive/

– Liquid Core – 2014-12-09T02:04:34.303

@user2212907 That is an excellent post. This image explains perfectly about how the 5th pin might just be superfluous. http://i.imgur.com/kNjqxHB.png

– JakeGould – 2014-12-09T02:07:38.870

IIRC pin 1 and the blank pin 2 next to it is for keying – Journeyman Geek – 2014-12-09T12:43:22.820

@JakeGould Thanks to http://i.stack.imgur.com/Zrw3e.png I managed to get the cables right. dd As soon as I plugged windows started installing various generic drivers... YAY!!! http://i.imgur.com/mmo0WgX.png

Here's what I got: http://i.imgur.com/Sdemgj0.png

And here's the thing working: http://i.imgur.com/E1Mlj60.png

But now Usb doesn't work and I cannot find the right slot for Mini Usb....

– Liquid Core – 2014-12-11T00:52:39.040

This is my idea on making it work:

http://i.imgur.com/szV2J3k.png

Can it be???

– Liquid Core – 2014-12-11T00:58:24.793

-1

You don´t need a new cable connector or a normal usb, you just need to connect the cable which comes with your device into the USB2 or USB3 male connectors in your Motherboard

Cesar Caracas

Cesar

Posted 2014-12-09T00:27:45.220

Reputation: 3

2And how do you do that? – Chenmunka – 2016-01-20T12:32:34.097

Asked: 2014-12-09T00:27:45.220

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