External HDD vs Adaptor and internal HDD

So I am in need of an external HDD but I'd like a sollution that will allow me to change only the HDD and not the enclosure when the HDD breaks or is aging.
Most of the internal drives from here HDD extern pentru un plus de capacitate la calculatorul sau laptopul tau | ALTEX are impossible unmount and most have this maximum capacity size. So if an enclosure is sold with an hdd of 1TB, I don't think it'll work with a 3TB hdd. So no sollution for future upgrates.
So there's this.

I could also buy an SATA to USB converter with external power source. This allows to use any hdd whether 2.5'' or 3.5'' and will work OK.

What do you think?

All USB disk enclosures have a size limit. There are some which support up to 3 or 4 TB, but they're pretty expensive. I once had a really cheap one which couldn't do LBA48 and was limited to 137 GB!

My recommendation: buy an eSATA enclosure. You'll get a direct connection instead of a USB bridge, and thus there won't be any limitations.

I wouldn't risk buying an eSata enclosure because it not as universal as USB. Not all computers/laptops have an eSATA port.
I was thinking about this Kama Connect 3: CPU Kühler, Lüfter, Lüftersteuerung, PC Netzteile von Scythe as the adaptor. Does these have any size limit?

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Originally Posted by Master Razor

I was thinking about this Kama Connect 3: CPU Kühler, Lüfter, Lüftersteuerung, PC Netzteile von Scythe as the adaptor. Does these have any size limit?

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Maybe. There is an official forum, so you could ask there before buying.

If ya havnt got one yet, you might want to consider an internal hdd docking station. Current ones dont typically have capacity limits. Ive used a 5tb hdd 3.5" in mine.

Ive bought a couple SATA to USB converter with external power source a few years back and they were more trouble than it was worth. But that was a few years back, maybe the quality has improved since then. The problem was the flimsy wires. Come to think of it if I taped them up to reinforce them I might have still been able to use them now. They are probably the cheapest way to go though.

A docking station would my preference too. But I also need something portable.
What are your thoughts about https://conectica.ro/adaptoare-conve...1883#descriere

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Originally Posted by Master Razor

What are your thoughts about https://conectica.ro/adaptoare-conve...1883#descriere

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Did a search on that. Found no mention of maximum capacity, and a review says it doesn't work with 3.5" disks (which you'd think it would, given it has a separate USB cable just for additional power).

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and a review says it doesn't work with 3.5" disks (which you'd think it would, given it has a separate USB cable just for additional power)

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Right but I don't understand that. Basically an USB port outputs 5V with 500mA. Thus two ports should have the quivalent of 1A, right? 1A is more than enough for any HDD AFAIK.

Indeed, and USB 3.x supplies up to 0.9 A if a blue device is plugged into a blue port, which only confuses me further.

In either case, plugging both heads of the Y-cable should supply enough current to spin any SATA disk of any form factor.

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Indeed, and USB 3.x supplies up to 0.9 A if a blue device is plugged into a blue port, which only confuses me further.

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Old computers don't have USB 3.0 so that's not very useful to me.

Addendum to my other post: USB 2.0 only provides 500 mA (5 load units) after negotiation with the host, and only 100 mA (1 unit) until then. If the power cable is "dumb" and doesn't have the Data+ and Data- rails wired, 100 is as much as it'll get.

So you are saying that if I have an USB cable that has only vcc and gnd , it will output 100mA?

Is there any visual way to check how many wires the connector has? Without cutting it opened of course0.
No, there isn't one unless you use a multimeter and check for continuity.

Now, say the USB 2.0 cable has just vcc and gnd. Is there a hack I can build to enable full power? Like an usb extender that has all wires? Maybe a short between data+ and data-?
Will that work?

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Originally Posted by Master Razor

So you are saying that if I have an USB cable that has only vcc and gnd , it will output 100mA?

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Yes.

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Is there any visual way to check how many wires the connector has? Without cutting it opened of course0.
No, there isn't one unless you use a multimeter and check for continuity.

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You could make a small incision in the cable and then cover it with insulating tape :gredface:

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Now, say the USB 2.0 cable has just vcc and gnd. Is there a hack I can build to enable full power? Like an usb extender that has all wires? Maybe a short between data+ and data-?
Will that work?

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Shorting them won't work. They must be wired to the USB controller IC, and that must be programmed to tell the OS there's some device on the other side of the cable (even one of class "other" that doesn't do anything) and ask for 500 mA.

Some self-powered USB hubs aren't smart and will give as much current as asked if not connected to a computer, so they'd be useful here, although you won't see that advertised as a feature.

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Some self-powered USB hubs aren't smart and will give as much current as asked if not connected to a computer, so they'd be useful here, although you won't see that advertised as a feature.

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But I need it connected to a computer.

You are probably thinking something of:
http://h.dropcanvas.com/o67wq/Untitled%20Diagram.png

So I have found a confirmation of what i've known all along but could not prove it

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Each USB port is capable of delivering 500mA @ 5Volts max and each port has built in semiconductor fuse that disconnects when external device power drain exceeds rated power output. This fuse will heal itself once the offending device disconnects. This fuse inherits tolerance of 5-10% of 500mA plus or minus. That means it could be disconnecting either on 450mA or 550mA of current drain.

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Taken from https://community.wd.com/t/how-to-el...m-healthy/7709

This is what I am experiencing with adapters that use only one USB connector.

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Originally Posted by Master Razor

What are your thoughts about https://conectica.ro/adaptoare-conve...1883#descriere

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Same as anons concerns. But I can tell u that it will only fit the 2.5" as the 3.5" is bigger

If portability and large capacity is really ur only concern then a 2.5" external is the way to go but if ur concerned bout capacity on top of portability and durability then my recommendation for docking station would be my preference. There are models that accept 3.5" or 2.5" or 3.5" and 2.5".

But if ur only concern is portability and that is ur only concern then u really cant go past large capacity usb drives. If ur gona write and rewrite to it many times just expect to fork out the cash that comes with this portability and convenience cos ur gona need to replace it if u write and over write a lot. Not my preference for large file transfers and often deleting and writing.

anon, don't back away from this. Say something, say anything...

Discuss this: http://h.dropcanvas.com/qpkyu/Untitled%20Diagram.png

The maximum it should pull is 1.5A, the minimum is 700mA which is better than 500mA in my oppinion.

So, bottom line:
https://conectica.ro/adaptoare-conve...t-delock-61883
https://conectica.ro/cabluri/cabluri...t-delock-83176

Any thoughts?

if you want to use it for seeding/leeching torrents, stay away from USB. this protocol is crap. I had I/O errors on three USB drives (all different enclosures and different drives, one being SSD) on weekly basis. After 3 months I gave them up and installed them as internal HDD. Since then, no more I/O errors.

this being said, there is one exception, I have one USB enclosure (with a SSD) that only failed me a couple of times (always this fu**** I/O error) in the last 6 months:
click me
I use it as my primary drive for new torrents, so it is by far the most used.

I also bought a top USB cable (there is is guy from Google USA who spent his work life testing all possible USB3 cables bought from Amazon, the differences between cables are astonishing for something that should be simple to make)

Since I posted here, I took a leap of faith and bought this: https://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Flash...=1&*entries*=0
An SSD USB drive. I tested on some torrents and it worked extremely well: 10MB/s download with ~2MN/s upload. It heated like crazy but worked without errors or disconnection. Your problem was no doubt the cable.

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Originally Posted by molosse

if you want to use it for seeding/leeching torrents, stay away from USB. this protocol is crap. I had I/O errors on three USB drives (all different enclosures and different drives, one being SSD) on weekly basis. After 3 months I gave them up and installed them as internal HDD. Since then, no more I/O errors.

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I once had the same problem with a USB 2.0 enclosure, but the files being seeded were on a 2Tware virtual disk, so I didn't know which one to blame.

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Originally Posted by Master Razor

Since I posted here, I took a leap of faith and bought this: https://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Flash...=1&*entries*=0
An SSD USB drive. I tested on some torrents and it worked extremely well: 10MB/s download with ~2MN/s upload. It heated like crazy but worked without errors or disconnection. Your problem was no doubt the cable.

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It wasn't the cable, the one that works now is the same I used with my other SSD connected to a Goflex enclosure.
The 2 SDD I used are also identical. the only thing that changed was the enclosure. But still, USB is not designed for high I/O
By the way, this is the link to check Google's review of USB 3 cable.
I bought mine in a shop but it was one of Benson's 5-star cables.