How to use a Sata-to-USB Adapter

[stebbinsd]

I just got this thing in the mail today:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/New-2-5-SATA-TO-USB-2-0-Cable-Serial-ATA-Adapter-For-HDD-SSD-Laptop-Hard-Drive/201979166082?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649

I'm trying to use it to access the contents of a 2TB hard drive for use on my laptop computer while my desktop computer is not working.

But I wonder if I'm using this correctly.

See, I thought this was juts plug & play. I thought I could just take the hard drive, hook it up, plug the USB cables into the laptop, and poof, the hard drive would be visible in the "Computer" folder of Windows Explorer.

But that isn't happening. As you can see from this screenshot ... https://s1.postimg.org/5sjbq3o4zz/HDD_Not_seen.png

... my 16GB USB Flash drive is visible in the folder, but the 2TB HDD is not.

Do you know how I'm supposed to make this work? Is there something else I need to do?

 

[jaslion]

I just got this thing in the mail today:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/New-2-5-SATA-TO-USB-2-0-Cable-Serial-ATA-Adapter-For-HDD-SSD-Laptop-Hard-Drive/201979166082?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649

I'm trying to use it to access the contents of a 2TB hard drive for use on my laptop computer while my desktop computer is not working.

But I wonder if I'm using this correctly.

See, I thought this was juts plug & play. I thought I could just take the hard drive, hook it up, plug the USB cables into the laptop, and poof, the hard drive would be visible in the "Computer" folder of Windows Explorer.

But that isn't happening. As you can see from this screenshot ... https://s1.postimg.org/5sjbq3o4zz/HDD_Not_seen.png

... my 16GB USB Flash drive is visible in the folder, but the 2TB HDD is not.

Do you know how I'm supposed to make this work? Is there something else I need to do?

If you are trying to power up a 3.5inch hard drive then you are out of luck. This adpater only works with 2.5inch drives since they need quite a bit less power and usb is enough for them. A 3.5inch drive simply asks to much power and will not work.

 

[USAFRet]

Is this a 2.5" drive or a 3.5" drive?
For a 3.5", USB can't supply the needed 12v power.
And some 2.5" spinning drive would also need more voltage than USB can supply.

A better choice would have been a USB SATA dock, which gets power from the wall.


But also...open Disk Management.
Is the drive seen there?

 

[stebbinsd]

A better choice would have been a USB SATA dock, which gets power from the wall.

Where's one of those at a decent price?

But also...open Disk Management.
Is the drive seen there?

No, it isn't.

 

[USAFRet]

A better choice would have been a USB SATA dock, which gets power from the wall.

Where's one of those at a decent price?

But also...open Disk Management.
Is the drive seen there?

No, it isn't.

I have one of these. Takes 2.5" and 3.5". Works just fine.
https://www.amazon.com/Cable-Matters-Docking-Supporting-Capacity/dp/B0099TX7O4
$22

If its not seen in Disk Management, then it isn't getting enough power.