Question SATA to USB adapter has no power cable ?

[keltas]

I bought this Startech USB3S2SAT3CB Adapter and was surprised to see it didn’t include a power cable. The manual states no power cable is needed, and it simply uses power from the USB 3.0 port. I am actually only going to connect to a USB 2.0 port and I’m going to connect both spinning hard drives as well as SSD. I see the LED light when I connect it to my Windows 10 tower and disk management shows the HDD too but as 0MB and no options to initiate or format, etc. Also, the spinning HDD doesn't seem to spin (zero vibration). All I have to do is secure wipe clean 10 hard drives and get rid of them.

1) Obviously it seems this isn't working - why would they sell something like this?
2) Can someone suggest a decent USB to SATA adapter? Thanks

 

[rgd1101]

get a different one with external power

 

[Lutfij]

1| USB3.0 ports deliver more power and the images all show 2.5" drives which tends to draw less power than a 3.5" HDD. I'm assuming you're working with a 3.5" since you didn't mention it i your post above.

2| I use this;
https://www.orico.cc/usmobile/product/detail/id/3268
for the data backup related endeavors.

 

[USAFRet]

I bought this startech USB3S2SAT3CB and surprised to see it didn’t include a power cable. The manual states no power cable is needed, and it simply uses power from the USB 3.0 port. I am actually only going to connect to a USB 2.0 port and I’m going to connect both spinning hard drives as well as SSD. I see the LED light when I connect it to my windows 10 tower and disk management shows the HDD too but as 0 mb and no options to initiate or format, etc. Also, the spinning HDD doesn't seem to spin (zero vibration). All I have to do is secure wipe clean 10 hard drives and get rid of them.

1) Obviously it seems this isn't working - why would they sell something like this?
2) Can someone suggest a decent USB to SATA adaptor? Thanks

A 2.5" SATA SSD can run off USB only. 5v only.
A 3.5" SATA HDD needs wall power. 5v + 12v

 

[USAFRet]

2) Can someone suggest a decent USB to SATA adaptor? Thanks

I have a variant of this.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0099TX7O4

8 years old, still running fine.

 

[Bob.B]

I bought this startech USB3S2SAT3CB and surprised to see it didn’t include a power cable. The manual states no power cable is needed, and it simply uses power from the USB 3.0 port. I am actually only going to connect to a USB 2.0 port and I’m going to connect both spinning hard drives as well as SSD. I see the LED light when I connect it to my windows 10 tower and disk management shows the HDD too but as 0 mb and no options to initiate or format, etc. Also, the spinning HDD doesn't seem to spin (zero vibration). All I have to do is secure wipe clean 10 hard drives and get rid of them.

1) Obviously it seems this isn't working - why would they sell something like this?
2) Can someone suggest a decent USB to SATA adaptor? Thanks

Can you connect to a usb 3 port?

 

[CountMike]

USB 1, 2 and 3 are mutually compatible, any type will work on others if in same type of connector (usually USB-A type, just at different speeds, the speed of lower one.

 

[evermorex76]

USB 1, 2 and 3 are mutually compatible, any type will work on others if in same type of connector (usually USB-A type, just at different speeds, the speed of lower one.

Compatible doesn't mean equal. Others have pointed out the difference.

 

[CountMike]

Compatible doesn't mean equal. Others have pointed out the difference.

Who said "equal" ?

 

[evermorex76]

Who said "equal" ?

You did. Any device won't just work on any other as long as the connector matches.

USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 have different power output levels in their standards. A USB3.0 port puts out significantly more power than a 2.0 port if they're both at the standard spec (though it's a very low amount in either case). A USB 2.0 enclosure for 2.5-inch drives is often designed to use a cable with two connectors, so one can provide additional power for 2.5 inch mechanical drives that need more, but this isn't usually the case with 3.0 enclosures because the base spec is enough to power them. Same for external optical drives. (Either of them can power an SSD with a single connection, and a 2.0 port that is over-spec can often power a mechanical drive.). VERY few over-specced USB-A connectors have enough power to run a 3.5 inch drive (or full size optical drive in an enclosure), and those are a big selling point on motherboards for charging phones and the like, and even most USB-C ports on motherboards don't have that much power, so enclosures for those drives are simply not wired to be powered from the USB port.

 

[CountMike]

You did. Any device won't just work on any other as long as the connector matches.

USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 have different power output levels in their standards. A USB3.0 port puts out significantly more power than a 2.0 port if they're both at the standard spec (though it's a very low amount in either case). A USB 2.0 enclosure for 2.5-inch drives is often designed to use a cable with two connectors, so one can provide additional power for 2.5 inch mechanical drives that need more, but this isn't usually the case with 3.0 enclosures because the base spec is enough to power them. Same for external optical drives. (Either of them can power an SSD with a single connection, and a 2.0 port that is over-spec can often power a mechanical drive.). VERY few over-specced USB-A connectors have enough power to run a 3.5 inch drive (or full size optical drive in an enclosure), and those are a big selling point on motherboards for charging phones and the like, and even most USB-C ports on motherboards don't have that much power, so enclosures for those drives are simply not wired to be powered from the USB port.

There's no 12vDC on any USB port, no matter what power output level on 5v. so 3.5" HDDs will not work without it.

 

[evermorex76]

There's no 12vDC on any USB port, no matter what power output level on 5v. so 3.5" HDDs will not work without it.

Well technically an enclosure could transform the 5V with more parts (more cost), but yeah I forgot that, too.

That doesn't invalidate everything else I said.

 

[CountMike]

Well technically an enclosure could transform the 5V with more parts (more cost), but yeah I forgot that, too.

That doesn't invalidate everything else I said.

Technically, using Dc-Dc step up converter, you can convert any voltage to higher but Amperage would drop by that difference so you lose on power anyway and 3.5" HDDs use much more power (in Amps) than 2.5" HDDs and specially SSDs. Because of Amperage,wires and contacts would have to much more robust too. Remember the law, W=A*V ?
Yeah, you are right about power levels on different USB generations but nobody allows that many Amps except on USB chargers. all that would be unpractical, much easier to add a 12vDc "brick". Even some USB to SATA adapter have a fork in the cable to bring extra 5vDC power from 2 USB to use on larger capacity2.5" HDDs. One for USB data+power and another just for power.

 

[dev_cyberpunk]

1) Obviously it seems this isn't working - why would they sell something like this?
2) Can someone suggest a decent USB to SATA adapter? Thanks

As someone said earlier, the 2.5 drives work at 5V but 3,5 and 5.25 drives are 5V+12V

That adaptor is for 2.5 laptop drives.

May I suggest getting a duplicator dock so you can wipe up to two drives and properly support all SATA drives:

https://www.startech.com/en-us/hdd/sdock2u313r

 

[Misgar]

Well technically an enclosure could transform the 5V with more parts (more cost), but yeah I forgot that, too.

Perfectly true. It's feasible to use a boost converter to step up 5V to 12V, but unfortunately, the current drawn by the motor in a 3.5" spinning hard disk often exceeds 1A at startup, before dropping back to around 500mA.

12V x 1A = 12W peak power (demanded by the motor) and a standard USB 3.0 Type-A port can only provide 900mA. 5V x 0.9A = 4.5W which is nowhere near enough to provide power for the 5V logic board plus the 12V motor supply on a 3.5" mechanical drive.

That's why most "desktop" style USB3 hard disks (e.g. WD Elements) come with a sizeable 12V power brick, rated at 1.5A DC. 12V x 1.5A = 18W, which is more than enough to run most 3.5" drives. N.B. The 5V supply for the hard disk controller board is derived from the 12V input.

On the other hand, I've successfully run 2.5" IDE (PATA) laptop drives in a USB 2 caddy with nothing more than the 500mA typically available from a USB 2.0 computer port. This is without the second daisy-chain plug on the interface cable normally supplied with the caddy.

It's a close call using only one USB 2 port with a limited 500mA power budget and not to be recommended, but if your laptop only has one spare USB 2 port, it's worth a try. With USB 3 and 900mA, it shouldn't be a problem using just one Type-A plug to power a 2.5" hard drive caddy.

There's no 12vDC on any USB port

One could argue that modern USB-C devices supporting PD (Power Delivery) are capable of demanding and operating at 12V (or 9V, 15V, 20V, and possibly even 48V).

It's quite common to find laptops that can be charged at 20V 3.25A (65W) or 20V 5.00A (100W) via a USB-C charger. Circuits in the laptop's USB-C port negotiate a voltage and maximum charging current with a PD-capable PSU and the relevant supply becomes available.

Admittedly, I've yet to encounter a desktop PC or laptop with a USB-C PD-capable output port (as opposed to a PD-capable input port) but I suppose such devices might exist. USB is a steadily evolving standard and I'm often surprised at developments.