Solved Questions about my new harddrive

[CommandoBob]

Provided the HDD is in some kind of enclosure, there should be at least 2-4 screws to open it. Possibly hidden under stickers of some sort. And yes, Corazon is right, they mostly put drives in there that would otherwise not sell anymore
like 54000rpm/IDE drives instead of 7200 rpm SATAs

-DG

Oh well everything better than a 10 year old discontinued HDD, imma try removing the case thanks!

 

[CommandoBob]

It appears the HDD is not a SATA/IDE drive, it only has a USB port - how do I make it a SATA/IDE?

 

[Corazon]

I bet that USB port is just a tiny circuit board plugged into the drive's own IDE or SATA interface. Those four black rubber things around the corners aren't part of the drive either, you can probably just pull them off and then you should see how you can detach the board with the USB jack on it.

I don't think there is such a thing as a harddisk with a native USB interface and nothing else...

 

[CommandoBob]

I bet that USB port is just a tiny circuit board plugged into the drive's own IDE or SATA interface. Those four black rubber things around the corners aren't part of the drive either, you can probably just pull them off and then you should see how you can detach the board with the USB jack on it.

I don't think there is such a thing as a harddisk with a native USB interface and nothing else...

Actually that's a picture I found on the internet of the HDD without the case, I didn't tried to open the case yet since the case doesn't have any screws, see picture below. Should I break it open?

 

[Corazon]

Ah, I see.
Yes, if you're absolutely sure you won't be using the drive in its external case anymore, go ahead and break the case - but be careful not to damage the drive inside. Let us know if you succeed.

Last-minute thought: since there are no screws, the case is probably molded plastic glued together along the sides...look for a tiny groove and try to lift it open with a flat screwdriver.

 

[CommandoBob]

Okay, so I opened the case and the HDD indeed only has a USB port - I can't screw open the HDD itself since I don't have the screwdriver for those sort of screws. Can there still be a SATA/IDE interface in it? Because I don't feel like spending more money for a screwdriver if it doesn't have a SATA/IDE interface.

 

[Corazon]

That USB thing should come right off with a gentle pull - usually these are just mini-boards plugged into the SATA interface.

Do not attempt to unscrew the harddisk. It's sealed airtight and you'll break the seal and pretty much destroy the disk if you mess with those screws.

 

[CommandoBob]

That USB thing should come right off with a gentle pull - usually these are just mini-boards plugged into the SATA interface.

Do not attempt to unscrew the harddisk. It's sealed airtight and you'll break the seal and pretty much destroy the disk if you mess with those screws.

I tried to pull it out but I can't, it's molded to the HDD interface. And behind that port there's nothing else connected to it, behind it is a black part. Seems it's just a USB HDD...?

 

[Corazon]

Sorry, I'm stumped. Actually I'm surprised to see that, apparently, USB-only drives really do exist. Never seen anything like this before.

I guess you can either keep it as an external backup drive (it's never a bad idea to have one) or just sell it if you really don't want it.

 

[CommandoBob]

Hmm okay, last question: Is there some kind of USB to SATA cable or something?

 

[Golden]

Indeed there are. One looks like this:

USB 2.0 to SATA / IDE Adaptor Cable - Circuit Central

 

[Corazon]

This won't work - such adapters are meant to connect a SATA drive to an USB port, not the other way around.

Even if you find a way to connect your drive to an internal SATA port, you'll still be limited to USB2.0 speed. You're simply stuck with it...

 

[CommandoBob]

Hmm I just bought a new Western Digital Internal Hard Drive but it doesn't show up in My Computer, but it the BIOS detects it and Windows installed it's driver successfully. Should I make a new topic or?

 

[ignatzatsonic]

Does it show up in Disk Management? You may have to format it and give it a drive letter there.

 

[CommandoBob]

Does it show up in Disk Management? You may have to format it and give it a drive letter there.

Thanks for the quick reply, forgot to assign a drive letter. Would my new hard drive increase boot speed and performance of games without having the files on that one? Personally didn't test it yet because I probably have to restart to check boot time but I thought asking here would be quicker and easier.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

Would my new hard drive increase boot speed and performance of games without having the files on that one? Personally didn't test it yet because I probably have to restart to check boot time but I thought asking here would be quicker and easier.

Not sure I follow you.

The new drive won't improve boot times unless it is the Windows drive and is faster than the current Windows drive.

I don't game, but I'm not sure HD speed has a lot of effect on game performance.

 

[CommandoBob]

Would my new hard drive increase boot speed and performance of games without having the files on that one? Personally didn't test it yet because I probably have to restart to check boot time but I thought asking here would be quicker and easier.

Not sure I follow you.

The new drive won't improve boot times unless it is the Windows drive and is faster than the current Windows drive.

I don't game, but I'm not sure HD speed has a lot of effect on game performance.

Is it possible that I transfer all files on my old HDD to the new HDD including Windows? My current old HDD with Windows on it is C: and the new one is B:, would that have issues with the registry? Or do I completely have to reinstall Windows on the new HDD?

 

[ignatzatsonic]

You could clone the existing C to the new drive.

Or you could make an image of C and then restore that image to the new C.

The registry, Windows, and all installed programs would be part of that clone or image restore---the entire partition in question.

Typical programs for that sort of thing are Macrium, EaseUS Todo, or Acronis.

It's worth a try. Lots of people do it. I've always done clean installs because imaging/cloning isn't foolproof and because I don't mind taking the time to do a clean install.

 

[CommandoBob]

You could clone the existing C to the new drive.

Or you could make an image of C and then restore that image to the new C.

The registry, Windows, and all installed programs would be part of that clone or image restore---the entire partition in question.

Typical programs for that sort of thing are Macrium, EaseUS Todo, or Acronis.

It's worth a try. Lots of people do it. I've always done clean installs because imaging/cloning isn't foolproof and because I don't mind taking the time to do a clean install.

How do I make my new HDD letter C: when my old one is already C:?

 

[ignatzatsonic]

Don't worry about it.

You'll only see one C. The old one will prestomatically become D or E or F.