Solved Upgrade to SSD on Lenovo G500 laptop

[Britton30]

Here's one thought, a silicon case to use with a cable like Steve linked to.
StarTech HDDSLEV25 HDD Accessory - Newegg.com

EDIT: The link Steve has for the Amazon protective cover is better.

I have two of these external enclosures, they are light weight and pocket-sized.
Amazon.com: Kingwin 2.5-Inch USB 2.0 External Hard Drive Enclosure - Aluminium, ATK-25U-BK (Black): Computers & Accessories

 

[essenbe]

Gary, I like the one you linked except, I would (and think Greg would) prefer USB 3.0. That said, maybe Kingwin has a USB 3.0 version.

EDIT: Gary, I just looked again at the one you have and the pictures clearly show a USB 3.0 cable connection. Is it that way? If so, that would be a good choice. It would only need a usb 3.0 cable, is that right?

 

[whs]

For travel I would use a little enclosure. They come in real slim. Use a USB3 enclosure if you have a USB3 port.

 

[gregrocker]

Thanks, guys. Your suggestions have kept me busy.

I liked the price on these until I read the reviews: Amazon.com: Tool Free Screw-Less ORICO 2588US3 USB 3.0 2.5-inch External Hard Drive Enclosure Adapter Case for SATA Drive: Computers & Accessories.

I could use a $10 Rakuten credit to get this almost free with free shipping: Protronix USB 3.0 Hard Drive Enclosure for 2.5" SATA HDD, Black - Rakuten.com Shopping but it doesn't say SATA III and has pretty bad reviews on several sites too.

This one seems more solid with a better plug design and great reviews: Amazon.com: [Optimized For SSD, Support UASP SATA III] Inateck 2.5 Inch USB 3.0 Hard Drive Disk HDD External Enclosure Case with usb 3.0 Cable for 9.5mm 7mm 2.5" SATA HDD and SSD, Tool-free HDD Installation, Compatible With Windows 2000/ XP /Vista/ 7.

Since I can match all specs with a decent protective case and get the cable included, I'm leaning away from the original idea of just a simple sleeve and cable which have to be bought separately, might only be a little less bulky but with no travel protection.

 

[essenbe]

They all look pretty good, Greg. Let us know how you get along with whichever one you decide on. Free is a good price.

 

[gregrocker]

Yeah I settled for $1.68 (after free shipping/gift cert) Protronix USB 3.0 Hard Drive Enclosure for 2.5" SATA HDD, Black - Rakuten.com Shopping.

I figure if it craps out I haven't lost anything and can order the better Amazon.com: [Optimized For SSD, Support UASP SATA III] Inateck 2.5 Inch USB 3.0 Hard Drive Disk HDD External Enclosure Case with usb 3.0 Cable for 9.5mm 7mm 2.5" SATA HDD and SSD, Tool-free HDD Installation, Compatible With Windows 2000/ XP /Vista/ 7.

 

[whs]

Looks like a good deal. Let's hope it works. But don't expect 5Gb/sec transfer rate. I have never seen that in real.

 

[essenbe]

Looks good, Greg. I think they both look good, I hope the free one works out for you.

 

[Britton30]

That Protronix one looks a bit thick. The Inateck unit looks nice.
Steve, the ones I have are only USB 2.0.

 

[essenbe]

That Protronix one looks a bit thick. The Inateck unit looks nice.
Steve, the ones I have are only USB 2.0.

Gary, this picture is from the link you provided of the ones you have. What is this for? The ones you have look rather nice.

 

[Britton30]

Oops! Amazon has the wrong picture and I reported it. If you look at one of the other pics it shows this, which is correct. It uses a USB-B connector too, instead of USB-A.

They are very nice enclosures. They have a protective plastic sheet inside which covers the circuit board and a foam piece to cushion the drive.

 

[essenbe]

Thanks Gary, I was just curious.

 

[Britton30]

No problem Steve, you made me curious as well, back to you Greg.

 

[whs]

Gary, this enclosure looks like a bathroom scales, LOL.

But seriously, from your description it sounds very nice. I may get one. I have half a dozen disks lying around. Some I use in my open enclosures but others are just useless without an enclosure.

 

[gregrocker]

The USB A port is also on the Inateck getting its only bad review by a resident reviewer for using what he calls a "suicide" male-male USB cable, which he says could accidentally blow the controller. The manufacturer actually replies to his review explaining that this is used because its the most stable port config they have found. I believe him. I've seen every other type of port be flaky.

 

[essenbe]

I agree with the manufacturer, plus if you want a shorter, longer or just a replacement cable, they are much easier to find. I would prefer that type cable. But, that's me. And I have no idea where the reviewer came up with the "suicide" cable. If it could blow up a computer, everybody's computer would be blown. I use them all the time. That's a crazy statement. They're quite common.

 

[Britton30]

There a lot of bad reviews concerning "bad" USB connectors. I think they are mostly due to the dopes who use them. I am always careful to plug/unplug very straight and careful. There are people I think, who yank them side ways, force in upside down, etc.

Gary, this enclosure looks like a bathroom scales, LOL.

But seriously, from your description it sounds very nice. I may get one. I have half a dozen disks lying around. Some I use in my open enclosures but others are just useless without an enclosure.

Yeah, in that last pic it does. The "dial" is a very bright blue LED which burned out, but I don't miss it, enclosure works very well.

 

[gregrocker]

And I have no idea where the reviewer came up with the "suicide" cable. If it could blow up a computer, everybody's computer would be blown. I use them all the time. That's a crazy statement. They're quite common.

He gave the example that one with a bunch of USB hubs could end up plugging both ends of the USB cable into the PC/hub, causing it to short out the controller. I hadn't heard of this before either, but it seemed to make some kind of sense.

 

[essenbe]

And I have no idea where the reviewer came up with the "suicide" cable. If it could blow up a computer, everybody's computer would be blown. I use them all the time. That's a crazy statement. They're quite common.

He gave the example that one with a bunch of USB hubs could end up plugging both ends of the USB cable into the PC/hub, causing it to short out the controller. I hadn't heard of this before either, but it seemed to make some kind of sense.

Yes, it does make some sense, except the part of why would someone do that? By that same logic, I guess you could consider a DVI cable a suicide cable. I have 2 DVI connections on my graphics card. I guess the case could be made that if I plugged both ends of the DVI cable into my graphics card, the card may blow up. But then you would look at me funny and say what possessed you to do that, dummy.

 

[whs]

:roflmao: