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laptop hdd in desktop?

post #1 of 29
1/23/07 at 5:29pm
Thread Starter 
is it possible that a laptop hdd work in a desktop?
i have a laptop hdd and want to use it in my desktop i just want to know if it will work?
It has both the sata connectors like my bigger hdd.
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post #2 of 29
1/24/07 at 2:48pm
There might be some sorta converter, or you can always buy an external hd case and put it in there..
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post #3 of 29
1/24/07 at 3:19pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by dman22
There might be some sorta converter, or you can always buy an external hd case and put it in there..

well i dont think i would need the converter since the laptop hdd i got has a sata connection and it has that long serial power plug (its like sata but for power connection)?
i ask this cuz when i connect it to my desktop it doesnt detect?
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post #4 of 29
1/24/07 at 9:14pm
is it that it's not detecting, or not turning on (spinning up)? also, is it a new drive, i.e. has it been formatted and used before? it is possible that the drive has not been initialized and thus isn't being detected, and that is the reason for it not "working" but then again, i'm just guessing here.
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post #5 of 29
1/24/07 at 9:15pm
Dman is correct you need an edge connector ide or sata, you're going to have to have one.

http://www.addonics.com/products/io/aks218ide.asp
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post #6 of 29
1/24/07 at 9:24pm
If you want to hook it up just to see if it works, get one of these things: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16812156102

saved my ass a few times. I can't recommend using it for long periods of time (because it would just be sitting on your desk)... but it is very usful for getting data off HDD's you have laying around.
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post #7 of 29
1/24/07 at 9:53pm
Thread Starter 
I dont understand why I would need the adapters since the laptop hdd i have, has the exact same connectors as on my desktop computer..?
or do u need this adapter for it to detect in windows?
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post #8 of 29
1/24/07 at 10:47pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Primu$
I dont understand why I would need the adapters since the laptop hdd i have, has the exact same connectors as on my desktop computer..?
or do u need this adapter for it to detect in windows?

They may look the same, however they are not. Pin-outs on 2.5" HDD's are different when it comes to signal and power, these connectors make those corrections.
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post #9 of 29
1/25/07 at 12:56am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bahama.Llama
If you want to hook it up just to see if it works, get one of these things: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16812156102

saved my ass a few times. I can't recommend using it for long periods of time (because it would just be sitting on your desk)... but it is very usful for getting data off HDD's you have laying around.
It's actually quite simple.
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post #10 of 29
1/25/07 at 2:16am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Time-Pilot
They may look the same, however they are not. Pin-outs on 2.5" HDD's are different when it comes to signal and power, these connectors make those corrections.
I see now, Thanks!! Ok ok ill give it a shot since its coming from people with over 5,000+++ Posts! ...oh yea only thing is newegg dont ship to canada =( ill have a look see else where for that product.
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post #11 of 29
1/27/07 at 3:15am
SATA Laptop hard drives have the SAME connections as desktop SATA hard drives guys. Quit steering this feller wrong. I've backed up SEVERAL SATA drive laptops with my primary desktop with no problems. There's a REASON they put the same connectors on the 2.5" SATAs as they do on 3.5" drives.....so you can easily use either in a desktop system or small form factor system. Heck, when I first got my D820 I hooked up it's SATA hard drive to my Desktop so I could ghost it.

There's a few reasons the desktop won't detect the drive. 1: the drive is dead 2: the SATA port he's plugging it into is turned off and/or isn't set to auto-detect the drive. 3: bad cable 4: his power connector has something wrong with it.
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post #12 of 29
1/27/07 at 3:49am
MrEvil is right. I back up SATA notebook drives by hooking them up to a SATA desktop and it works fine. I see no reason why one couldn't use them in a desktop permanently.
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post #13 of 29
1/27/07 at 4:35am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by MrEvil
SATA Laptop hard drives have the SAME connections as desktop SATA hard drives guys. Quit steering this feller wrong. I've backed up SEVERAL SATA drive laptops with my primary desktop with no problems. There's a REASON they put the same connectors on the 2.5" SATAs as they do on 3.5" drives.....so you can easily use either in a desktop system or small form factor system. Heck, when I first got my D820 I hooked up it's SATA hard drive to my Desktop so I could ghost it. There's a few reasons the desktop won't detect the drive. 1: the drive is dead 2: the SATA port he's plugging it into is turned off and/or isn't set to auto-detect the drive. 3: bad cable 4: his power connector has something wrong with it.
Wow, lucky i didnt buy one yet...was just on ebay..anyhow ill give all those steps a check in my setup. Thanks for the correction MrEvil
Quote:
Originally Posted by nyako
MrEvil is right. I back up SATA notebook drives by hooking them up to a SATA desktop and it works fine. I see no reason why one couldn't use them in a desktop permanently.
Thanks nyako, for backing that up, you guys saved my some buck$
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post #14 of 29
1/27/07 at 12:55pm
Glad we found a definitive answer on if it would work or not. I have a USB adapter for the sheer convenience of the thing.
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post #15 of 29
1/27/07 at 2:36pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bahama.Llama
Glad we found a definitive answer on if it would work or not. I have a USB adapter for the sheer convenience of the thing.

Well the idea intended, was to have a light weight Lan computer with silence, so i figured build a Desktop with a smaller HDD, lighter luggage.

I also got into my bios and bingo i didnt have the auto detect enabled... turned it on and try to boot the hdd up...no go still nothing in " my computer" no new hdd was detected... im not sure what is up here.
If it doesnt detect how can i format the thing? or does this means it dead? i hear it spinning...i think...its so small (less noise)
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post #16 of 29
1/27/07 at 3:46pm
try going into disk management (right click on "my computer" and select "manage" and then "storage" then "disk management") and see if there are any volumes that are unpartitioned or unactivated. usually, if the drive is recognized, but not formatted or set up yet, it will still show up there.
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post #17 of 29
1/27/07 at 4:20pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by yee245
try going into disk management (right click on "my computer" and select "manage" and then "storage" then "disk management") and see if there are any volumes that are unpartitioned or unactivated. usually, if the drive is recognized, but not formatted or set up yet, it will still show up there.
It does show up there. I still cant access it or format it.. anyone Know anything about GPT Protective partition?
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post #18 of 29
1/27/07 at 6:43pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Primu$
anyone Know anything about GPT Protective partition?
This looks pretty promising: http://www.freshscoop.com/modules.ph...=article&sid=5 I looked through a few of those links and couldn't find any application that screamed out "get rid of GPTP here!". Looks like you may have to do some looking in there. Theres always: http://dban.sourceforge.net/ Might not work, but worth a shot if nothing else seems to be working.
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post #19 of 29
1/28/07 at 2:43am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bahama.Llama
This looks pretty promising: http://www.freshscoop.com/modules.ph...=article&sid=5

I looked through a few of those links and couldn't find any application that screamed out "get rid of GPTP here!". Looks like you may have to do some looking in there.

Theres always: http://dban.sourceforge.net/ Might not work, but worth a shot if nothing else seems to be working.

Hey nice find Bahama.Llama giving this a shot will report back if she's alive! wish me luck
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post #20 of 29
1/28/07 at 12:51pm
This is not true of all SATA drives, there are generations that require a swapped signal/ ground ping that you cannot connect to desktop without a bridge. There was an early generation SATA laptop drive, and second generation that required swapped pins. This is why you can find these edge connectors out there. Just like trying to plug in a SATA 2 drive into a SATA 1 controller, you're not going to get much out of it.
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