Will this USB - DC Cable work on my External Hard Drive?

I recently got a new External Hard Drive (Listed Below). In order for the Hard Drive to operate, it is required to be plugged into an outlet. This is fine, but keeps me from being 100% mobile. I was looking at getting a USB - DC cable to solve this problem, but I am unsure if it will work for sure and was hoping that maybe someone out there has tried this, or has knowledge of this.

HDD- http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digital-Elements-External-WDBAAU0020HBK-NESN/dp/B002QEBMCI

Cable- http://www.meritline.com/usb-to-dc-35mm-5v-power-cable---p-37035.aspx

Answer
No that cable will not work, 3.5" hard drives require +5 and +12 positive to work, that cable only provides +5V so you will not be able to get the drive to spin up. If you want to be completely mobile you will have to get a 2.5" external drive as those can be bus powered via USB.

Possible for a large volume external hard drive to be USB powered?

Denno020

If they're not already available, which I don't think they are, is it possible for a high volumen eternal hard drive (500GB+) to be USB powered?
I have an external 120GB Seagate which is USB powered, but thats the larest volume size I've seen.. USB powered is so much more convenient that having to find another power point..

Answer
if got a seagate 500 gig external which is usb powered and plugs in your wall. as far as i know you dont get anything over 250 gig that is only usb powered

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Laptop doesn't power up my external usb hard drive?

dreamllclo

Hello!
I recently bought a Western Digital Passport External Harddrive. It's usb powered.
I tried plugging it into my Dell Inspiron 600m's usb ports- BOTH of them, around five times. The HD would make this powering up noise, stop, shut off, then do it again over, and over, failing to really start up. And also a clicking noise when trying to start up again.

When I go to "My Computer" sometimes the hard drive would show, other times it'd just make the whole "my computer" window freeze, then it'd close itself, my desktop would go blank except my wallpaper, and then everything would come back without the "my computer."

I plugged it into another Dell desktop and an IBM laptop and it works PERFECTLY fine on those two.
So I'm guessing it's my laptop then?

Anyone have any suggestions on how to fix this?
Yes I tried the first usb port once, then then the other usb port when the first one didn't work. And then 3 more times.

Would a usb hub be a good option as well? Those things with 4+ jacks for usb cables?

Answer
<<I tried plugging it into my Dell Inspiron 600m's usb ports- BOTH of them>>
at the same time with 2 USB plugs or only one, once in the 1st and there after in the 2nd?

it depends on the drive enclosure you use. there are some they need an extra USB plug for power only and a 2nd USB port for data and power. (i have 2 external notebook hard drives. the one works fine with one USB plug but the other does the same as you have described. i can't get it to work without an extra plug for power, either a 2nd USB plug or a PS/2 plug).

to solve your problem: get a Y-USB cable. this is a cable with a plug for the enclosure on one side and 2 USB plugs on the other side for plugging into the computer.
i suspect that the power provided on one USB port of the Dell 600m is too less to power an external notebook hard drive.

powered external hard drive?

todd d

i have a power external hard drive usb connect my hp laptop use to pick it up then all of sudden it quit showing it i have tried it on my desktop it shows for a few seconds in my computer where it is suppose to then disappears how can i fix this i have alot to lose if i cant

Answer
Sounds like there isn't enough power from the USB port and that there needs to be more power going to it than a single USB cable.

Every USB port is limited to 0.5A before going into current overload. The USB monitor will disable any USB port that exceeds this current limitation to protect the port from being fried.

Typical drives will consume 1 ~ 2 amps on spin-up and then go down to about 500mA once they are spinning.

Unless you dropped it hard or hear strange clicking sounds, I suspect that if you use the additional power port with the exact voltage and at least the minimum current requirements that you should be fine.

Try this first and DO NOT LEAVE IT IN THE FREEZER OVERNIGHT !!! THAT IS A SURE WAY TO KILL IT.

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Are USB powered external hard drives reliable?

grfisgd

I always used AC powered external hard drives without much any fails. I want to purchase a portable version 2.5" drive but its powered USB only. Its 2TB and the content will be fairly important to me. Are they reliable /good investment? I'm looking at a My Passport 2TB portable USB for about $120. Any advice?

Answer
I have never had a problem with an external USB-powered drive. The largest I have had was 750gb so far so I can't speak about TB+ drives. I don't know that I would be comfortable with something greater than 1TB as the data is so densely packed which means that all the teeny tiny magnetic specks on the disk are that much smaller. You might google your dirve and see what the alleged MTBF (mean time between failures) is.

external usb hard drive (usb powered) vs external usb hard drive (ac powered)?

James L

which is better? is there a difference...i know that the usb powered will draw power off the laptop batter but that about it. does one last longer then the other? one faster then another...i want to get one for my desktop pc but dont know which one to get.

Answer
usually usb powered external hard drives are 2.5" hard drives
and ac powered hard drives are 3.5"

to figure out which is better you have to look at a number of things
-cache size
-rpms
-and the actual formated size of the drive( how many Gigabytes
higher is better

3.5" drives are usually have a cheaper price to size ratio
also have larger capacities

2.5" drives are portable if you plan on travelling with it
and as you mentioned no need for external power source

either one is good but if you need to save space on your desk or need to travel with it than a usb powered external hard drive is best.

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What type of external hard drive should i Buy?

best external hard drive usb powered image

Q. I am looking to upgrade my seagate 250gb external hard drive but don't want to get a bad one, so what are your suggestions on external hard drive? This is what i want in an external : 1,750gb-1tb 2,usb powered 3,cheap as possible. The one i am looking at currently is the Western Digital Elements SE 1 TB what are your thoughts on that drive? thanks in advanced =)
I am also looking at the Seagate FreeAgent Go 1 TB drive. what are your thoughts on this drive

Answer
The WD Elements 1TB drive has been getting some good reviews. There are over 400 customer reviews on Amazon with the majority of them very positive. It definitely fits the specs that you are looking for in a hard drive. If you want to see what many others have to say about it, you can find it here:

http://tinyurl.com/28eakdj

I personally own 3 Western Digital Hard Drives. Two of them are at least 4 years old and still work great.
I hope this information was helpful.

What is the biggest pocket size external hard drive you can buy?

Bethany

I have a 2TG hard drive but it is hard work taking it round cos you have to plug it into a power socket ect. Do you know if you can get 1 or 2TG external hard drive with just a USB? Something which is really small and neat?

Answer
No problem

Here is a link to the products on bestbuy.com

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/External-Hard-Drives/External-Portable-Hard+Drives/pcmcat186100050006.c?id=pcmcat186100050006

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What is the biggest pocket size external hard drive you can buy?

best external hard drive usb powered image

Bethany

I have a 2TG hard drive but it is hard work taking it round cos you have to plug it into a power socket ect. Do you know if you can get 1 or 2TG external hard drive with just a USB? Something which is really small and neat?

Answer
No problem

Here is a link to the products on bestbuy.com

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/External-Hard-Drives/External-Portable-Hard+Drives/pcmcat186100050006.c?id=pcmcat186100050006

What is the proper way to disconnect an external USB hard drive?

green mekl

I just got an external hard drive to keep my data safe (since my laptop is old and living on borrowed time). It's powered by the USB cable, and starts up when I plug it in. However, when I do the 'safely remove hardware' thing, the icon on the taskbar goes away but the drive itself keeps spinning (I can feel the vibration). Is that supposed to happen? If it's like that and I simply disconnect the USB cable, will the head be stowed properly before the drive spins down? If not, what am I missing here?

Answer
You don't even have to do the "Safely remove hardware"....not really.

As long as you don't rip it out in the middle of a read/write, you'll be fine.

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