Just upgraded laptop to SSD, do I have enough power to run old disc on USB 3.0 port

I bought a cheap USB 3.0 ( well allegedly 3.0 ) SATA HHD enclosure hoping to run the old SATA II 500GB 7200 disc connected to a USB 3.0 port.

I looked up the old disc's power consumption and for read and write its 5V and 2.1 Watts. So I think USB 3.0 port is capable of delivering 900 Ma x 5 volts = 4.5 watts So I assumed I was OK.
But looking at the old disc's spec at :-
http://icecat.co.uk …sy/MK5061GSY-7805881.html
It says "Powered By" :
USB: has a "x" in red
Internal: has a "Tick" in green.
So I double checked with Wiki only to find there was a low power and and high power version of USB 3.0. ( thank you morons at the USB conglomorate! ) the power was 150 Ma and 900 Ma respectively.
Obviously the drive caddy is cheap so no specs available there and the Sony Laptop - well Sony loves its secrecy, and now they no longer sell Vaio laptops - less chance of finding that out , than a red Ferrari being delivered as a mid week present from the wife!

So The question is am I safe? i.e. I wont blow out the USB Port will I? , or is there such a thing as a cheap powered USB hub.
Frankly I would toss the drive away before risking the laptop ; except it would be nice to be able to connect the disc and get at some data if needed. Or being able to format it and sell it. Without reinstalling it back in the laptop once the install proves to be rock solid etc.

My other question is, I have another old ATA IDE 120 GB HDD from the previous Laptop , with some images I lost when that Laptop's screen died!
So I bought a really cheap £7 ATA IDE HDD caddy , which is only USB 2.0
I need to check out that discs specs, to see its power consumption. But my worry now is - if I plug that into a USB 3.0 port will the power draw be limited to USB 2.0 standard power , or will the port still deliver USB 3.0 power levels ?
I think USB 2.0 was 500 ma so that is only 2.5 Watts? Or did they have a dual power rating?
Any help appreciated. It would be nice if these worked but I do not want to risk the laptops USB ports.

I've never had a problem running a 2.5" (laptop) hard drive from a USB 2.0 or 3.0 port. In addition to using various brands of pre-built drives (such as the Western Digital Passport), I carry a USB to SATA and USB to IDE adapter for connecting bare hard drives to another computer for data recovery or transfer. In short, USB ports supply enough power to run a 2.5" hard drive.

3.5" (desktop) hard drives are another beast. They need more power than a USB port can supply so they'll always come with an external power adapter.

IDE vs. SATA is not a factor in this. Its the size of the drive that determines whether or not it can run solely off the USB port's power. 2.5" is OK, 3.5" needs more power.

mike_d wrote in post #17635025
I've never had a problem running a 2.5" (laptop) hard drive from a USB 2.0 or 3.0 port. In addition to using various brands of pre-built drives (such as the Western Digital Passport), I carry a USB to SATA and USB to IDE adapter for connecting bare hard drives to another computer for data recovery or transfer. In short, USB ports supply enough power to run a 2.5" hard drive.

3.5" (desktop) hard drives are another beast. They need more power than a USB port can supply so they'll always come with an external power adapter.

IDE vs. SATA is not a factor in this. Its the size of the drive that determines whether or not it can run solely off the USB port's power. 2.5" is OK, 3.5" needs more power.

Thanks so much.
My concern over the IDE drive was purely that the HDD enclosure was only USB 2.0 so was worried it would reduce the power to 500 Ma .
Anyway very reassuring so thanks as all mine are 2.5" drives.

I doubt you'll have any problems. Test it out reading, initially, rather than writing to the disk.

You won't damage a USB port by trying to pull too much current from it. From an electrical point of view you are not likely to damage something by limiting the current draw. With a hard drive it is possible that you might corrupt data if you attempt to perfom a write cycle that fails part way through. Writes are likely to need more power than reads. Thats assuming that there is enough current avilable to power up the drive in the first place.

For 5 1/4" & 3 1/2" IDE drives you will need an additional 12V power supply so you won't see them avilable as USB bus powered devices. I beleive the smaller 2 1/2" IDE drives only require 5V, at least ASAIK they draw power through the same low power interconnect plug/socket as the data. It's been a long time since I looked at a 2 1/2" IDE device.

Alan

As mentioned above, no harm in trying. If it doesn't work, my first change would be to get a USB HDD Y-cable so the drive can pull power from two USB ports. Of course that assumes you have two USB ports on your laptop. Alternately, try a powered USB hub between the laptop and drive.

Thanks guys

Personally I've seen some laptops damaged and some laptops just don't work, then when the excessive power need is removed they again work fine. The better solution is to just use a powered USB hub to eliminate the drain on the laptop. A good one is at http://www.amazon.com …Bau%7C571655317​8370339807.

There are also some 4-port models for down around $12 to $15. Just check carefully that are USB 3.0 and come with the power supply. On occasion you think your getting a good deal and then find it doesn't include the power supply.

Update : I just found a Y USB 2.0 cable with 3 A type USB white connectors, in the packaging of the IDE Drive caddy. One thick cable and one thin, shorter additional cable at one end. I guess thats so I can connect to 2 USB ports on the Laptop?

I just wondered, as I am short on USB ports; could I plug the thinner cabled USB connector ( assumed power only) into a spare iPhone charger ( says its 5v 1A)? Or a Nokia 5v 1.2 A USB phone charger. Rather than take up a second port on the Laptop?
If so does it matter which way round the cable is? As I guess if used with 2 ports on the Laptop, one is supposed to put the split end at the computer end?. Whereas using a 5v power source - it would be easier to have that attached at the HDD caddy end. And more logical as then the power is then nearer the HDD caddy i.e.closer to the item that is drawing the power.

Seeing this cable I thought about the other SATA III USB 3.0 HDD Caddy which is apparrently USB 3.0 (Albeit witha SATA II HDD in it). This came with single USB blue cable.
So I did a search and found a Y cable with 2 type A USB3.0 blue connectors and one Mini B USB3.0 connector at the other end. ( this HDD Caddy needs the Mini B connector)
http://www.amazon.co.u​k …fRID=01YQAPJ8YG​YFG0HYDX7Z

So The same question applies, could I plug this thinner cable into a plain power source. Effectively creating a "Powered" cable rather than buying a powered hub.

My slight concerns are : is there any other communication going on the other USB wiires of these chargers or ido they just connect the power wires?. Probably I feel more safe using the Nokia charger, as Apple is more likely to have some sort of handshaki g to try and prevent one using non Apple chargers?
Any views.

Sorry to seem mean but I would like to avoid buying a powererd hub, for really just a couple of temporary solutions. That money would be better spent buying another WD 3 TB drive. Plus if this solution worked it could be used with my other 4 WD passport 2 TB drives.

John from PA wrote in post #17635358
Personally I've seen some laptops damaged and some laptops just don't work, then when the excessive power need is removed they again work fine. The better solution is to just use a powered USB hub to eliminate the drain on the laptop. A good one is at http://www.amazon.com …Bau%7C571655317​8370339807.

There are also some 4-port models for down around $12 to $15. Just check carefully that are USB 3.0 and come with the power supply. On occasion you think your getting a good deal and then find it doesn't include the power supply.

Thanks John
I ha d just posted an update relevent to your suggestion.

Ordered a Y cable from UGreen ( great quality fat cable, and gold plated terminals) this has an additional power lead to plug into another USB port. But I just used a 5v 1.2 amp Nokia phone chager. ( having checked it was a stable 5Vs first)
Worked perfectly.
Great cable for £5.99 - effectively creating a powered USB "cable" rather than port. Cheap effective and less obtrusive with loads of wires and boxes everywhere.

Hasnt blown anything up yet LOL!

Please tell me this wont burn out my USB port?