3.5 SATA HDD connected using USB + AC power.

[steadman0]

Hi guys,

I have just swapped a mate over from his old VU Duo box to a zgemma h5.2tc box so he can now use cable. Anyway, I took his 500gb HDD out of the VU and tried connecting it to his zgemma box via USB to Sata cable, with separate AC connector to power the drive. However, the box didn't seem to read it so I tried plugging it into his computer and that didn't seem to recognise it either, and I can't hear it spinning up or anything either, however it does work fine in the VU Duo box.

I am going to try a different hard drive today to check the lead isn't faulty, but thought I would post here to see if anyone has had any problems similar with this type of lead, he only paid about £8 off eBay but surly it should work for a little bit?

 

[woody6222]

It would probably work better in a proper enclosure, but HDDs can fail at any time.

 

[cactikid]

agree use a caddy thats powered and if not seen power off box then on and might be seen then.

 

[steadman0]

The molex to sata cable wasn't working. So I changed it over to another one and there is a problem with the 12v cable on the new one, when plugged into a 3.5HDD it starts to smoke, but is fine with just using the 5v wire for a 2.5HDD.

Think I will take your advice and get a caddy to be safe.