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Converting a portable hard drive to internal?

post #1 of 32
Thread Starter 
I have a 320 gb toshiba canvio external hd and was wondering if it could be changed into an internal, I know it's possible with some but I can't find out whether it's sata or IDE, it just says USB 2.0. Can anyone help me out with this?
post #2 of 32
Yup....

  • Buy yourself a 2.5in to 3.5in adapater
  • Crack open the casing on the portable
  • Put the HDD in the adapter
  • Slap it in your system


Most newer externals are SATA on the drive themselves.
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post #3 of 32
^^this

you may not even need a 2.5-3.5 adapter if your case has a slot for it.
usually external drives are held together by two or more screws and it doesn't take much to take it apart.
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post #4 of 32
If it was bought in the past 5 years then its probably sata. The only issue I could think of other than that, is it using a proprietary connector like some of the WD 2.5" external drives.
You could just open it up and check.
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post #5 of 32
Quote:
Originally Posted by PR-Imagery View Post

If it was bought in the past 5 years then its probably sata. The only issue I could think of other than that, is it using a proprietary connector like some of the WD 2.5" external drives.
You could just open it up and check.

Have one of my friend's WD My Passport's right in front of me.
Opened it up hoping for a sata drive so I could *hopefully* recover some data off of it.
Opened it up, and instead of the sata part, has just a regular mini-USB port...

Now it's just a matter of how badly he wants his data to pay up the butt for.
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post #6 of 32
Thread Starter 
Dear god you guys are fast.. There aren't any screws to open the hd with so I'll be prying it open. I'll see what it looks like and then I'll probably buy the adaptor. If I removed the adaptor and put it back in the case, could I use it as a USB external again?
post #7 of 32
Quote:
Originally Posted by rawfuls View Post


Have one of my friend's WD My Passport's right in front of me.
Opened it up hoping for a sata drive so I could *hopefully* recover some data off of it.
Opened it up, and instead of the sata part, has just a regular mini-USB port...

Now it's just a matter of how badly he wants his data to pay up the butt for.

Yea, my 1tb Passport has pins on the hdd's circuit board(sorta like a usb header) that connect to the micro usb adapter/power board.
Pretty screwy of them to shaft people around with silly useless connectors.
Quote:
Originally Posted by needmorecowbell View Post

Dear god you guys are fast.. There aren't any screws to open the hd with so I'll be prying it open. I'll see what it looks like and then I'll probably buy the adaptor. If I removed the adaptor and put it back in the case, could I use it as a USB external again?

Yep, just stickthe drive back in the case.
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post #8 of 32
    
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post #9 of 32
Thread Starter 
Well I finally opened it, what a pita.. I nearly stabbed myself when I was opening it lol.

I read the link you gave me. Does this mean it's not possible to turn this into n internal because it's only USB? Also, is the adaptor so it can fit in the bay or so I can hook up my mobo to it? Mine doesn't exactly look like that. It says sata on the green board in small print.. I'm a noob if you couldn't tell smile.gif
post #10 of 32
Quote:
Originally Posted by needmorecowbell View Post

Well I finally opened it, what a pita.. I nearly stabbed myself when I was opening it lol.
I read the link you gave me. Does this mean it's not possible to turn this into n internal because it's only USB? Also, is the adaptor so it can fit in the bay or so I can hook up my mobo to it? Mine doesn't exactly look like that. It says sata on the green board in small print.. I'm a noob if you couldn't tell smile.gif

PICTURES!!!!

Even if it is USB it may be possible to buy an adapter/extension and take it right to an open USB header on your mobo.
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