Enough power from PCMCIA > USB 2.0 Adapter for External USB Drive???

james1234

Trying to figure out if I can get this setup to work so any input appreciated

Goal: Very old laptop, would like to hook up an external USB hard drive (USB Powered such as http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=354974) to copy a large amount of data, but have read in places that USB powered external drives could require the drive to be hooked up to two USB ports to get sufficient power to power the drive. Now my problem is I've only got the one USB port, yea, as I said it's a very old laptop - Compaq Armada M700...

Was thinking of getting one of these PCMICA > USB adapter cards
http://www.startech.com/item-applications/CB420USB-4-Port-USB-20-CardBus-Adapter.aspx

But they come with a power cable, now this explains why:

USB Power Cable
http://www.mrusb.co.uk/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=18&products_id=326&osCsid=2564cd0c17392893a9e32d3d10654b72

So would this all be a waste of time if the amount of power from the PCMCIA bus, along with the power coming from the single built-in USB port, via the usb power cable is not sufficient to power the hard drive?

This all came to light when I read a review, almost sure it was on Komplett or maybe even here...(but can't find it now) where customers were a bit miffed why the WD Passport drive did not come with the USB Y splitter cable (to get power from 2 USB ports) and they had to purchase one separately as their laptop (a Dell, I believe) did not provide enough power form one USB port.

axer

Well the external usb powered hdd is supposed to work off of a maximum of 500mA since that is the maximum out of a USB port. On their website it says the maximum draw can be 650mA. This could get very messy. Maybe you are better off to just get a seperately powered hdd.

Jonathan

Get a dual head usb cable and slap one end into the computer and one in to this.

That will allow you to draw 1A.

Overheal

jmccrohan wrote: »

Get a dual head usb cable and slap one end into the computer and one in to this.

That will allow you to draw 1A.

That completely destroys the concept of mobility and tbh is not at all practical when you factor in the cable length involved. Even if you get the PCMIA card and get an extra 100mA: do you know if your 1 USB port is 1.1 or 2.0? 1.1 will not provide you enough power.

Jonathan

Overheal wrote: »

That completely destroys the concept of mobility and tbh is not at all practical when you factor in the cable length involved. Even if you get the PCMIA card and get an extra 100mA: do you know if your 1 USB port is 1.1 or 2.0? 1.1 will not provide you enough power.

Ah that laptop is useless.... I was talking about getting that hd so that you can use it usb powered from other laptops but still use it with the old one, albeit using a plug.

james1234

axer wrote: »

Well the external usb powered hdd is supposed to work off of a maximum of 500mA since that is the maximum out of a USB port. On their website it says the maximum draw can be 650mA. This could get very messy. Maybe you are better off to just get a seperately powered hdd.

This is why some people have complained that the WD drive does not come with the Y-splitter USB cable for the extra power, most others do. Also read that WD do not have a global warrantly, so if it breaks when you're travelling, you wont get it fixed/replaced until you get back home... Leaning away from WD at this stage.

jmccrohan wrote: »

Get a dual head usb cable and slap one end into the computer and one in to this.

That will allow you to draw 1A.

Overheal wrote: »

That completely destroys the concept of mobility and tbh is not at all practical when you factor in the cable length involved. Even if you get the PCMIA card and get an extra 100mA: do you know if your 1 USB port is 1.1 or 2.0? 1.1 will not provide you enough power.

It only has one USB 1.1 port, so this is looking like a no goer, mind you that USB mains plug thingy does look interesting, where will USB go next? Solar powered :eek:

jmccrohan wrote: »

Ah that laptop is useless.... I was talking about getting that hd so that you can use it usb powered from other laptops but still use it with the old one, albeit using a plug.

It's a fairly stable laptop actually, specs are way outdated agree, but still useful for surfing the web and word processing though.


So now my next question, anyone know of any external hard drives that can be either USB powered or mains powered if USB doesn't provide sufficient power?

Just bought a new laptop so would like to use an external hdd with that too, but without having to use the mains except on the older laptop...

Overheal

The Passport Elite's have a DC jack on top of their pre-existing USB power function.

http://www.wdc.com/en/products/accessories.asp?ProdID=174

That would do the trick. Keep in mind the standard Passport drives don't have a jack.

Nonmonotonic

Solution!

Jonathan

Nonmonotonic wrote: »

Solution!

lol thats a great idea.. id be a bit weary tho of something that is not gonna output 0.5A @ 5V

james1234

Overheal wrote: »

The Passport Elite's have a DC jack on top of their pre-existing USB power function.

http://www.wdc.com/en/products/accessories.asp?ProdID=174

That would do the trick. Keep in mind the standard Passport drives don't have a jack.

Yes, but they are pricier too, but I guess you get what you pay for...

Nonmonotonic wrote: »

Solution!

LMFAO that's made my day. Now all I need is a solar powered battery charger for my laptop, and I'll be sorted! Note he says when testing use "the least expensive rechargeable USB device", just in case it fries the device!