Can I connect a 3.5" HDD to a laptop using USB 2.0?

Is there any risk to either the hard drive or the laptop if I connect them together using a USB 2.0 to SATA IDE cable?

Is there any risk in creating a back-up of the laptop, on the 3.5" SATA HDD with only 5w power using with USB 2.0 TO SATA/IDE cable?

2 Answers

There is no problem using a 3.5" hard drive external to a laptop. However, you will need to use a separate power supply to power the hard disk, as the USB can provide neither the amount of power, nor the correct voltage to run the drive.

There is absolutely no risk, however you will get a bit of a problem with powering your 3.5 Inch HDD. You will need a special connector and a source of power for your 3.5 Inch HDD. You will not be able to power it directly from USB. As of other differences between the two, there is a very high quality thread on SU

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