USB 2.0 SATA IDE Adapter

When you have more than one computer, or more specifically more than one hard drive, it is nice to be able to access them quickly. I bought the USB 2.0 to SATA IDE Adapter specifically to test my PS3 hard-drive but can be used for just about any hard drive need. Whether you need to get data off a hard drive from a computer that is broken or want to test your hard drive to see if its functional… this device can get it done.

What’s in the Box

• USB 2.0 to IDE/SATA Interface
• SATA cable
• IDE power cable
• Power supply
• Power supply cable

Everything in the box feels pretty well built except for the 12v power supply. User comments on Amazon suggested some issues with this part, but it worked for us flawlessly during testing.

Features

• Use your 2.5″ / 3.5″ IDE hard drive or SATA hard disk as an additional external hard drive
• Connect your SATA / IDE device to your computer through a USB port
• Compliant with USB 1.1 and 2.0 standards
• Supports SATA Hard drive, 2.5″ laptop hard drives, 3.5″ desktop hard drives,
• CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, CD-RW, DVD-RW Combo devices

• Suggested Applications: 2.5″ IDE Hard Disk / 3.5″ IDE Hard Disk / SATA Hard Disk / CD/CD-RW ROM / DVD/DVD-RW ROM, etc.

Using the Adapter. I hooked up my PS3 hard-drive to the adapter pretty easily. Make sure when you use this that all the power connections are securely in place before you plug in to an outlet. If you disrupt the power when using the hard drive it may corrupt the data.

I heard my hard drive spin up and the USB icon by the clock did see a hard drive, however, I was unable to see any files. This is due to the PS3 having an odd file structure and not to mention it being formatted in FAT32, which only supports up to 32GB hard-drives. If you run into this problem with the FAT32 limiation, you can still view your hard-drive statistics and format it using CompApps Swissknife V3

Verifying the PS3 hard-drive. Since I was able to see all the stats of the hard-drive with the Swissknife tool, I am fairly sure now that my PS3 has fallen victim to the Firmware 3.0 update, which according to many posts and articles on the internet causes damage to the actual cpu and gpu solder joints if not the actual hardware.

If you have any need to verify data or get data off an old hard-drive, this is a very cheap and efficient way to do so! It may not be built like a tank but for the cost, this utility is something worth having in your arsenal.
 

Eric Wiegand

Founder
Focus: Web design, General Tech
Credentials: Network Analyst IV
B.S. from University of Pittsburgh