External hard drive as an internal?

Mach III

Mach III

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Hey guys

A friend broke my Samsung external hard drive's HDD case fitting about a year ago.

It's a Samsung 1tb external, and the model on the harddrive is HD103SI.

Will I be able to use this as an internal hard drive?
 
It is basically a internal hard drive in a casing so yes, you would.
 
Okay, because I would rather spend my cash on getting a SSD than buying a new HDD :)

Awesome, thanks okes
 
3.5" - Yes
2.5" - Probably not.

To make the 2.5" drives as small as possible, they remove the standard SATA interface and replace it with a proprietary control board that only has USB. So it would be useless as an internal unless the USB interface was still intact. Then you could mount it inside your case and run the USB cable to a port on the MB.

Your model is fine becuase there is a 3.5" drive inside. But for anyone that reads this thread in the future, just make sure to check exactly what internal drive is inside first. :)

Why don't you keep it as an external? Just buy another enclosure with USB3 and eSata. Then it would be both portable and fast. :)
 
Last edited:
bromster said:
3.5" - Yes
2.5" - Probably not.

To make the 2.5" drives as small as possible, they remove the standard SATA interface and replace it with a proprietary control board that only has USB.
Click to expand...

The drive he mentioned (HD103SI) is a 3.5" one.

Also not all 2.5" external drives have integrated USB connectors. If it does have one you could always 'hack' one and fit a sata/power connectors to it by soldering wires onto the PCB at the right spots, but average joe is not going to do this.
 
The only 2.5" drive I have ever encountered that didn't have the normal SATA connectors was a Samsung SSD and I've worked on hundreds of laptops.
 
Crowley said:
The only 2.5" drive I have ever encountered that didn't have the normal SATA connectors was a Samsung SSD and I've worked on hundreds of laptops.
Click to expand...

All Western Digital 2.5" external USB drives are USB PCB only, no SATA. A lot of Samsung 2.5" external USB drives are USB PCB only, and Toshiba are now starting to do the same.

You've worked on hundreds of laptops, well you wouldn't have seen one because a laptop uses a SATA drive...
 
I've had to deal with a few externals that had USB HDDs inside them. God, that was such a total waste of time.
 
Mach III said:
Hey guys

A friend broke my Samsung external hard drive's HDD case fitting about a year ago.

It's a Samsung 1tb external, and the model on the harddrive is HD103SI.

Will I be able to use this as an internal hard drive?
Click to expand...

I don't recommend this if you are using this for your primary drive.

First of all, most external enclosures contain drives which operate at 1.5GB/s and are really poor quality.

It will be cheaper and value for money to buy either a standard Seagate or WD drive of the same size.

As a slave you shouldn't have a problem. Take out any jumpers that are inside it.
 
It will be fine as an internal. (for storage) The connectors are standard SATA and the drive is a 3GB/s drive. It really must be negative monday today...
 
SouthBit said:
All Western Digital 2.5" external USB drives are USB PCB only, no SATA. A lot of Samsung 2.5" external USB drives are USB PCB only, and Toshiba are now starting to do the same.

You've worked on hundreds of laptops, well you wouldn't have seen one because a laptop uses a SATA drive...
Click to expand...

The model in the OP's post is a 3.5" hard drive - HD103SI. They only come in SATA afaik.
 
Crowley said:
The model in the OP's post is a 3.5" hard drive - HD103SI. They only come in SATA afaik.
Click to expand...

Yes, HD103SI is a 1TB 3.5" SATA drive.

On the USB PCB issue I was referring to 2.5" drives as the subject was raised in this thread so I clarified the different between 2.5" which often have USB PCBs these days, to 3.5" which do not.
 
Where can I get a casing in CPT to make a internal external, Oterry Hypermarket?
 
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