There's more 2.5" sata hdds than 3.5" hdds going cheap locally, but I'm unsure if one would work in my xbox. Would the adaptor I got to use with a 3.5" sata hdd fit on this, and would it work ok in the xbox since it's smaller than the caddy and it wouldn't be safe if it was loose and moving around in there?
Always check the drive you intend to buy at:Quote:
Originally Posted by DavieB
http://xboxdrives.x-pec.com/?p=list
Even if the exact model isn't there you can usually get a guess if the drive you're looking at is lockable.
Absolutely. Sata connectors are uniform across every single drive I've ever seen.Quote:
Originally Posted by DavieB
You'll wanna fix it in place somehow. There are 2.5" to 3.5" adapters out there which would fix everything easily. Or you can try holding it in place with 1 or 2 screws on one side maybe? Or you can maybe drill a couple extra holes wherever you please.Quote:
Originally Posted by DavieB
Cheers! :)
Purpose designed caddies for mounting 2.5" drives in 3.5" bays are reasonably cheap and easily found. One of my desktop PCs has a single awkwardly located 2.5" drive mounting point so I used an Akasa 2.5" - 3.5" adapter to mount it in one of the spare 3.5" bays.
It has standard 3.5" HDD screw mounts, no fancy or dodgy HDD mounting systems and works fine. I've not tried using one myself with a Xbox but I have a spare unused 80GB IDE 2.5" HDD bought for an old laptop I've been thinking of using for that purpose.
I'd definitely use that caddy or something similar as leaving the HDD unsecured on the base of the Xbox's own HDD caddy is asking for trouble. It probably would be OK but only if the Xbox was going to be in a fixed location and never moved. However you're risking the HDD if the Xbox gets jolted or dropped so I'd not recommend it.
Make sure that with the design of the SATA > IDE adapter there is enough clearance between it and the base of the HDD caddy. 2.5" HDDs sit low and may not extend right to the end of some caddy designs; that's why the Akasa one is likely a good choice as it has positions for two 2.5" HDD. You should be able to get any clearance necessary by using the upper position. Better for heat dissipation too.
Any brand of adapter would do the job, it's not a complicated thing. I'd just drill the Xbox caddy though, it's just plastic so it'd be super easy. And if you want some custom height you can put some standoffs in. May as well save that $3 an actual adapter would cost.
Thanx, guys! I picked up a 3.5" sata for just a couple of quid, it's a Western Digital 320gb.Unfortunately not on the list of proven compatible hdds, but I'll give it a go and see what happens.
There seem to be very few IDE HDDs in the 40GB - 320GB range that can't be locked. I've yet to find any WD, Seagate or Maxtor 120GB one which is incompatible and, in fact, SATA ones should be even more compatible as locking is generally supported by most modern HDDs.
Problems with a SATA HDDs are more likely to be caused by the SATA > IDE adapter being used rather than the HDD itself.