Recommendation for a USB hub that can crank out power to external hard drives ?

[wearetheborg]

I have this external 2.5 drive, powerred solely by USB:
http://www.westerndigital.com/en/products/products.asp?driveid=261&language=en

Unfortunately it wont work with my T30, power seems to be insufficient.

Any recommendation for a USB hub that can crank out power to the drive ?
I've heard problems with (even powered) hubs cranking out insufficient juice to external devices.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

I found some info here but have no personal experience with them. I think this topic is of interest to quite a few. Please let us know what you discover.

 

[andy04]

You need an active one. any active USB hub yould do it...
Active Hubs are those which use external power source. They need to be hooked to a power outlet.

 

[wearetheborg]

Originally posted by: andy04
You need an active one. any active USB hub yould do it...
Active Hubs are those which use external power source. They need to be hooked to a power outlet.

That is a prereq, however its not sufficient. I've heard of problems with even powered hubs delivering insufficient power to external HDDs.
The problems seems to be that these external divices draw more power than allowed by the USB standard.

 

[corkyg]

Originally posted by: wearetheborg
The problems seems to be that these external divices draw more power than allowed by the USB standard.

Right. Most external cases for 3.5" drives are self-powered, and use 15 vdc a/c adapters. USB devices use 5 vdc normally, and that is what is available, even in most powered hubs.

Anyway, in your linked WD website, that case, in picture #2, shows two cables - one a USB and the other a DV power pin connector. That sometimes will work if you connect it to TWO USB ports - one for data and the other for more power.

I would be inclined to get rid of the unpowered case if it is for a 3.5" drive.

 

[wearetheborg]

Originally posted by: corkyg


Anyway, in your linked WD website, that case, in picture #2, shows two cables - one a USB and the other a DV power pin connector. That sometimes will work if you connect it to TWO USB ports - one for data and the other for more power.

I would be inclined to get rid of the unpowered case if it is for a 3.5" drive.

I'm sorry, I linked to the wrong drive. This one is a 2.5 drive, there is one connection, USB, no other connector.
As its a case/HDD combo. Not supposed to be user serviceable.

http://www.westerndigital.com/en/products/products.asp?driveid=261&language=en

 

[pcgeek11]

It must be the luck of the draw as I use the Adaptec 2.5 inch USB case ( AC-120 ) and a Hitachi 2.5 inch hard drive powered only off one USB plug on my Dell Inspiron 5100 and it has never failed to work even performing back-up images 6 - 10 gigabytes in size to it...

It also comes with a dual ended USB cable to use the power from two ports if needed, but I never have.

http://www.adaptec.com/en-US/products/_eol/usb/drives/ACS-120/

Highlights
Supports high-capacity hard disk drives up to 1000GB
No external power supply required for additional mobility
USB 2.0 data transfer rates of up to 480Mbps
Lightweight durable aluminum enclosure acts as a heat sink to keep your drive cool
Included carrying case adds additional protection and style to the slim aluminum enclosure
Unsurpassed compatibility: works with hard drives from any vendor

pcgeek11