Attaching 3.5" desktop drive to MacBook SATA
- by Kyle Cronin
I have a mid-2007 MacBook that, according to the Apple Store, has suffered some liquid damage and requires a new logic board to operate correctly, a ~$750 repair I've been told (would normally be around ~$300 were it not for the "liquid damage"). The unit itself works fine - the only problem I've been having is that the system does not recognize the battery and will not charge it. Curiously, the system can still be powered by the battery and even recognizes when the power cord is detached by diming the backlight, but I digress.
Now that this laptop will likely become a desktop, I'm wondering if it might be possible to attach a desktop drive. I recently purchased a 2TB SATA drive and I'm wondering if it's possible to somehow attach it where the current internal drive connects. Obviously the drive itself will not fit inside the device, but as the unit will spend the rest of its days on my desk, that's not really much of an issue.
My main questions are:
Is this possible?
If so, how would I connect the drive? Would a SATA extender cable work?
Is the SATA port on my MacBook capable of powering a desktop drive? Or should I just get a SATA male-to-female cable and see if I can power the drive through other means (a cheap power supply, for example)
The disk I'm referring to is the Hitachi Deskstar HD32000. Though I couldn't find that exact model on Hitachi's support site, these are the power requirements for a similar drive, the 7K2000 (2TB, 7200RPM, SATA II):
Power
Requirement +5 VDC (+/-5%) +12 VDC (+/-10%)
Startup current (A, max.) 1.2 (+5V), 2.0 (+12V)
Idle (W) 7.5
From what I've read, 2.5" drives require 5V, meaning that my MacBook obviously is capable of producing it. The specs seem to suggest that this drive seems capable of accepting it instead of the typical 12V - is this an accurate interpretation of the power requirements? Or does it need both 12V and 5V?
