Using internal SSD as external?

[Oshino Shinobu]

So, I have two 64GB SanDisk SSDs that I plan on replacing with 2x Samsung EVO 250GB SSDs. And I was thinking, instead of selling them or putting them into storage, it could be fun to use them as USB drives instead. In my head, this sounds pretty simple, just by using something like this:

 

Do you think this would be easy to do? I'm not looking for insane performance or anything like that, it just seems like it would be pretty cool to do. If only there were a way to put them in RAID 1 and strap them together. After all, if I do end up needing them again, I can just switch back to using them as internals. 

[FireFox]

Should have no issues

[nsyedhasan]

Yes, you can run it like that. It would also would with HDD.

[CwGoh]

Works just fine unless your BIOS has issues booting from USB if you want to run an OS off it. You could also just buy a drive enclosure.

[Oshino Shinobu]

Should have no issues

 

Yes, you can run it like that. It would also would with HDD.

 

Nice. Would one USB port be enough to power it? I'm not entirely sure how much power a single port can deliver, but I've seen adapters that have one 2.0 port for power (I assume) and one 3.0 port for data transfer. 

[nsyedhasan]

Nice. Would one USB port be enough to power it? I'm not entirely sure how much power a single port can deliver, but I've seen adapters that have one 2.0 port for power (I assume) and one 3.0 port for data transfer. 

No, I don't think you will need that. Only some of the older drives need more power.

[Oshino Shinobu]

Works just fine unless your BIOS has issues booting from USB if you want to run an OS off it. You could also just buy a drive enclosure.

Yeah, I've seen drive enclosures, but they seem to be a little expensive and look too much like actual external drives to be any fun

 

If anything, I'd be using it for general file transfers for college and at home. I don't actually own a USB drive (WHAT?) because I've been fine with Google Drive since I lost my USB drive about 6 months ago.

[Oshino Shinobu]

No, I don't think you will need that. Only some of the older drives need more power.

Ah okay. With the other cables, there doesn't seem to be much in terms of variety. Most are just cheapo ones from ebay. 

[CwGoh]

Nice. Would one USB port be enough to power it? I'm not entirely sure how much power a single port can deliver, but I've seen adapters that have one 2.0 port for power (I assume) and one 3.0 port for data transfer. 

2.5" hard drives will go fine. But if you're expecting to power a Velociraptor off it, then you will be disappointed.

[nsyedhasan]

Ah okay. With the other cables, there doesn't seem to be much in terms of variety. Most are just cheapo ones from ebay. 

USB 3 compared to USB 2 provides more power, I think. Also I have a USB 3 HDD that uses a micro USB 3 connector, and is backwards compatible, work with a USB 2 cable as well.

[Ryan Leech]

It should work just fine, just make sure that you buy a good external enclosure

[FireFox]

Nice. Would one USB port be enough to power it? I'm not entirely sure how much power a single port can deliver, but I've seen adapters that have one 2.0 port for power (I assume) and one 3.0 port for data transfer. 

 

I would have thought so, I can power an external 2.5'' drive with a single USB cable and those SSDs I think use less power, you should be fine mate

[orangecat]

It should work just fine.

[Oshino Shinobu]

Thanks guys, now about the RAID 1... (JK)

[LogicalDrm]

Get cheap enclosure instead of that cable. Amazon has tons of them (I prefer DX.com). I have one USB3 for my oooooold SATA drive from laptop and I just made cheap external hdd with enclosure and new 2.5'' hdd.

[brob]

So, I have two 64GB SanDisk SSDs that I plan on replacing with 2x Samsung EVO 250GB SSDs. And I was thinking, instead of selling them or putting them into storage, it could be fun to use them as USB drives instead. In my head, this sounds pretty simple, just by using something like this:

 

 

Do you think this would be easy to do? I'm not looking for insane performance or anything like that, it just seems like it would be pretty cool to do. If only there were a way to put them in RAID 1 and strap them together. After all, if I do end up needing them again, I can just switch back to using them as internals. 

 

You can use external enclosures, http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=external+2.5+ssd+enclosure+usb+3.0&N=-1&isNodeId=1. There are also e-SATA enclosures available which should result in faster transfer times.

 

If you want to RAID the units you could keep them in the case use two of the SATA 3 Gb/s Intel ports on the motherboard, presuming they are available.

 

I'm curious as to why 2x250GB units instead of a single 500GB unit?

[Oshino Shinobu]

You can use external enclosures, http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=external+2.5+ssd+enclosure+usb+3.0&N=-1&isNodeId=1. There are also e-SATA enclosures available which should result in faster transfer times.

 

If you want to RAID the units you could keep them in the case use two of the SATA 3 Gb/s Intel ports on the motherboard, presuming they are available.

 

I'm curious as to why 2x250GB units instead of a single 500GB unit?

RAID 0 for MOAR SHPEEEEED. But seriously, it's because of a few reasons: 1. I like having a RAID 0 array, regardless of how minor or unnoticeable the performance boost is. 2. I can transfer my OS from my current array to the new one easier, as I've had problems moving my OS from a single drive to RAID and the other way around. 3. I have a 750D, so it allows me to make a feature of my drives (The look of the EVO is my main reasons for choosing them), and two will look better than one. 

 

I understand that RAID 0 isn't as stable as having a single drive, but to my understanding, the EVO drives are pretty well made and reliable. I'm not a power user, so I'm not going to be writing big files to the drives very often, so I'm not too worried about them failing on me. 

[Oshino Shinobu]

Get cheap enclosure instead of that cable. Amazon has tons of them (I prefer DX.com). I have one USB3 for my oooooold SATA drive from laptop and I just made cheap external hdd with enclosure and new 2.5'' hdd.

Many people have suggested using enclosures, so I may get one for one of the drives, but I'm not really looking at making this a practical thing. My main reason for wanting to do this is just because it'd be nice and unusual to have an internal drive as an external. I might just use it for some sort of Android TV Box or other media center.