Member Avatar for zillah

Hi

I tried to use new branded “R-Driver III” USB 2.0 TO SATA IDE CABLE device with Laptop HD IDE and Desktop HD IDE (once at a time) but it did not show me the HD , although I checked Disk Management (each one at a time)

I thought the problem with “ R-Driver III ”, about another one branded as Ritmo

Still the same problem is going on with both Hard Disks (external power source is used for 3.5 HD not 2.5,,,,,,,,I can hear spinning for 3.5 but not for 2.5)

I jumpered HD3.5 as master then slave,,,still I can not access it

Both hard disks are working if I hook them into a computer

The device that I was talking about is same as in the link below

http://techacs.blogspot.com/2007/11/r-driver-iii-usb-20-to-sata-ide-cable.html


Any thought would be appreciated

Thanks

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by Xlphos

Dani AI

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Practical troubleshooting and safe next steps (building on 's suggestion and 's tests).

  1. Power first. A 2.5" laptop drive that does not spin on the adapter almost always indicates insufficient 5V power from the USB connection. Try the adapter on a different USB port (or both USB plugs if the adapter has a Y-cable), or use a powered USB hub. For 3.5" drives make sure the adapter's external PSU is plugged in and switched on before connecting the USB.

  2. Physical connection and jumpers. With IDE drives check that the ribbon cable is seated with the red stripe on pin 1 and that the jumper is set to the correct single/MASTER position (or Cable Select if the adapter expects it). Some cheap bridges require a specific jumper setting to present the drive correctly to the host.

  3. How the OS sees the device. Use Device Manager and Disk Management to see what Windows reports. Run:

    Press Windows+R and run:
devmgmt.msc
diskmgmt.msc

    If Windows prompts to format the disk do NOT format if you need the data — that will overwrite partitions.

  4. Recovery and cross-checks. Boot a Linux live USB and inspect with sudo fdisk -l or lsblk to see raw device presence; Linux often shows devices Windows hides. If data is important, image the disk first (for example with ddrescue) before attempting repairs. TestDisk can often recover partitions without formatting.

If the drive appears in other PCs or with another USB-to-IDE/SATA adapter but not with this cable, the adapter is likely faulty or incompatible. Prioritize getting a working image of the drive before any initialization or format steps.

Recommended Answers

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Member Avatar for Xlphos

Looking at this blog, have you connected it before turning on your computer?

Member Avatar for Xlphos

According to this they need formatting, and yet they work fine inside a computer. Strange.

Have you just bought this?

Are you after transferring data over from them or just use them for extra storage?

If you have a linux CD that may or may not work.

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