# IDE converter cable?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ide-converter-cable/187189
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [July 9, 2003, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ide-converter-cable/187189 "2003-07-09T07:06:20Z")
**Posts on this page:** 12
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@effac3d](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/effac3d)
#### Post date: [July 9, 2003, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ide-converter-cable/187189/1 "2003-07-09T07:06:20Z")
Is there a IDE cable made to allow a laptop size hard-drive to be connected to a desktop?
I’m looking for a way to put a HD inside as a slave and quickly transfer files instead of using USB.
I tried googling but i didn’t get far.
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### Author:  [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)
#### Post date: [July 9, 2003, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ide-converter-cable/187189/2 "2003-07-09T07:36:19Z")
Yes. Google for “2.5 inch converter” or something like that. (Laptop hard drives are called 2.5" hard drives, regular desktop drives are 3.5".)
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### Author:  [@Rex\_Fenestrarum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rex_Fenestrarum)
#### Post date: [July 9, 2003, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ide-converter-cable/187189/3 "2003-07-09T07:36:46Z")
Your Google skills must be lacking: [http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=2.5"+IDE+converter+kit](http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=2%2E5%22+IDE+converter+kit)
Actual products:
[http://www.pccables.com/00504.htm](http://www.pccables.com/00504.htm)
[http://www.cablesnmor.com/hard-drive-converter.html](http://www.cablesnmor.com/hard-drive-converter.html)
[http://www.mycableshop.ca/sku/BRACKET25P.htm](http://www.mycableshop.ca/sku/BRACKET25P.htm)
[http://mcsx.co.uk/shop/hardware.php](http://mcsx.co.uk/shop/hardware.php)
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### Author:  [@xash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xash)
#### Post date: [July 9, 2003, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ide-converter-cable/187189/4 "2003-07-09T11:14:17Z")
I just came across this:
[LAPTOP to IDE HARD DRIVE ADAPTER](http://www.cablestogo.com/product.asp?cat%5Fid=906&sku=17705)
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### Author:  [@Urban\_Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urban_Ranger)
#### Post date: [July 9, 2003, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ide-converter-cable/187189/5 "2003-07-09T15:20:11Z")
I am not sure why would you need a convertor. The size of the HDDs may be different, but they use the same IDE and power connectors.
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### Author:  [@Urban\_Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urban_Ranger)
#### Post date: [July 9, 2003, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ide-converter-cable/187189/6 "2003-07-09T15:26:02Z")
I am not sure why would you need a convertor. The size of the HDDs may be different, but they use the same IDE and power connectors.
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### Author:  [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)
#### Post date: [July 9, 2003, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ide-converter-cable/187189/7 "2003-07-09T15:40:27Z")
No they don’t. Laptops use a smaller connector with more pins so the power is in there too. You need an adapter which is what all those links show. You didn’t think those adapters had the same connectors on both sides, did you?
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### Author:  [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)
#### Post date: [July 9, 2003, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ide-converter-cable/187189/8 "2003-07-09T15:45:49Z")
here is the connector for an IBM laptop drive: [http://www.hgst.com/hdd/support/dcxa/dcxaeis.htm](http://www.hgst.com/hdd/support/dcxa/dcxaeis.htm)
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### Author:  [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)
#### Post date: [July 9, 2003, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ide-converter-cable/187189/9 "2003-07-09T23:13:18Z")
-
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- If you happen to have a 3-4-586 computer laying around, check there first: back then 2.5-inch was the the only size HD there was, but they still used an adaptor to allow plugging it into an IDE cable. To add to the confusion though, the adaptors sold don’t just plug directly into the laptop hard drives: 3.5-inch HD’s and IDE cables use a plug that is just about two inches wide. 2.5-inch HD’s use a plug that is just about 1.75 inches wide, _but_ most laptop drives use a tray-adaptor fitting that sits on top of the real plug, and that has a sub-miniature plug about an inch wide. You usually have to remove the laptop hard drive from its tray and then remove the sub-miniature adaptor to get at the real plug underneath.
~
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### Author:  [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)
#### Post date: [July 10, 2003, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ide-converter-cable/187189/10 "2003-07-10T03:34:41Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by DougC \*
> \*\*- - - If you happen to have a 3-4-586 computer laying around, check there first: back then 2.5-inch was the the only size HD there was, ~ \*\*
Are you on crack Doug?😕
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### Author:  [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)
#### Post date: [July 10, 2003, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ide-converter-cable/187189/11 "2003-07-10T07:33:13Z")
Yeah, what **astro** said - I’ve taken a LOT of PCs apart and I have never once seen a 2.5" hard drive in there; some of the older 286 and 386 machines had 5.25" hard drives.
I just bought one of those USB\>IDE cables on ebay and it is great - there’s a bit of freeware out there too called HDCopy, so upgrading a hard drive is a breeze.
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### Author:  [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)
#### Post date: [July 10, 2003, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ide-converter-cable/187189/12 "2003-07-10T10:18:42Z")
> [@](#):
>
> Are you on crack Doug?
-
-
- Yeaaaa, maybe.
- I have seen a few PC’s built during the mid 90’s taken apart, and some did have 2.5 drives in them. I dunno why that would be common in one locale and not another, but anyway. It’s worth a look.
~