Can i use a mini sata to sata adapter to add a second hdd to my mac?

The electronic connection is only half the story, how will you fit the drive into the laptop?

You would use a drive caddy:

Have a look at this for the items and specific instructions for your model of Mac: iFixit

Gary Scotland wrote:

The electronic connection is only half the story, how will you fit the drive into the laptop?

You would use a drive caddy:

Have a look at this for the items and specific instructions for your model of Mac: iFixit

There are caddies that would do what the OP wants. I saw them (complete with the SATA adapter) starting at maybe $12. Seems like a lot of work though just to be able to use something fairly limited compared to a 2.5” SATA drive. There are 2.5” SATA drives selling for $40.

eBay might even be cheaper. OK - $7 with free shipping for an adapter on a board with a plastic case. Some are just boards without a case. So basically just an enclosure sitting in a caddy. It could make sense if one finds a great deal on an SSD. Or just a “this is so crazy it just might work”project.

http://www.ebay.com/bhp/msata-adapter

Yeah. You would need one of those drive bay caddies plus an adapter. I suppose you could tape or glue the drive in place. A mSATA to 2.5” SATA enclosure or board might be more secure. I think that minimalist adapter you’re looking at is best used for bench testing. It does nothing to keep the drive secure.

But why do you want to do this little project? It seems like a lot of work, when there are plenty of 2.5” drives that would work well with just an optical to SATA caddy.

You don't appear to understand what the poster has asked or what is the widely accepted solution.

There are caddies that would do what the OP wants.

Yes there is, that is why I included an image of it which you have just reposted.

just to be able to use something fairly limited compared to a 2.5” SATA drive

This upgrade work is to place a 2.5" drive inside a MacBook, how is that in any way limited?

It could make sense if one finds a great deal on an SSD. Or just a “this is so crazy it just might work”project.

There is nothing crazy about replacing an optical drive with a hard drive or an SSD, the parts are readily available and an accepted economic modification thats works effectively, not might work.

Gary Scotland wrote:

You don't appear to understand what the poster has asked or what is the widely accepted solution.

There are caddies that would do what the OP wants.

Yes there is, that is why I included an image of it which you have just reposted.

just to be able to use something fairly limited compared to a 2.5” SATA drive

This upgrade work is to place a 2.5" drive inside a MacBook, how is that in any way limited?

It could make sense if one finds a great deal on an SSD. Or just a “this is so crazy it just might work”project.

There is nothing crazy about replacing an optical drive with a hard drive or an SSD, the parts are readily available and an accepted economic modification thats works effectively, not might work.

I perfectly understand what the OP is looking to do. It's to install a 16-pin 1.8" micro-SATA (my emphasis) drive into the current optical drive space. That would require a 2.5" SATA to optical bay caddy/adapter, along with some sort of 1.8" micro-SATA to 2.5" SATA enclosure/adapter. However, the adapter linked has an inaccurate description as "Mini Micro SATA MSATA". The photo of it make it look like it's micro-SATA.

I think something like this would be a better choice since it includes a 2.5" SATA form-factor enclosure.

Amazon.com: SSD 1.8 Inch Micro Sata to 2.5 Hard Drive Caddy Adapter: Computers & Accessories

This is mSATA (26-pin). The third photo shows an mSATA drive installed in the enclosure with the cover off.

http://www.legitreviews.com/addonics-ad25msd-msata-to-2-5-inch-sata-drive-enclos ure-review_141758

And here's where a lot of the confusion lies with the naming:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_ATA#Micro_connector

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_ATA#Mini-SATA_(mSATA)

Now, maybe the OP is thinking of mSATA, which is only for SSDs. It's also called mini-SATA, which gets confusing because it's smaller than micro-SATA. Here's a discussion by someone who ordered the wrong part with all the naming confusion:

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/293561-32-msata-microsata

But like I said - it would be a lot of work to go through two caddy/adapters when it would be easier to use one caddy and a 2.5" drive.

LuigiBros02 wrote:

Hello,so since macs use mini sata with their cdrom i was wondering if i could use a Mini Sata to Sata adapter to add a second HDD. I would use something to make it fully stable in place,and would it work or do i need to buy the Optibay or the Data Doubler. This is the adapter i wanted to buy:

1.8" Mini Micro SATA MSATA to 7+15 2.5" SATA Adapter Converter Card T1 | eBay

-Luigi

Maybe a clarification is in order here. What are you trying to use? Is it micro-SATA, which is a 16-pin connector for a hard drive/SSD like this (2.6"x1.8"x0.2"):

https://www.amazon.com/250GB-microSATA-5400RPM-1-8/dp/B0046TMBSK

Or is it an mSATA (aka mini-SATA) SSD like this (2"x1.18"x0.15"), which is 24-pin on a board:

Amazon.com: Samsung 850 EVO - 250GB - mSATA Internal SSD (MZ-M5E250BW): Computers & Accessories

OK - looking at the original post and breaking it down:

>Hello,so since macs use mini sata with their cdrom i was wondering if i could use a Mini Sata to Sata adapter to add a second HDD.

It's not mini-SATA, which describes a small SSD connection. The optical drive connects using slimline SATA (13 pin). The ribbon cable connects to the board, and I believe the board connector is proprietary.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_ATA#Slimline_connector

There are assorted adapters for slimline SATA to 2.5" SATA, and slimline SATA to mSATA. You could use the following directly from the slimline SATA connector to a 2.5" SATA drive. It would be awkward without securing the drive. That's what the Optibay, Disk Doubler, or other drive caddies do, in addition to a built-in slimline SATA to 2.5" SATA adapter where you can just slide in the drive.

Amazon.com: Slimline Sata To Sata Adapter with Power: Computers & Accessories

I don't believe there are any slimline SATA to micro-SATA adapters out there.

>I would use something to make it fully stable in place,and would it work or do i need to buy the Optibay or the Data Doubler. This is the adapter i wanted to buy:

>1.8" Mini Micro SATA MSATA to 7+15 2.5" SATA Adapter Converter Card T1 | eBay

This is what confuses me the most is whether or not you're talking about a 2.5" SATA drive, a 1.8" micro-SATA drive, or an mSATA drive. Maybe it's just the terminology and the link to that adapter that's making me thing you want a 1.8" hard drive.

I perfectly understand what the OP is looking to do.

Your replies do not confirm this.

However, the adapter linked has an inaccurate description as "Mini Micro SATA MSATA". The photo of it make it look like it's micro-SATA.

I have not linked or recommended any product, as I don't know which model of Mac this is for.

Instead I suggested asking iFixit to recommend a specific solution, this is their speciality after all.

Why not just provide one good suggestion to a simple question rather than theorise every possibility?

Gary Scotland wrote:

I perfectly understand what the OP is looking to do.

Your replies do not confirm this.

However, the adapter linked has an inaccurate description as "Mini Micro SATA MSATA". The photo of it make it look like it's micro-SATA.

I have not linked or recommended any product, as I don't know which model of Mac this is for.

Instead I suggested asking iFixit to recommend a specific solution, this is their speciality after all.

Why not just provide one good suggestion to a simple question rather than theorise every possibility?

Mea culpa. I know I went rambling from one theory to another. However, the OP hasn’t come back to clarify, and I’m nof sure that the OP understands the terminology.

The topic said “mini SATA”, the link to the adapter was for a micro SATA adapter, but the context kind of hinted at just a 2.5” SATA drive. The question was confusing as heck. A follow up from the original poster would be helpful.

It would be great if there was a standard way of providing accurate information in a question, but when folk ask for help they often don't know what to ask. Im a dour Scotsman, we give precise and brief responses.

Sadly, very few people follow up on there original question, so we don't know if our responses help or not.

Gary Scotland wrote:

It would be great if there was a standard way of providing accurate information in a question, but when folk ask for help they often don't know what to ask. Im a dour Scotsman, we give precise and brief responses.

Sadly, very few people follow up on there original question, so we don't know if our responses help or not.

There's always an issue about answering a question as it is literally posed when it seems odd, or providing a more practical recommendation. There's always a fine line when politely telling the questioner that it's the wrong question.

I thought the literal question of "mini SATA to SATA" was more interesting than a conventional suggestion, so I ran with it even though it seemed somewhat impractical. That's possible with two adapters, where a mini-SATA to SATA caddy can be fitted into an Optibay-style drive caddy. There's also more to go wrong.

If the OP merely wants to add a second standard 2.5" SATA hard drive, then an Optibay makes sense, along with any number of different hard drives.