Can You Replace a Firewire Port with a USB Port for an External Hard Drive?

[slee95]

Can you unsolder a firewire ports pins on the green board and solder a usb port in its place?

 

[slee95]

got this external hard drive while volunteering at mission central ( computer ministries) to tear down and asked if i can have it and they let me the bad thing is the ports which conect to the computer are firewire and mom whants to use it on her lab top so i was wondering if i could just change the ports from firewire to usb.

 

[MATLABdude]

Unfortunately, not. Not only are the signals different (USB uses a single differential pair, firewire has two, and have different signal impedances), the communications scheme is different also. However, you might be able to find a USB to firewire adapter, or more likely, a firewire add-in card.

 

[slee95]

this is for a lab top though and i don't think there are card for that but it wouldn't work to unsolder the fire wire port from the green board? how bout if i had a green board with usb port how could i attach that to the hard drive?

 

[MATLABdude]

Hang on--the external hard drive has a firewire interface, and the laptop has USB, or the other way around?

Assuming that the drive is firewire, you can get a cardbus (PCMCIA) to firewire adapter card:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815158010

If you have a more recent computer, and have an ExpressCard slot instead:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16839328006

But really, it's probably cheaper to just buy an external USB hard drive enclosure (whether 2.5" or 3.5") and re-home the existing hard drive. Or pop in a spare one.

 

[slee95]

i work at mission central recycling electronics i can get parts for free and if i new if it was possible to attach a hard drive to usb like one of theses cards http://www.google.com/imgres?num=10...0&ndsp=12&ved=1t:429,r:8,s:0,i:159&tx=7&ty=85 then i would need to know what parts it would require i know how to solder i go to vo tech for electrical engineering technology so i know basic electronics - resistors capacitors transistors etc. just wanted to know if i could attach a green board that has usb to a hard drive.

 

[slee95]

MATLABdude yes the port for the external hard drive is firewire