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No USB to SATA cable for Intel 330 SSD?

idata
Esteemed Contributor III

I bought an Intel 330 180GB SSD for my brand new Lenovo IdeaPad Y480 laptop. I noticed that there is no USB to SATA cable included in the box, which I believe I need to migrate the data from the stock HDD to the new SSD. However, a USB to SATA cable is pictured in the Quick Start Guide for notebook installation. Why is a key component for notebook installation not included? Where can I get a USB to SATA cable? I couldn't find any online. Is there any way to do data migration without the cable? Thanks.

10 REPLIES 10

idata
Esteemed Contributor III

I find myself in the same situation with a 330 Series 240GB SSD Drive. Did you call Intel Customer Support? I will and I'll ask them how to get the missing cable.

idata
Esteemed Contributor III

A USB to SATA adapter cable is not supplied with these or any Intel SSDs, since the Acronis data migration software won't work over a USB connection.

With all due respect, it is not true that the Acronis data migration software won't work over a USB connection. I have successfully used cheap, noname USB to SATA adapters to migrate data with the Intel/Acronis data migration software multiple times. The only requirement is that the controller does not mask the drive device ID to the OS. More info here:

idata
Esteemed Contributor III

Great, glad to hear that! If I'm wrong, I want to know, no need to worry about that.

That clears up a few questions I had about this software and USB to SATA adapters. As you said, the masking or not passing the device ID is the the issue with the Acronis/Intel software, as Intel provides it free to owners of their SSDs. I've seen complaints about it in the past, and did not know that some external USB enclosures will work correctly.

I think the key thing here is enclosure, since the last complaint I recall was by someone using an adapter cable of some kind, which either did not have the appropriate electronics in it, or did not follow the correct protocol. Then again, all enclosures don't work either.

Personally, I've never used a USB to SATA enclosure for cloning an OS, since I prefer to do a fresh installation, and I'm not a laptop owner. Also, I have eSATA ports on my cases, so I don't use USB for that purpose.

I couldn't find any product information for a 330 SSD with an adapter cable on Intel's site, but may have missed it.