kotel wrote on 2024-08-05, 07:36:

- Will an full size MSATA drive fit inside the adapter?

Yes, the proportions in the photo show a full length miniPCIexpress "slot", and I don't think there's ever been a half length mSATA card 😀

kotel wrote on 2024-08-05, 07:36:

- Does the adapter support my MSATA drive?

Should be hard to get wrong 😀
Sure, exceptions exist, in particular when using SATA3 devices on SATA1 controllers and mSATA drives are likely untested in this configuration, but still it's not a common problem...

You're buying the "2.5 inch" model with the step down regulator, right?

kotel wrote on 2024-08-05, 07:36:

- Is the adapter okay-ish quality?
- Is the SSD going to be okay-ish quality?

These can't really be answered, we can't see the controller chips (which might have design problems),
and the photo was obviously professionally made (meaning they picked a good-looking board,
and the biggest gotcha on "Chinese stuff in the dispregiative meaning" is no quality control),
and flash fraud should be mostly discredited if you're not buying a half-TB microSD on Wish for 10 € (and I must say it's sketchy to see any storage device for a single digit price, even if reasonably proportional to the mass market demand for a two-digit-sized mSATA disk from a generic brand), but run F3 or h2testW on it 😀

Then again the only computer product I've seen catching fire is a Kingston A400 SSD out of the box in 2019 😁

kotel wrote on 2024-08-05, 07:36:

- Will the adapter work with an HP NX5000?

Third photo I found shows the classic Centrino logo, something from that age will have no problem (in theory) with a LBA28 drive like that, unless there's some obscure unpredictable compatibility problem, or they copied IBM's hard drive whitelist (wifi sure, but haven't heard of any other brands doing that with disks and even IBM abandoned that, but a few months ago there was a topic on a post-HP-sellout-Compaq with a "non-replaceable" optical drive... hmmm)

Ryccardo wrote on 2024-08-05, 19:25:

Yes, the proportions in the photo show a full length miniPCIexpress "slot", and I don't think there's ever been a half length mS […]
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kotel wrote on 2024-08-05, 07:36:

- Will an full size MSATA drive fit inside the adapter?

Yes, the proportions in the photo show a full length miniPCIexpress "slot", and I don't think there's ever been a half length mSATA card 😀

kotel wrote on 2024-08-05, 07:36:

- Does the adapter support my MSATA drive?

Should be hard to get wrong 😀
Sure, exceptions exist, in particular when using SATA3 devices on SATA1 controllers and mSATA drives are likely untested in this configuration, but still it's not a common problem...

You're buying the "2.5 inch" model with the step down regulator, right?

kotel wrote on 2024-08-05, 07:36:

- Is the adapter okay-ish quality?
- Is the SSD going to be okay-ish quality?

These can't really be answered, we can't see the controller chips (which might have design problems),
and the photo was obviously professionally made (meaning they picked a good-looking board,
and the biggest gotcha on "Chinese stuff in the dispregiative meaning" is no quality control),
and flash fraud should be mostly discredited if you're not buying a half-TB microSD on Wish for 10 € (and I must say it's sketchy to see any storage device for a single digit price, even if reasonably proportional to the mass market demand for a two-digit-sized mSATA disk from a generic brand), but run F3 or h2testW on it 😀

Then again the only computer product I've seen catching fire is a Kingston A400 SSD out of the box in 2019 😁

kotel wrote on 2024-08-05, 07:36:

- Will the adapter work with an HP NX5000?

Third photo I found shows the classic Centrino logo, something from that age will have no problem (in theory) with a LBA28 drive like that, unless there's some obscure unpredictable compatibility problem, or they copied IBM's hard drive whitelist (wifi sure, but haven't heard of any other brands doing that with disks and even IBM abandoned that, but a few months ago there was a topic on a post-HP-sellout-Compaq with a "non-replaceable" optical drive... hmmm)

I do actually have some half-size (like later mpcie wifi cards) MSATA 32GB SSDs. Dunno what they came from but got them as a lot on ebay and they work just fine with an adapter to make them fit the full-size MSATA hole locations.

The JM20330 SATA > IDE controller used on the most common MSATA > 44-pin IDE is quite compatible with most old PCs I've used it with.

Something to be very wary of when buying from aliexpress is that you'll see some of these 44-pin msata adapters saying they're for 1.8" IDE that really means 3.3v operation, which is rare. You absolutely need to get the "Color: mSATA to 2.5inch IDE" instead which has a 5v to 3.3v regulator, while the 1.8" version hooks the 44-pin power wires directly to the JM20330 chip & SSD.
Beware that if you use a 1.8" MSATA > IDE on a regular 5v / 2.5" 44-pin connection, you are likely to fry the SSD and MSATA to IDE controller chip by putting 5v where it expects 3.3v.

I bought from a seller on ali that advertised both 1.8" and 2.5", I know I picked the 2.5" version in the order form but they shipped the 1.8" version and I had to source a regulator and resolder stuff to make it safe with 5v input power. So, my recommendation is to buy from a seller that just offers the 2.5" version, which you can identify from this regulator being present:

Apart from that voltage type difference with a recent order, I've never had trouble with that style of MSATA to 44-pin adapter.

Thanks for answering my questions guys!

Thermalwrong wrote on 2024-08-05, 21:37:

I bought from a seller on ali that advertised both 1.8" and 2.5", I know I picked the 2.5" version in the order form but they shipped the 1.8" version and I had to source a regulator and resolder stuff to make it safe with 5v input power. So, my recommendation is to buy from a seller that just offers the 2.5" version, which you can identify from this regulator being present:

The attachment 5v-msata-to-ide.jpg is no longer available

Apart from that voltage type difference with a recent order, I've never had trouble with that style of MSATA to 44-pin adapter.

Can you tell me the specs of that regulator in case the seller I bought it from decides to ship the 1.8" variant?

It's just a 1a "1117" type low dropout regulator. I salvaged mine off some other dead electronic thing since the 3.3v ones are quite common.

You would also need to remove the resistor by the large tab of the ldo regulator, that resistor hooks the 44-pin IDE power input pins direct to the msata electronics.

Seller couldn't figure out what type to sell so he decided to send a 2.5" variant without the regulator. Now I need to order more stuff to make my hp work. Great, isn't it?

Thermalwrong wrote on 2024-08-06, 11:41:

It's just a 1a "1117" type low dropout regulator. I salvaged mine off some other dead electronic thing since the 3.3v ones are quite common.

You would also need to remove the resistor by the large tab of the ldo regulator, that resistor hooks the 44-pin IDE power input pins direct to the msata electronics.

Is that all I have to change in order for the adapter to be 5v?

kotel wrote on 2024-08-18, 11:21:

Thermalwrong wrote on 2024-08-06, 11:41:

It's just a 1a "1117" type low dropout regulator. I salvaged mine off some other dead electronic thing since the 3.3v ones are quite common.

You would also need to remove the resistor by the large tab of the ldo regulator, that resistor hooks the 44-pin IDE power input pins direct to the msata electronics.

Is that all I have to change in order for the adapter to be 5v?

Yep, compare the pictures of the two. That's really all that's different

Modified the adaptor to operate safely with 5v (using an adjustable version of 1117 cause I couldn't find any non-adjustable variants). SSD works how you'd expect it to work. Can't say if its good quality or bad since thats my first MSATA drive. One thing to note is that its SATA 2 instead of SATA 3.