Can a USB 2.0 PC card power an external drive?

[iHotu]

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[CanadaRAM]

I have an older powerbook and would like to use a bus powered external 2.5" USB 2.0 drive with it via a PC Card adapter. I have a cheap adapter I purchased off eBay, works great with a powered hub, but does not power the external drive by itself.

Just wondering if anyone makes a PC Card USB 2.0 adapter that can power an external 2.5" drive - or if this is even possible - Thanks

Usually, no. I forget the details, but the re is a limited amount of power available on the PCMCIA buss. Count on getting a drive with a AC adaptor or using a powered hub.

 

[Eidorian]

I've seen some PC Card USB 2.0 cards that have a power pass around to the onboard USB bus. There's an extra USB cable that plugs into the 1.1 ports for full power.

 

[CanadaRAM]

I've seen some PC Card USB 2.0 cards that have a power pass around to the onboard USB bus. There's an extra USB cable that plugs into the 1.1 ports for full power.

Might be workable if the machine has an available USB 1.1 port.
Kludgy, though.

 

[Eidorian]

Might be workable if the machine has an available USB 1.1 port.
Kludgy, though.

It only gets power from the onboard ports. I don't think you're talking about transfer speeds though. Yeah, it's a mess but you get powered ports from your PC Card.