Will this fix reader’s connection glitch?
QI read your answer to Brian Newbery’s problem in Issue 496, where you suggested that his old laptop might have a PATA rather than a SATA drive — but I’m wondering if the solution is different?
I know that Dell and some other manufacturers occasionally add an adapter to drives that matches up with a similar interface in the laptop. I think this might be what Mr Newbery is describing. If so, it just needs to be removed from the drive to reveal the normal SATA connection. This is achieved simply by removing the adapter. Do you think I could be right? Dave St Pier
AYes, you could indeed be right — and we’re happy to pass on your suggestion to Mr Newbery. For background, the adapters you’re talking about are known as interposers. These wrong converters actually exist for both PATA and SATA drives but, in a laptop, it is indeed most likely to be a SATA interposer that’s covering the drive’s own connectors. Removal is usually no more difficult than a firm pull, though a bit oof gling might be required to get it moving.