Hi I have a Toshiba MK1626GCB hard drive from a 160GB iPod. The drive won't work in the iPod so first step to recover the data is to hook it up to a PC via USB or SATA.

I can't find a converter ANYWHERE! It's *NOT* a 40 pin ZIF. It's CE-ATA which is much much smaller.

Help!!!!!

Thanks,

Richard

www.esskabel.de

also,

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=ce-ata+coverter

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thanks for the reply, I searched and searched google but didn't find anything.

I e-mailed the german company but no reply.

Help!!!!!

thanks

Richard

This converter / adapter converts the interface to 40-pin PATA:
http://esskabel.de/upload/files/pdf/ADA ... E40_DE.pdf

It also down-converts the +5V supply to +3.3V.

Quite a few places are selling it:
http://www.google.com/search?q=%22ADA-H ... F-IDE40%22

If you don't have a PATA port, then you could add a SATA-PATA adapter, or a USB-PATA enclosure.

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I've just done a little more research and it seems that CE-ATA is an MMC-like standard, not parallel ATA or SATA.

However, the esskabel datasheet claims that ES&S have tested the adapter with the MK1626GCB drive.

"Diese Festplatten wurden von ES&S geprüft und werden von dem Adapter unterstützt ..."

SanDisk: SSD UATA 5000 1.8"

Hitachi: Travelstar C3K80; C4K60 Slim & C4K40 only ZIF

Toshiba: MK1011GAH, MK1214GAH, MK1626GCB, MK2008GAL, MK2431GAH,
MK3008GAL, MK4008GAH, MK4009GAL, MK6008GAH, MK6028GAL, MK8009GAH,
MK8025GAL

ISTM that the datasheet is in error.

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A backup a day keeps DR away.

Thank you SO MUCH for taking so much time to help me. I got your PM but the forum won't let me reply (only just registered) so please can you e-mail me at richard at orang-utan dot com ?

thanks again!

PS I e-mailed ES&S last Monday...been quite a few days without a reply now.

....BTW I think you're right that some of the datasheets are wrong. I searched for MK1626GCB on the ES&S site and got five hits, most of which (from the photos) have zif sockets that are far too wide.

Yes, they appear to be PATA/ZIF, not CE-ATA. If you ever need one of these, then one potential source is an old DVD recoder that uses an IDE interface. I managed to scrounge one from an old LG DVDR.

AFAICT, here is another product which appears to misrepresent CE-ATA as PATA:
http://ca.startech.com/HDD/Enclosures/I ... IDE1810U2Z

"Suitable for all 1.8" Toshiba and Hitachi made CE-ATA (IDE) hard drives, which uses a ZIF or LIF (zero or low insertion force) connector"

"Bus Type --- IDE (CE-ATA)"

ISTM you will need to be careful when ordering anything that purports to be CE-ATA.

Here is one resource that categorises 1.8" hard drive models and their interfaces:
http://www.rockbox.org/wiki/HardDriveReplacement

It refers to "18-pin CE-ATA (serial connection based on the MMC standard)".

To further complicate matters, the following Hitachi document refers to a 12-pin CE-ATA MMC-compatible 4-bit interface:
http://www.hitachigst.com/tech/techlib. ... CE-ATA.pdf

ISTM that if you can't find anything suitable, then you may need to cobble something together.

For example, if the ZIF/PATA pitch is the same as CE-ATA (???), then you may be able to use a ZIF/PATA adapter by trimming the drive end of the cable down to 12 or 18 pins, and then hardwiring the corresponding MMC signals at the PATA end of the adapter to a USB card reader. You could strip an IDE ribbon cable to make this easier for you.

If the pitch is different, then you could cannibalise an expendable device that uses the same interface.

You may need to do some reading on 4-bit and 8-bit MMC interfaces (MMC Plus). I suspect your Toshiba drive may have an 8-bit bus.

This appears to be the pinout:
http://www.hardwarebook.info/MMCplus

BTW, I didn't send you any PM. :?

_________________
A backup a day keeps DR away.

Oops sorry I got your username muddled up! Thanks for the help. I think making something myself is a bit beyond me. it's weird that you can't buy an off-the-shelf adaptor. There must be millions of these drives around, since Apple put them in their 160 GB iPod.

I'd be surprised if you couldn't buy something off-the-shelf, but every time I follow up a likely source, it leads to a ZIF/PATA adapter.

_________________
A backup a day keeps DR away.