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I am looking for some help in finding the right cable to use with my eSATA USB hybrid port on Lenovo Thinkpad T420. I have already tried cables from 3 different sources, and none of them plug into the port all the way.

I don't know if my port is damaged, or if I am just using the wrong cable, so any suggestions would be appreciated.

Here is the most recent cable I got: http://www.ebay.ca/itm/120877607932

Here are a few pictures illustrating the situation:

http://vace.homelinux.com/unprotected/eSATAp/01_Cable.jpg

eSATA pins on the port: http://vace.homelinux.com/unprotected/eSATAp/02%20Port%201%20%28eSATA%20pins%29.jpg

USB pins on the port, with the back of the port visible. No obvious obstructions that I can see... http://vace.homelinux.com/unprotected/eSATAp/03%20Port%204%20%28USB%20pins,%20deep%20view%29.jpg

eSATA pins on the cable: http://vace.homelinux.com/unprotected/eSATAp/04%20Connector%201%20%28eSATA%20pins%29.jpg

USB pins on the cable: http://vace.homelinux.com/unprotected/eSATAp/05%20Connector%202%20%28USB%20pins%29.jpg

As you can see from the pictures, all the pins on the connector seem to match the port, except for the 12V power pins P13 and P12. These pins are present on the cable, but not on the port. However, I understand that those pins are optional...

Has anyone had a similar experience? Am I using the right cable?

Thanks!

1 Answer 1

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Well, I feel silly :).

Turns out that the cable is designed to work w/o being plugged in all the way. Highly unusual - I thought that this indicated some sort of mismatch, but it actually works just fine. I was able to run a 2.5" drive with that cable plugged in half way w/o any problems.

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