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here is what i am trying to do. i have several old IDE hard drives that i want to rig up as back ups. i am ordering IDE to USB adapters then running the USBs into a hub and from that hub i am plugging into my computer.

i have an old tower where i can fit 7 hard drives into. i need to power these hard drives. i was planning on connecting the green to the black with a switch to activate the power supply.

the problem is that i have only 4 power plugs for the IDE through the power supply. can i just clip the wires from the other plugs (including the 24 pin) and connect a yellow 2 blacks and a red into other power plugs to run the other hard drives? also can i connect a few fans with some remaining wires to keep everything cool, then just cap the remaining wires?

would this work, or would i need to do any tweaking to make sure it doesn't fry my hard drives? also what wires would i need to use to connect the fans, these are fans that connect to the motherboard. i think it is red and black, but not sure.

i would rather try to use one power supply over two to run these drives.

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    I would just use a Y splitter(s) on the molex power cables... amazon.com/Computer-Molex-Power-Supply-Splitter/dp/B001PI9AAC
    – Moab
    Sep 2, 2016 at 2:10
  • wouldn't adding those cause a little much strain on the wires? also i would prefer to not buy more stuff, this is mainly a fun thing to do to use what i have. since my other parts are coming in tomorrow, i don't want to wait for more parts. i have 10 power supplies so i am in no shortness of plugs to add to the wire harness. i got a couple power supplies under 200 watts that i can get the switch and plugs from.
    – Drazil
    Sep 2, 2016 at 3:40
  • No it wouldn't put that much strain on the wires. The hard drives are max 2A so you even if you powered 4 on each run its only 8A max. You should be able to draw 10-12A from each separate run from the power supply.
    – cybernard
    Sep 2, 2016 at 3:53
  • that is good to know, but in concept would what i originally do work?
    – Drazil
    Sep 2, 2016 at 3:57
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    I used those Y cables for years back in the ide days, never gave me a moments problem in hundreds of PC's. You are trying to do it the hard way.
    – Moab
    Sep 2, 2016 at 14:43

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Several things wrong with this just from the high level. IDE drives would have to be old - using old drives for backup purposes make the backup unreliable. The other thing is that you are feeding these drives through a USB hub. Dependent on the USB version, your speed will be slow. In addition, your speed is split among the ports so take your theoretical max USB throughput and divide it by how many drives may be running simultaneously. That said - dependent on how much wattage your power supply is rated for, using @moab's suggested y splitters may be feasible.

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  • the hub is usb3 with an external power input. i am only using it just in case my main breaks down. it is just a back up plan till i upgrade my computer. i am using vista and limited to the RAM available to the os and my motherboard. so i hope to upgrade with-in the year. i have parts from 15-20 computers and want to make use of some of them mainly for fun. i would only run 1 or 2 drives at a time, but don't want to keep plugging and unplugging drives. also i have 250 i was planning on using, but i have 300 and 400 watt. i fear adding the splitters may add to much strain on the wires
    – Drazil
    Sep 2, 2016 at 3:33
  • You've written a (long) comment, not an answer.
    – sawdust
    Sep 2, 2016 at 5:48
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can i just clip the wires from the other plugs ...

Yes, this is perfectly feasible.
If the PSU has split rails (not likely though), this would actually be the preferable scheme than only using the existing drive plugs.

would i need to do any tweaking to make sure it doesn't fry my hard drives?

It's a regulated power supply, so the PSU shouldn't "fry your drives" unless you miswire it.
Of course you will have to connect the green “power on” wire to a ground/black wire.

also what wires would i need to use to connect the fans, these are fans that connect to the motherboard. i think it is red and black

Assuming that the fan requires +12VDC, then you need to use a yellow (+12VDC) wire for the + (probably a red wire to the fan) and a black (ground) wire for the - (the black wire to the fan).

The red wire from the PSU is +5VDC. Typically that voltage is too low to reliably start a 12V fan. I.E. have you noticed that a fan controller starts a fan at full speed and then slows the fan down, rather than try to bring a fan gradually up to speed?

i have 250 i was planning on using, but i have 300 and 400 watt.

Try summing the current (amperage) used by each drive for 5V and 12V.
Then compare those two sums to the capacities of each PSU.
You'll probably only need the 250W PSU for two drives.
Using a larger PSU than necessary will probaly cost more in electricity.
See Will a 500W SMPS consume more electricity than a 250W SMPS if they are powering computers with same specifications?

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