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April 26th, 2025 11:13
Tower ECT1250, help adding extra hard drive, need SATA_PWR Cable
Hi everyone,
I'm trying to add an extra SATA III hard drive to my Dell Tower ECT1250, but I'm a bit stuck and could use some guidance.
I bought the drive, but it didn't come with any cables or mounting hardware. After opening up the case, I noticed there's a 6-pin mini SATA_PWR connector on the motherboard, but I'm not sure which official Dell cable I need to power the new drive.
Has anyone added a hard drive to this model or know the exact cable part number or where to get a compatible one?
Thanks in advance for any help!
jdavidbowman
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10 Posts
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August 9th, 2025 23:08
Here is my final solution after some interim uses of the HDD as a external (although installed internally HDD).
Parts: new ECT1250 Computer, as received from Dell. Data hard drive and SATA data cable reused from old computer (this includes two hard drive mounting screws). Purchased new Furlet HDD SATA power cable for Dell Inspiron 3653…, price $4.99 + tax from Amazon.
Note that the the 6 pin connector on the SATA power cable (only 5 pins in use), has 4 of the 5 cables going to the wrong location on the motherboard.
Although I purchased a 36 piece connector pin removal kit, the metal tips of even the smallest pieces were WAY to large to insert and move the little clip that allows pulling out the pins to push into the correct position.
Instead, I opted to clip 4 of the 5 wires, strip back the insulation and use a heat gun to melt the center solder connection onto the wires and also clamp over the insulated wire about an inch in each direction.
See the attached picture to show which wire goes to which pin on the connector and which needs to be swapped by pin or by splicing the wires as I did.
I then wrapped each heat shrink connector with electrical tape as well as then taping the bundle.
This totally solved my issue for a permanent mount without external power supply, and although it was a month of research and iterations, I received great information on this site.
Also view how I mounted the HDD to the computer front frame, since the carrier tray doesn’t for this frame due to the exhaust vent location.
SteveKempp
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3 Posts
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July 19th, 2025 23:05
I was able to purchase a 6 pin mini to Sata Power cable from Amazon. I had to rewire it, which was fairly simple. Pins 1,2.3=3.25vdc 4,5.6=GND(COM) 7,8,9=5vdc 10,11,12=GND(COM) 13,14,15 =12vdc
There are five wire from the 6 pin connector each one of the 5 wires corresponds to the voltages and ground
The data cable is standard. Used a little 2 sided tape to secure the Sata SSD.
Link to the cable: Amazon.com: Furlet HDD SATA Power Cable SATA 15 Pin to Mini 6 Pin ATX Adapter Compatible with Dell Inspiron 3653 3650 Series,3655 3250/3252/3268 3660 3667 3668 3670 V3668 Mini 6 Pin Motherboards : Electronics.
Running 2 TB SATA SSD
DELL-Nat M
Community Manager
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April 7th, 2026 16:47
If your system is under warranty and you're experiencing this or a similar issue, we recommend using the Get Help Now chat for faster support.
To ensure a smooth experience: Have your Service Tag ready. You’ll initially interact with a virtual assistant, but you can request to speak with a live agent at any time.
DELL-Daniel V
Community Manager
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March 25th, 2026 21:59
As an enhancement to this thread, please see the below video regarding part upgrades. It'll quickly go over viewing specifications for our models and possible part purchases on the support site as applicable:
Dell PC Computer Upgrade | Part Compatibility
Otherwise, I would refer to user @RubaRocks comment with the linked 3.5in HDD kit.
S.Tech9
2 Intern
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67 Posts
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May 7th, 2025 23:54
This is the cable what you need, pretty sure it has to be a Dell oder:
I made a YT video about this model and like it a lot, but I also miss this cable and the HDD-SSD caddy !
YT: https://youtu.be/NrwWfuGkab4?si=b7fWUSWfRlaFYnrI
Hope this helps, let me know if you need anything else!
Scott
S.Tech9
2 Intern
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67 Posts
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May 8th, 2025 13:39
It sounds like it’s shorting the motherboard out!
I am so afraid to use any third party cables because of this possibility, but Dell should of included this cable at the beginning.
if not, the parts store should be fully stocked and ready to go!
S.Tech9
2 Intern
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67 Posts
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May 9th, 2025 18:02
I will grab my multi meter and check the original Dell cable and see what we have there. Dell is very good to creat an affordable desktop which will work for 90% of the people but will charge you if you want any of the options after the purchase.
This is the bay:
(edited)
S.Tech9
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67 Posts
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May 9th, 2025 18:19
What surprised me is, that the business class version of this very same PC, the qcs1250 called “pro” slim also no longer comes with the drive caddy nor the power cable.
Don’t get me wrong, it is a very good machine, I made a video review of that pc as well, but if we are cutting out components what we had for years and decades, let’s not call it a “pro” That part starts around 12:20
Dell Pro Slim QCS1250
S.Tech9
2 Intern
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67 Posts
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May 14th, 2025 23:16
@Sab987 Were you going to install a 2.5 or 3.5 drive with or without a DVD?
I have been working with Dell desktops for over 16 years, I have seen some creative " unofficial" drive mounting methods.
I got a 6 pin to sata power cable from the previous model, I am going to test it tonight and share the result.
S.Tech9
2 Intern
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67 Posts
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May 15th, 2025 03:06
I got it!
Original Dell 6 Pin to sata power Y cable one SSD one ODD Dell part number is: YJW72
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6 pin to sata power Y cable one SSD on ODD from a Dell OptiPlex 7020 SFF (2024): 0px7dc cost $15 with free shipping. SSD and ODD both works flawlessly.
Since you have no HDD caddy I just put the SSD between the two cable clamp and the top cover loses properly.
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Once we can order a bay from DELL, the correct part number is: G0WKG
S.Tech9
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67 Posts
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May 15th, 2025 22:13
Nice, you are not playing around! It’s annoying when you have everything ready to go and some parts are just completely missing to start the project.
The marketing team needs to chill out and let actual engineers do the technical writing. I think last year I was looking at the one of the precision workstations desktop and they were talking about great battery life.
I am sure whoever was doing it for the precision workstations laptop just copy paste it under the desktop as well.
S.Tech9
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67 Posts
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June 7th, 2025 21:25
@Jon E63 Thanks! At least , this is someting we can use until Dell starts selling parts from the website.
nkkenterprise
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9 Posts
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June 8th, 2025 03:29
@S.Tech9 the picture shows the drive bay that i need.
nkkenterprise
2 Intern
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9 Posts
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June 9th, 2025 02:12
@S.Tech9 How did you get this drive bay? this is the bay i want.
S.Tech9
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67 Posts
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June 9th, 2025 03:31
We order these computers from Dell, and if we configure them with a dvd rom or 3.5” HDD at the time of the purchase, they will come with the bay.
It’s a fairly new model, so Dell is probably having a hard time to get these for the parts store. With the insane tariffs rates we had recently, I am sure it made the situation significantly worse.
What are you to install ?