Can i make a HDD read-only or read-write?

Projects Discussion and Showcase Device Hacking
1

hi i am new in this forum.
i have some experience using arduino uno.

i want to take an external 2.5'' or 3.5'' HDD and connect it through arduino to a PC.
arduino will have to make it look like read-only or read-write to PC (depends on what button on arduino i am pressing)
can this be done? low data transfer speed or external power is not a problem

2

Maybe. If I remember correctly, a few years ago there was a HDD with a button that hardware turned off the erasing heads and thus the disk became read-only. If this method is applicable to modern disks, it may not make sense from Arduino and you only need a switch.

3

I think the IDE bus exposes Read and Write signals, so at least on an old HDD it could be a simple task. I don't know if SATA (or whatever the cool kids are using these days) has something similar.

4

what if i use SD card or USB 3 flash drive or something else instead of HDD?
does that make the project easier? which storage device should i use instead of HDD to make the project easier?
i know some SD cards have a 'read-only' switch but it is totally up to the PC operating system to respect the state of that 'read-only' switch, i do not want to depend on the OS

5

Are you sure?
Years ago, I had a USB flash drive with a read-only button. There are SD cards with a similar button. These buttons operate at the hardware level and are independent of the operating system. Even more years ago, when floppies were used, they also had a diskete with slot for write protection as this feature was also entirely hardware.

6

Years ago, I had a USB flash drive with a read-only button.

are u talking abt something like this? maybe not exactly this but similar i hope. if i can get my hands on a usb3 flash drive like this then SD cards and floppies are off the list. otherwise i may use floppies for the 1st time in my life :partying_face:
thanks for the tip!
cheers :+1:

7

Not exactly the same but similar. My flash drive was PQI U339 Pro with 2GB capacity. I am glad to help.

8

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