Adding a hard disc

[brixtonboy]

Hi all quick question is it possible to connect my hard drive to the iPad Pro. Thanks BB

 

[BikeFlagAZ]

Yes. The exact tools needed depend on which iPad you have. I’m assuming the drive is an external USB drive.

Mine has a lightning port, so I use a USB Camera Adapter like this. The iPad does not supply enough power, so you must provide it using other jack on the adapter.

If the drive needs lots of power, you will want to plug the drive into a powered USB hub, then plug that into the camera adapter.

 

[brixtonboy]

Thanks for replying, can l use your knowledge?
Now which connector to that helps. The hard drive is
500 gb do you think l would need extra power for it?
I have photos, films and videos on it all very old. Oh and my Reggae lots of that. What apps would you recommend l download from the AppStore? Many thanks for your time
BB

 

[Aerofly]

Hi brixtonboy, one thing you have to take into consideration is how your hard drive was originally formatted. If your hard drive was formatted on a Windows PC, there’s a good chance it may have been formatted to NTFS.

Unfortunately the iPad Pro is unable to read that particular format. The iPad needs the hard drive to be formatted in a format that it can read, such as ExFAT. You may be lucky, but you won’t know until you try. One other thing you’ll probably need is some form of adaptor to convert the iPad’s usbc connector to the hard drives usba connector, unless the drive is usbc.

If your data is on an NTFS drive, then your only way to see it on your iPad Pro would be to transfer it to another drive that has been formatted to ExFAT using a PC (or perhaps a MAC).

The other thing to take into consideration is whether your drive is a conventional disc drive or an SSD (Solid State Drive), as most, if not all, SSD drives should not require external power, however some conventional drives MAY require a separate power unit.

Have a look on YouTube as there are some very good videos on using hard drives with the iPad Pro, and how to best use the ‘Files’ app to work with your files.

 

[giradman]

Thanks for replying, can l use your knowledge?
Now which connector to that helps. The hard drive is
500 gb do you think l would need extra power for it?
I have photos, films and videos on it all very old. Oh and my Reggae lots of that. What apps would you recommend l download from the AppStore? Many thanks for your time
BB

BB - you've already received some great advice and suggestions - about 6 months ago there was a similar discussion HERE that might help also - good luck. Dave

 

[brixtonboy]

Thanks for your help on this team l have not forgotten.
BB