CONVERT OLD INTERNAL HARD DRIVE INTO EXTERNAL DRIVE

The internal hard drive is a terrible thing to waste. If you have a session on the shelf (or about to land after the upgrade system), which can easily lead to the old, the new life. Just a few steps, you can be an inexpensive chassis skid waste and create a fully functional external disk, so you need a large amount of data you.

consider two key factors in the selection of a case: the size and surface. Size is simple: if the drive of a desktop PC, it's probably a 3.5-inch model, but if it is from the late 90s, there is a small chance that it could be 5.25 inches. Most laptops now use the 2.5-inch hard drives. These three size classes is not the exact dimensions of the physical disk (3.5-inch disk is about 4 inches wide, for example) match, but you need to know the class, you should have a matchbox size.Next, determine the drive interface used and are looking for a case with an internal connection. If your hard drive is more than a few years, it probably uses IDE. (To search for two rows of pin-40 connector on the back of the data.) Attention SCSI hard drives (some are looking for the same 50-pin), because they are poor candidates for efficient recycling. Many new readers use Serial ATA (SATA), which has a much smaller apartment and pinless connector data.Then think outside the housing interface, like the box connects to your PC. In most cases, supports USB 2.0, FireWire and some add to the mixture. If your drive uses a SATA interface internally, consider an enclosure with an external SATA (eSATA) interface, which promises much faster maximum data transfer rates than USB or FireWire. Some PCs with eSATA ports, but. One solution is a SATA interface card install your desktop you need a free PCI slot or a laptop CardBus PC Card slots have. (Plan on spending about $ 45 for a SATA PCI Card, or $ 60 for an equivalent PC Card.) Or, if your office has an internal SATA ports on the motherboard, you can support a low-cost cable, the to one or more ports on the back of the computer case, making an eSATA interface. (Some eSATA enclosures include this material.)Other features that are looking for in an enclosure, built-in fans, highly recommended, especially if you leave the drive running for a long time. Less critical elements include a stackable design and decorative elements such as LED lighting or transparent casing. Some models, like the World Bank $ 89.99 POWMAX film 3.5 "aluminum body, can even double you use your hard drive as a media player, you can connect to your TV.

As for prices ranging drive enclosure of $ 10 to $ 100 hardest, depending on the size, surface, construction, equipment and extras.
Tip: If you just want to temporarily an old internal hard drive, you should $ 24.95 NewerTech USB 2.0 Universal Drive Adapter. It is a cable, the internal bare drive. Connect to an USB port without the envelope Compatible with all sizes of IDE and two SATA interfaces and is good for copy jobs use only.If you are handy with a screwdriver, install the drive in the enclosure should present little difficulty. Before that, however, the drive master / slave / cable select setting make properly configured. (This only applies to IDE drives.) Are you looking for a small grid of pins on the rear edge. Usually two brands are not using a removable plastic bit "jumpers" are filled. Click the speaker should the parameters required to explain the basis of our experience, should be the driver is usually to master. Refer to the manual of the disc or the author's website if you are not clear, how to configure it.

Once done, just open the case, connect the drive to the internal interface cards and power supply and secure it with the provided screws. Instructions of the case you should carry out the work, but the process varies little from one model to another.
Tip: Do not rush. If interface pins are bent or broken, you can make your computer unusable.It is time to connect the box to your computer. First, connect the power adapter to the housing (if it has one, many 2.5-inch drives draw power from the environment). When you turn the power of the enlor, you should hear the hard drive back. Now you can connect the USB cable to your computer, FireWire, eSATA or. If you use a Mac or Windows XP / Vista system, the machine should automatically detect the disk. Windows 98 and Me, will probably require a CD driver, which should come with the case.

Before you can start by using the repurposed disk, you may need to format it. Driving the new format will definitely need that older, when used drives can be good to go. The only way to know for sure-fire are connected fence, see if Windows recognizes the drive, and try to open it. If Windows does not immediately give it a drive letter, or let you see the content, you will need to format. (You might want to do it all of the way, just start with a clean slate.)In Windows XP, right-click Computer mine, and then, click on Manage. (Konsekitivman, click Control Panel> Administrative Tools> Computer Management.) Under section Storage, click on disk management, then, see the right hand window for new Drive-it should be the one with the low dark next to it. The Right-click on it and select the new partition. This will open a new partition wizard will take you through the format and partition the new drive. The process is the same thing in Windows Vista if you choose Control Panel Classic View, open public services in a Control Panel> "Create and format hard disk partisyon that."Once the format started to grab snacks. It can take an hour or more, depending on capacity.Once the format started, to grab a snack. It can take an hour or more, depending on capacity.

Once the format, you will have a plug-and-play hard drive that functions like a drive bylaws. Test it by copying files to and from the drive.As you may have noticed when she got a internal drive, available capacity external drive you would fall shy of the manufacturer's specification. (A 320GB drive, for example, often show only about 300GB available). This is a common scenario Owings how they drive sizes are calculated. You can not do anything about it, but that does not indicate a malfunction.Tip: If you Unplug driving while reading, or writing, you might damage it and / or corrupt your data. To be safe, double-click on 'Windows safely Remove Hardware icon (in the system tray), select the corresponding entry or external drive, click Stop, and hit OK to confirm. Deklaran a message when it's safe to Unplug.