What is a hard drive case?

huss987 · Feb 20, 2015

So i have a 250 gb hard drive just laying around and i was wondering if i could turn it into an external hard drive. After snooping around i realised that there were things called hard drive enclosers/cases. Do you just insert the hard drive then connect it to your computer? and btw my computer only has no free hard drive spots
http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/product/coolmax-coolmax-hard-drive-enclosure-15223-grey-15223/10213802.aspx?path=62474b11832d784ddd54ddbb742550eben02

iceblitzed · Feb 20, 2015

yea basically insert the hard drive into the enclosure and connect the usbs to the computer.

cub_fanatic · Feb 20, 2015

Yes, as long as that old hard drive you have uses SATA. If it is older that about 10 years, it might be a PATA or IDE and you would need a different case for it. Check the bottom connections. If it looks like this, you are good:

If it looks like this, you need a different case:

Also, that case is for 2.5 inch drives (notebook size). If it is 3.5 inch, you need a desktop hard drive case.

spooky2th · Feb 20, 2015

You can use the enclosures like the one in your link. Just make sure it is for 3.5 inch or a 2.5 inch whichever the size of your hdd. You can also pop open your comp case and install it using a sata cable and a power cable plugged directly into your PSU. It will show up as another drive partition with a new letter.

Sintruder · Feb 20, 2015

I had an external hard drive which I removed the case and used as internal, so yeah I'm pretty sure you can use that case for external use.

huss987 · Feb 20, 2015

Thanks for everyone who replied! I really do love tomshardware best computer forums

Search

What is a hard drive case?

huss987

Distinguished

spooky2th

iceblitzed

Distinguished

cub_fanatic

Honorable

spooky2th

Splendid

Sintruder

Reputable

huss987

Distinguished

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page