Using laptop hard drive as an external drive?

[Tom NJ]

I had my Toshiba notebook hard drive replaced because it had some bad sectors that prevented boot up. I would like to transfer some files from the removed hard drive to the new one in the computer. I'm pretty sure there is a cable that connects the old hard drive to my computer's USB port, making it an external hard drive.

My question is, will this work like any other external hard drive, that is, appear as E: drive in Explorer and allow me to copy & paste files? Will the fact that Windows EP is installed on the old drive interfere in any way?

Tom NJ

 

[SLCraig]

You should be fine. I've done that numerous times before.
Infact if you want you can just pickup a cheap External enclosure, it is probably less money than an external cable/power system. Have bought both before and would suggest just a 2.5" external enclosure. Should be able to get one easily for $10-20.

 

[ahoier]

Yep, I'd go with the enclosure.....only "problem" you may find is hte slow transfer rate of files over USB2 (or even USB1....depending on how old the PC, and/or the enclosure is).

Every PC I've "trashed" I always take out the HDD, since usually the motherboard or CPU dies before the HDD.....so yea, I got like various 2-50 GB HDDs sitting around here, typically for my iTunes and various television shows.


But yea, just be sure to get the 2.5" enclosure, and not the 3.5"

2.5" = laptop, 3.5" = desktop for the most part.

 

[Bottom_Feeder]

Copying data from an external hard drive via USB 2.0 should be plenty fast so don't worry about that.

You will definitely want to run a full disk scan on it to map out the bad sectors and try to repair the data that's on it before you copy it off.

 

[Bottom_Feeder]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLis...amp;PageSize=20

 

[tmorris1]

Originally Posted By: Bottom_Feeder
Copying data from an external hard drive via USB 2.0 should be plenty fast so don't worry about that.

You will definitely want to run a full disk scan on it to map out the bad sectors and try to repair the data that's on it before you copy it off.

I would get what you can off the drive right away and then go back and try to repair. The repair process can stress a fragile drive and take it out completely leaving you with nothing.

 

[Bottom_Feeder]

Originally Posted By: tmorris1
I would get what you can off the drive right away and then go back and try to repair. The repair process can stress a fragile drive and take it out completely leaving you with nothing.

Good point.

 

[Skid]

You just need an adapter.

Search for something like "ide sata usb adapter" and you'll come up with something like this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812200155

 

[Tom NJ]

Thanks guys!

I see that there are two different types of external enclosures, IDE to USB, and SATA to USB. Does this make any difference for my usage - just transfering some files? The hard drive going into the enclosure is a Toshiba 2.5", is about 5 years old, and has 47 pins.

Tom

 

[Ursae_Majoris]

Sounds like you have an IDE drive, so you'll need and IDE to USB enclosure.

 

[PandaBear]

The 44 pin one is the laptop IDE, I've used my 20GB laptop IDE drive with a $3 ebay USB to IDE adapter with great success. They are powered by the USB port so if you don't mind the way they look you can use this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/USB-2-0-IDE-SATA-5-2...=item2a132b50a2

 

[jaj]

The SATA drive has a smallish connector with a few pins and the IDE drive has a biggish connector with lots of pins.

http://www.laptopmag.com/mobilemakeover/mediahub.aspx?page=2

The link above has pictures of both connectors.

Originally Posted By: Tom NJ
Thanks guys!

I see that there are two different types of external enclosures, IDE to USB, and SATA to USB. Does this make any difference for my usage - just transfering some files? The hard drive going into the enclosure is a Toshiba 2.5", is about 5 years old, and has 47 pins.

Tom

 

[SLCraig]

Originally Posted By: Skid
You just need an adapter.

Search for something like "ide sata usb adapter" and you'll come up with something like this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812200155



I have that exact product. My only reason in suggesting an enclosure is that they are indeed less expensive than the adapter device. You can find enclosures for $10 ish. But the adapter works good and is handy if you do a lot of drive swapping etc.

 

[PandaBear]

You can get an adapter for $3 shipped to your home.

 

[Tom NJ]

Thanks again all!!

I just bought this cable on eBay for $3.46 delivered. I found some external enclosures at local stores but the prices were $30-$45! Since I will likely only use this once for data transfer from my old HDD, the cable seems adequate.

IDE/SATA Cable

It says it needs a power supply - am I correct, however, that the USB port supplies the power?

It also says "If the system of your PC is under the WindowsXP, install the driver at first and then use it."

Does this require a driver for XP?

TomNJ

 

[PandaBear]

For windows 2000 and above, it would appear as a USB drive so you do not need any driver (comes with windows).

The power supply would be depends on what kind of drive it is. On a 44 pin 2.5" IDE (PATA), the extra 4 pins include power sourced from the USB port. If you plug the USB into the PC itself rather than through a USB keyboard's side, it should have enough power.

Since you mention 47 pins, you should be fine.

 

[Tom NJ]

Great, Thanks!