How To Connect A Hard Drive To A Computer Correctly

Article
How to Connect a Hard Drive to a Computer Correctly

Perhaps you have an unnecessary hard drive removed from an old computer or laptop that is lying and dusting. If so, then it will take very little cost to turn it into a removable portable USB 2.0 or 3.0 drive. Find out how to do it.

The old drive from a laptop or desktop computer is not very suitable for connection in new equipment. of course, it does not reach the speed and volume of new drives that are connected to the computer. Nevertheless, you can insert the old disk into a special case (adapter) and make a portable USB drive from it.

Hard drive adapter

A special adapter is not just a piece of plastic. it includes a set of appropriate inputs and is an adapter for USB. Thanks to it, the hard drive, which is designed to connect to the motherboard through the appropriate connectors (IDE or SATA), can be connected to the USB port, that is, make it portable.

The for adapters are quite reasonable, on average about 1000 rubles. The cost also depends on the USB interface. an adapter with USB 2.0 will be cheaper for USB 3.0 (the difference in data transfer speed).

Types of hard drives by interface

The adapter itself is not universal and you need to choose the right model for a particular drive. Pay attention to the size of the disk (2.5 ″ or 3.5 ″), as well as the cable and power cable (ATA / IDE lub SATA).

2.5 ″ wheels much thinner and mostly equipped with laptops. They can be connected via an ATA / IDE cable or a SATA cable.

3.5 ″ wheels slightly thicker and usually installed on a desktop computer. Also divided into ATA / IDE and SATA.

Sometimes certain combinations may occur. a new connector can be connected through the controller to the “old” motherboard (SATA / IDE). Determining the hard drive is the key point, because you need to choose the appropriate pocket (adapter) for the specified size and interface of the drive.

How to choose the right adapter

When choosing an adapter, you should study the properties and find the right model that is suitable for connecting the hard drive and its connector. Below is an example of randomly selected USB adapters for various types of hard drives.

  • 2.5 ″ SATA: NATEC Rhino 3.0;
  • 2.5 ″ IDE: Logilink 2.5;
  • 3.5 ″ SATA: ITEC MySafe Advance 3.5;
  • 3.5 ″ IDE / ATA: PRO-TECH 3.5;
  • 3.5 ″ IDE / SATA: Tracer 731.

Installing a hard drive in an adapter

Installing a hard drive in the adapter is not a big deal. Depending on the model, it may vary slightly and usually takes no more than a minute. Place the disk in the adapter case, and then connect the wires to the appropriate connectors.

Connection Features

Depending on the model of adapter, interface, and type of hard drive, one or two USB cables may be on the outside. A USB cable is used to connect to the computer port, and a second one may be required for additional power.

When connected via a USB cable, the hard drive must be immediately detected by the system and available for data transfer.

source