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How to make an old HD an external HD?

A

Amy2005

macrumors regular
Original poster
Aug 10, 2005
237
0
North Yorkshire, England
Hi,
I recently got a new HD put in my 2007 iMac, but the old HD is still usable.. is there any way I can turn it from a useless thing sat in a box to a useful external HD?



Sorry if something like this has been posted already.

Thanks
Amy
 

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Amy2005 said:
Hi,
I recently got a new HD put in my 2007 iMac, but the old HD is still usable.. is there any way I can turn it from a useless thing sat in a box to a useful external HD?

[url=http://i968.photobucket.com/albums/ae161/Amsy2010/Random/photo-2.jpg]Image[/URL]

Sorry if something like this has been posted already.

Thanks
Amy
Click to expand...

Amy2005 said:
Ah cool thank you! So if i just type in HD enclosure into Google one will show up? Or do I have to hunt for one specific for his type of HD? :)
Click to expand...

Sorry you were too quick, as I'm on my iPhone. See picture above as an example.
 
What is your intended use for the newly external HDD?

(This will actually help narrow the field as there are TONS of different kinds of enclosures at different price levels).

For example: A USB 2 enclosure will probably be the cheapest, but if you plan to do a lot of video or other disk intensive work a Firewire 800 enclosure may be more appropriate or if you plan to share the drive among several machines, a NAS enclosure may be more appropriate.

B
 
balamw said:
What is your intended use for the newly external HDD?

(This will actually help narrow the field as there are TONS of different kinds of enclosures at different price levels).

For example: A USB 2 enclosure will probably be the cheapest, but if you plan to do a lot of video or other disk intensive work a Firewire 800 enclosure may be more appropriate or if you plan to share the drive among several machines, a NAS enclosure may be more appropriate.

B
Click to expand...

It's just going to be for backup really, probably for all my old Uni video projects that are taking up space on my main HD :)
 
You could also get a USB "docking station"

To see what's available go to a site like amazon.com.
Then enter into the search box:
"USB SATA dock".

You'll get many hits.
They all work the same, and most are quite cheap!
 
Apple fanboy said:
Buy an enclosure. They are like an empty magazine you plug internals into. Pretty cheap to.
Click to expand...
That's actually a dock but a dock or enclosure will do the trick.

Amy2005 said:
Ah cool thank you! So if i just type in HD enclosure into Google one will show up? Or do I have to hunt for one specific for his type of HD? :)
Click to expand...
The dock/enclosure has to support the drive. If it's an SATA drive then the dock/enclosure needs to support SATA drives.

You also want to consider the connectivity of the solution as balamw states. USB2 is probably sufficient for backup.
 
Last edited:
Looking at the model number for your drive (assuming its the one in the picture) its a SATA 3.5" drive, so you'll need a external USB2 (or USB3 with backwards comparability) enclosure

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817388017

Would work (for ~16$ shipped) there are plenty of different styles to choose from, in your case I would avoid a "dock" based one, since you only have one drive to use it with. With the enclosed cases you dont have to worry about shorting out the drive if you touch the underside while its powered on, etc

Any of the USB2 cases should work as long as its: external, USB2, SATA, and 3.5"
 
rivettmj said:
Looking at the model number for your drive (assuming its the one in the picture) its a SATA 3.5" drive, so you'll need a external USB2 (or USB3 with backwards comparability) enclosure

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817388017

Would work (for ~16$ shipped) there are plenty of different styles to choose from, in your case I would avoid a "dock" based one, since you only have one drive to use it with. With the enclosed cases you dont have to worry about shorting out the drive if you touch the underside while its powered on, etc

Any of the USB2 cases should work as long as its: external, USB2, SATA, and 3.5"
Click to expand...

Ah ok thank you! It's my drive in the pic, so I'll go for the one on the link you posted :) Thanks again!

----------
Fishrrman said:
You could also get a USB "docking station"

To see what's available go to a site like amazon.com.
Then enter into the search box:
"USB SATA dock".

You'll get many hits.
They all work the same, and most are quite cheap!
Click to expand...

Thank you! :) I've been wanting to do this for ages, but had no idea what I was looking for!

----------
takeshi74 said:
That's actually a dock but a dock or enclosure will do the trick.


The dock/enclosure has to support the drive. If it's an SATA drive then the dock/enclosure needs to support SATA drives.

You also want to consider the connectivity of the solution as balamw states. USB2 is probably sufficient for backup.
Click to expand...

Thank you! :)
 
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