If your PC is getting out of space and you want to replace your existing HDD with the new one but don’t want to throw the older one, then you could transform your old internal hard drive to portable HDD in just a few minutes by following some simple steps. There are various accessories available in the market which easily transform your internal HDD to the portable one.
Also Read: Best 2 TB External Hard Drives for XBox One
Steps to Transform Your Internal HDD to Portable Hard Drive
Step 1: Checking the Size and Interface
For converting your internal HDD to portable one, first, you have to check the size of your HDD, which is 2.5 inches for laptops and 3.5 inches for PCs. If you are not sure about size, it is written on smaller of the two sides. And also, check for an interface of your HDD whether it is PATA, IDE or SATA.
Step 2: Buying Appropriate Enclosure
After identifying your HDD, the next step is to find the best HDD Enclosure or Caddy for your hard drive, according to the configuration. There are various Caddies available which converts SATA to USB, IDE to USB and other. Some of the product is listed below which are best-selling products on Amazon.
- 2.1 Inateck 2.5 Inch USB 3.0 HDD Enclosure
Inateck 2.5 Inch USB 3.0 HDD Enclosure is one of the best-selling product on Amazon. This caddy is suitable for 2.5” SATA HDD and SSD and converts it to USB 3.0 and is 70% Faster than traditional USB 3.0. Integrated with automatic sleep and spin down mode, power saving mode, and many other features.
- 2.2 ORICO Portable 2.5 inch SATA to USB 2.0
ORICO HDD Caddy is the very compatible tool for converting external HDD to portable one without using any screw. It very easy to use with the slide mechanism, which makes it handy and very portable. Compatible with 2.5 inch SATA I, SATA II and SATA III Hard Disk Drive or Solid State Disk. Use USB cable to operate it as the external portable hard drive for your PC or Laptop.
Looking for more Hardware Enclosures: visit this link
Step 3: How to Assemble
Assembling an internal hard drive into enclosure or Caddy is not a rocket science. It is just required to tight some screws and you are done. First, you have to understand the make of the enclosure, then open the Caddy and just slide your HDD into the enclosure and tighten the screws.
Step 4: Configure Your Portable HDD
Now you are done with the assembly and just have to configure your new portable hard drive. As it is an internal hard drive and is formatted as NTFS, format it with exFAT if you want to connect it to other devices. And use it freely to take backups of your files.
Another Alternate Method
Beside these Enclosures, there are Data Power Cables also available which does not require any assembly. You just need to plug it to your PC using the data cable and all is done. These adapters let you connect a bare drive with no enclosure, saving time and hassle. The list of these data cables is listed below, and this list is prepared by choosing from bundles of data cables to buy from the market.
1. Sabrent USB-DSC9
Sabrent USB-DSC9 is the USB 3.0 to SATA/IDE Hard Drive Converter Power Cable. It is compatible with 2.5 or 3.5 inches Serial ATA/SATA Hard Drive and solid state drive (SSD) to convert your internal HDD to portable one. USB 3.0 provides fast data transfer speed of up to 5Gbps and also compatible with USB 2.0 and USB 1.1.
2. Anker USB 3.0 to SATA
Anker USB 3.0 to SATA is the 3ft Converter Adapter Cable for 2.5 inch/3.5 inches Hard Drive Disk HDD and SSD. Provides the easy solution to transfer data from internal HDD via USB. Comes with free lifetime technical support and 18-month manufacturer warranty from Anker.
3. UGREEN USB 3.0 to SATA
Ugreen USB 3.0 to SATA is the 15 + 7 pin connector cable which allows you to connect any standard 2.5″ or 3.5″ SATA HDD mobile enclosure to your computer/laptop via USB 3.0 port with data transfer speed up to 5Gbps. This product is also compatible with compatible with USB 2.0 and 1.0.
4. StarTech USB 3.0 To SATA/IDE
StarTech.com USB 3.0 To SATA/IDE is the Hard Drive Adapter Converter Cable, with USB 3.0 you can transfer data at lightning-fast speed up to 5Gbps. This device is also compatible with USB 2.0 and 1.1, and with built-in connectors for both 2.5 inch and 3.5in SATA Hard Drives (HDDs) and SATA Solid State Drives (SSDs) and IDE hard drives.
The Products listed above are selected from bundles of similar products and are the best on performance and reliability.
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