Category: Geeks r Us
Please explain further. I found the following deal on blind bargans.
2.5" Black Aluminum Enclosure Case with IDE to USB 2.0 Interface
The easy to use design allows for quick installation of
2.5-inch hard drives.
http://www.shop4tech.com/item5141.html?siteID=WZun10ETuFo-SA6K1b8foesxRwO1W.Wb3w
How easy is this process? How do I find out if my old laptop's harddrive is 2.5?
I have an old Toshiba laptop, about 6-years old, with xp installed. We don't use it anymore but it is 20 or 30 gb, it could translate into some nice extra storage. As well, as we have some nice programs and files on there.
So, removing that harddrive and putting it into this inclosure, then hooking it up to our current notebooks...? It sounds rather simple, but I have my doubts. *smile*
Thanks all!
Hi
Well, all laptop hard drives are 2.5 inch, I believe. However I wouldnot really recommend this approach.
Firstly it is not always that easy to get a hard drive outof a laptop, often laptops are built so that it is very difficult to get individual components out, it depends on the make of course, but it is not as simple as desktops.
Secondly it is often more tricky than one thinks to get programs that were installed on a hard drive to run from the drive as a USB one. It is not a matter of just firing it up and running the programs like you used to. I think it depends on the program but often you have to completely reinstall it anyway.
Thirdly I think you get a better deal by just buying a new usb 2.0 drive, for $100 you can get 320gb external 2.5 drives, that is an awful lot of storage, and you should even be able t get 16gb flash cards you canuse in most laptops for $30 or so, same with usb flash drives. Those are so much more convenient and portable than trying to build your own external 30gb hard drive.
I do realize I am sounding negative and if you really want to try it I wish you the best of luck. It is doable, but it'll take a long time and lot of work and I think it's ultimately not worth the money and time you'll end up spending.
Cheers
-B
Agree with the previous poster, because the drive already has xp on it, assuming you can remove it from the system, you'll then need to format it if you want the drive strictly for storage. I bought a 500GB usb recently for $80 so, there are good deals out there. If you want to do this though, it should be able to be done.
*Smile,* thanks Wildebrew. Doesn't sound like my cup of tea.