how to create external hard drive from my old hard drive

Aitch7

Hi,

My old computer died although I am assured that that the HD is still alive. I had a Dell dimension 8200.

My new (hurrah!) computer has Vista Business and is a Dell dimension 9200 intel core-2 duo E6600 (2.4ghz) RAM 2GB, HDD 250GB S-ATA.

I want to use my old HD as an external HD for my new computer so that I can access the files I still need and also be able to back up from my new computer.

I have been told that I just need a 5.25 external HD enclosure - sounds simple I thought....but no!

There is a lot of jargon and I am lost - what do I need to look for? what is IDE, S-ATA, and should it come with a CD as some seem to do, and what else do I need to bear in mind?

I do understand that it will plug into a USB point - hurrah!

Any advice would be very gratefully received

aitch7

BillScarab

why not just put it in your new case and save the price of an enclosure?

You can tell if it is an IDE drive as it will have a 40 or 80 pin connector and is usually connected via ribbon cable. SATA connectors are much smaller and are 7 pin, see here

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_ATA

Aitch7

BillScarab wrote: »

why not just put it in your new case and save the price of an enclosure?

You can tell if it is an IDE drive as it will have a 40 or 80 pin connector and is usually connected via ribbon cable. SATA connectors are much smaller and are 7 pin, see here

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_ATA

Because I will invalidate my computers warranty if I open up the box and anyway I want an external HD that is independent of my computer.

Thanks for the info though!

aitch7

David_B_2

I bought a simple IDE to USB cable off ebay for about £6/7. I'll try and get the link if interested.

EDIT: Link here to what I bought (without giving me ID out).

Can be bought elsewhere but for a lot more. I think I remember seeing it on Amazon.

Tallymanjohn

A proper external drive enclosure is better - saves possible damage. You need an IDE drive enclosure. New ones should all be USB2.0 but check if you're buying from EBay. Get one with its own external mains power source. You won't need a CD with it.

David_B_2

Tallymanjohn wrote: »

A proper external drive enclosure is better - saves possible damage. You need an IDE drive enclosure. New ones should all be USB2.0 but check if you're buying from EBay. Get one with its own external mains power source. You won't need a CD with it.

I'd agree with this for a better solution.

I forgot to mention that I don't have mine connected full time and mainly use it as a lazy backup method before I have time to do a DVD burn.

But the cable works well ever the less.

superscaper

Aitch7 wrote: »

Because I will invalidate my computers warranty if I open up the box and anyway I want an external HD that is independent of my computer.

Thanks for the info though!

aitch7

Don't Dell have an open case policy? Doesn't matter anyway because this has already been tested in court and they can't legally invalidate your warranty for opening the case (and upgrading etc), the justification being that that's exactly what pcs were designed to do.

Edit: I definitely read about the open case policy being tested in court but I can't find where so don't take what I've said as fact yet.

darich

I bought a caddy from PC World. Here is the link
They can be bought in several places but i used PC World because there was one close to my office and i needed it quickly!

Aitch7

Hi Guys,

I've sorted it - turns out that the guy who runs the computer repair/internet cafe who told me to get the 5.25 casing got it wrong and actually I just needed a 3.5 casing which I got from my local computer shop over the road from his cafe (after he told me that he couldn't get me one because his supplier hadn't got any) for £15.

The guy in the shop told me that it would work just fine so I've handed it over and am keeping my fingers crossed.

Thanks again for the advice.

aitch7

Aitch7

darich wrote: »

I bought a caddy from PC World. Here is the link
They can be bought in several places but i used PC World because there was one close to my office and i needed it quickly!

After I handed over the external HD enclosure to the guy who had my computer it mysteriously became 'broken' and also my HD wouldn't fit in it ! the guy at the shop I bought it from thankfully decided that the other guy was a pain (a conclusion I had also reached) and has offered to refund me on the basis that I do go into his shop and buy stuff from time to time.

As no one had any in stock I took your advice and went into PC World and bought one myself - it was twice the price but worth it as I even managed to fit it myself - hurrah!

So thank you for the tip!
kind regards
Aitch7