How to Connect a Desktop Hard Drive to a Laptop or Another Computer
This article will tell you how to take out a hard disk from a computer properly and connect it to a laptop or another PC, and how to recover data from such disk.
Quite a typical task: transfer a large number of files from a desktop hard drive to a laptop drive, or connect it to another computer in order to recover data from there.
In either case you will need to connect the HDD to a laptop or another computer. This is what this article is about. We are going to study one of the simplest and all-purpose variants to use.
- How to take the HDD out of the computer (IDE and SATA)
- Another important detail
- Connecting the disk to a laptop
- If your computer fails to recognize the disk
- Connecting the HDD to another computer
- Questions and answers
- Comments
How to take the HDD out of the computer (IDE and SATA)
It seems logical that before connecting a disk to another device it has to be taken out of the system unit. The matter is that depending on the interface through which your disk is connected (IDE or SATA) different boxes will be needed to make connection possible.
That is why instead of guessing what kind of interface your disk has it is best when you first take it out of the system unit and have a look at the interface.
As a rule, there is not much trouble in taking an HDD out:
- First, you turn off the computer, and unplug its power cable from the socket;
- Open the side panel of your system unit;
- Take out of the HDD all connectors;
- Unscrew fastening screws and take out the disk (usually it slips along two sliding bars).
The procedure itself is quick and easy. Then have a careful look at the disk interface. Nowadays most hard disks are connected via SATA (a modern interface with the high-speed data transfer). If your disk is old, it can have an IDE interface.
Another important detail
Computers usually have “big” 3.5-inch disks, while laptops have smaller ones of 2.5 inches (1 inch is 2.54 cm). The digits 2.5 and 3.5 are used to denote form factors and actually show the width of an HDD body when measured in inches.
The height of all modern 3.5” HDDs is 25 mm; it is known as “half-height” in comparison to older models. Manufacturers use this height to fit inside from one to five platters.
In 2.5” HDDs things are different as their original height of 12.5 mm was replaced by the 9.5 mm one which can contain up to three platters (nowadays there are also thinner disks than that). The height of 9.5 has actually became a standard for most laptops but some companies still produce 12.5 mm hard disks based on three platters.
Connecting the disk to a laptop
Let us suppose we have sorted the things that concern the interface. For actual connection we will need a special BOX. They can be of various types:
- 3.5 IDE -> USB 2.0 – this box is designed for a 3.5-inch disk (which is what an average PC uses) with IDE interface to help connect it to a USB 2.0 port (actual transfer speed under 20-35 MB/s);
- 3.5 IDE -> USB 3.0 – the same but the transfer speed is higher;
- 3.5 SATA -> USB 2.0 (similar, the only difference is the interface);
- 3.5 SATA -> USB 3.0 and so on.
This box is actually a rectangular container a bit larger than the disk itself. Usually this box opens at the rear side and an HDD is put inside.
In fact, after you have done all that you need to connect a power supply (adapter) to this box and use a USB cable to connect the box to another PC or a laptop.
If the disk and the box are all right, in “This PC” you will see one more disk which you can use as an ordinary HDD (format, copy, delete etc.)
If your computer fails to recognize the disk
In this case, you may need two steps.
-
Check if you have drivers for your box. Usually Windows installs them itself, but if your box is non-standard, there may be problems.
To begin with, launch Device Manager and see if there are drivers for your device and make sure there are no yellow exclamatory marks.
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Go to Disk Management in Windows (in order to go there in Windows 10 right-click on START button) and check if you can see the connected HDD there. If it is there, the most probable way of getting it right will be changing the drive letter and formatting it.
There is a dedicated article on this topic in our blog.
Connecting the HDD to another computer
In a modern system unit, a CD/DVD drive and HDD should be connected via SATA interface. That is, instead of a CD/DVD drive you can connect an HDD from another computer.
In fact, the only thing left to do is to disconnect cables from the disk drive and connect them to the other HDD. Then you just turn on the computer and copy all necessary information or scan it with the help of data recovery software
The new hard disk will be represented in “This PC” i.e. you can work with it as an ordinary local disk.
If you want to just have this HDD permanently connected to your PC, the only thing you have to do is to fix it properly.
Basically, that’s all. If you want to transfer many files from a PC to a laptop (and you’re not planning to use a desktop HDD with the laptop all the time), then you may like the other way: connect the PC and the laptop to a local network and just copy the files you need. For that purpose what you need is just one cable… (provided that there are network interface cards in both the laptop and the desktop computer).
Sir i have a p4 tower computer, which has only IDE hard drive cables, and i want to add a sata hard drive in it, but the connection cables are different, how can i connect sata hard drive into IDE hard drive
Ok here is my dilemma. I have an old Dell desktop with windows XP it was new in 2005 and was factory image restored in about 2015 then shortly after died power wise just wont fire up. On this hard drive at one time I had a Bitcoin wallet with 2 tenths of a bitcoin on it and at the time I backed it up to a stick drive and thought I was good. Later on found out that the back up didn't take. Since the drive space wasn't all re written over it there a way to locate a recover the wallet files. If so what is the safest, cheapest and easiest way to do this with out a forensic team. Thanks in advance for any answers or advice.
Take out the drive and connect it to a new computer via USB with something like Vantec SATA/IDE to USB 3.0 Adapter.
Hey man, I’m just trying to figure out how to back up my ps4 hard drive files onto my computer becuase I am getting a bigger one and I want all my data but it doesn’t look like I have all that’s required lol. I wish people would make things a little easier sometimes
Nobody will give you a one hundred percent guarantee, but it's worth a try. Download the Hetman Partition Recovery program from our website. Install it, run as administrator. Then, scan the drive to find the deleted partitions, then scan the desired partition, when the program shows you the found files, click on them one by one and view the preview of each file. If you like what you see, then proceed to the purchase of the program and restore the files. https://hetmanrecovery.com/hard-drive-data-recovery-software
i want to connect two hdd in my computer(hp) but my cp have not one way use to drive a data
Please describe your question in more detail? Make sure you have an administrator rights What do you want to do? What exactly did not work? What error does it give? At which step did the error occur?
i have a dell desktop pc that was running on windows7 and about a 18 monthes ago i was encouraged to try windows 10 download. I tried 10 and didn't like! So iI tried to recover by switching back to windows7 which was an option one the menu, the pc began the process "this may take some time" . about 4 hours later i came back to my pc and the screen showed the same screen as before, "Do not shut off or disconnect from power, downloading". Next day, about 30 hours later still on the same screen except i notice the tower wasn't making any noise indicating it was doing "Anything" not even the fan. i pushed different button on the keyboard and nothing. I turned the monitor off and on, nothing. Still the screen read the same "Do not power off or unplug from power source until installation is complete". scared and not wanting to loose all my info and memory stored i patiently waited and 4 days later the monitor was the same. Then unfortunately i decided to restart the pc and when i did it would not go past the DELL intro screen with many attempts in 1 hour time between each attempt. Finally after a dozen tries i decided to power down the desktop and by holding in the power button and unplugging it after. Now nothing, the monitor shows nothing, as to see any picture but the monitor will indicate, "A no signal" but when i hit the power button on the tower to restart, only at the very first 2 seconds the monitor will show, "the computer is trying to communicate", then back to "No signal" I can hear it turn on with the fan, and maybe the sound of what might be booting but thats it, no picture signal or anything else. And mind you i dont hear or see anything from the HDD to indicate its working. I have also tried different monitors, but "no signal." i have tried installing a second hdd still nothing, the cables seem to be connected properly i even inserted the dell driver utilitries disc, yet nothing.. i need the info in that PC bad. please help..
Try to connect your monitor not to the video card connector, but to the embedded video output of the motherboard (if there is one). Perhaps the PC does not see the monitor because it can not install the correct video driver.
Are there any potential issues or limitations to consider when connecting a desktop hard drive to a laptop or another computer using a SATA to USB adapter or a hard drive docking station?
Compatibility: Not all hard drives are compatible with SATA to USB adapters or hard drive docking stations. Be sure to check the specifications of your device to ensure that it is compatible with the adapter or docking station before attempting to connect it. Speed: Connecting a desktop hard drive to a laptop or another computer using a SATA to USB adapter or a hard drive docking station may result in slower transfer speeds than if the drive was connected directly via SATA. Power: Some SATA to USB adapters and hard drive docking stations require an external power source, such as a power adapter, in order to operate. Be sure to check the requirements of your device before attempting to connect it. Security: Since the hard drive is being accessed through a USB connection, it may be vulnerable to viruses and other malicious software. Be sure to take precautions to protect the data on the hard drive, such as using antivirus software and backing up important data regularly.
What are the steps involved in connecting a desktop hard drive to a laptop or another computer using a hard drive docking station?
What are the benefits of using a hard drive docking station to connect a desktop hard drive to a laptop or another computer?
What is a hard drive docking station, and how does it work?
A hard drive docking station is a device that allows you to quickly connect and disconnect a hard drive from a computer. It typically consists of a slot in which you insert the hard drive, as well as a USB port or other type of connection port. When the hard drive is inserted into the dock, it is connected to the computer via the USB port or other connection port. The hard drive is then accessible to the computer, allowing you to transfer data, back up files, or access stored data. When you are done, you simply remove the hard drive from the dock and disconnect it from the computer.
You are doing this the hard way. Plus, some of us were not put on the earth to be handy with tools/ connecting internal things in computers. Myself for instance, I tried and I failed big! This is what I did.
I got a Cooler Master case which comes with (2) hot swappable front docks. Picture taking your internal hard drive out of the computer and putting it in a case, then connecting the case to a port on the back of your computer, either usb or sata. But that's lame, so let's do something better. What if we could take the DVD recorder out of our computer and instead put the case with our hard drive where the DVD was? But all we have done is to move the hard drive from inside to the front of the computer case, still need to have a way to take the drive out from it's case if we ever need to.
Now what if the case we put our hard drive in, has an opening on the front? And a lever/button? Now you're talking! So we put the case where the DVD writer was. It stays there in the front of the computer case. Now we can pop hard drives in and out directly from the front of the computer - just like changing disks on DVD writers.
And this, is what a hot-swappable dock is. Cooler Master HAF case has 2 of them. Which means I can copy from one hard drive to another. This case also has two drive bays. I found a unit that can hold (3) hard drives in the space of two drive bays. That's 5 hard drives I can copy to and from.
Why do this? I have several drives for data storage, and a couple for operating systems that I have already installed. If windows ever crashes or doesn't run well I just pop that hard drive out then in the time it takes to slip in another drive with the operating system I am up and going again. Why fight your computer to fix Windows when you don't have to? And why hold your breath while installing images? (They have been known to fail) And why risk installing Windows on the wrong drive? (Been known to happen) I just pop out the other hard drives while I am installing Windows on the drive I want.
What if the computer case doesn't have room for all this? Well, it is true you do need sata ports for each drive, but there are addin cards with more ports. But space may be a problem in some computers, there just isn't enough room for all these drives. Laptop drives to the rescue! I found a unit that fits (4) laptop drives in the space of a DVD writer. There are also gadgets called toasters (because they look and act like one). So I can take a hard drive out of my unit (and remove it from the tray) then pop it in my toaster to copy files as the toaster connects by usb or sata. I also have an external unit that can hold (4) 3.5 hard drives but I am a little leery of that without using a fan on it. So I don't keep it powered on all the time. Otherwise it works great and I can even boot from it.
Doing it the hard way? 1. You didn't provide any "easier" way. 2. You provided some rinky-dink way to put it in your dvd drive you moron. sorry technically, u provided a "harder" way lol
I think its enough for a basic understanding. But you can suggest other ways (more easier) and we will describe them in our next articles or will add to this one.
"Harder"?
Can you connect a desktop hard drive to a laptop or another computer without using a SATA to USB adapter?
Yes, you can connect a desktop hard drive to a laptop or another computer without using a SATA to USB adapter by using a SATA cable and an external power source.
Read how to connect a desktop hard drive to a laptop or another computer. If you do have any questions, don't hesitate to contact our technical support service - we will be happy to help you.
I don't wanna put old hard drive into my other computer. I just wanna be able to "read" the old hard drive on my laptop, maybe copy photos. Is there a do-hicky to do that?
You need to save data from it, if you don't do it - you can lose all data