Create external HD from internal HD 3

[Chomauk]

Can anyone tell me how to convert an internal hard drive to an external hard drive. I have USB 1.1 ports. I've got a couple old hard drives I would love to be able to use in this fashion.

thanks

If you're going through hell, keep going.
--Sir Winston Churchill (1874 - 1965)

 

[lockend]

I believe you can buy drive enclosures that you put the hard drive in, and then connect it to your computer. Not sure how much they are though.

-Dale
"There's no such thing as bad luck, just an absence of good luck.

 

[PNorman]

Thanks, it appears that's what I need. However, I can't find any that says USB 1.1. Are USB 2.0 backward compatible? If not how do I go about making it work?

thanks again.

 

[lockend]

USB 2.0 device is compatible with USB 1.1 port as far as I know. It will only result in slower transfer speeds. A vice-versa scenario does not work though.

-Dale
"There's no such thing as bad luck, just an absence of good luck.

 

[PNorman]

Thank you very much.

 

[HeyZeus]

watch out, there are some enclosures that cost more than a whole new drive. So unless you're drives you are planning on using and worth it, try just checking out the prices of external drives. The cheapest enclosures I have seen are like 30 bucks, and there are normally 80GB drives out there that are around that price.

And yes, USB 2.0 enclosures will work with USB 1.1, but they will be slower than 2.0 speeds.

 

[micker377]

It might be worth your while to put in a USB 2.0 PCI card. I put in a firewire PCI card so I could have the speed of firewire (faster than USB 2.0).

 

[PNorman]

hmmm, the drives are old(six years & older) and all I want them for is to see what's on them and possibly use them for back-ups. Any economical suggestions on what I should do?

Thanks

 

[lockend]

It's not necessarily a quick access method, but if all your IDE cables are used up on say DVD or CD drives, unplug one and put in the 6GB drive as a slave. Check out what's on it, backup anything you want to it, take it out, and store it somewhere (away from magnets, subs, and microwaves ). It sounds like a lot of work, but if it means the difference between having a backup to not having one, it's better to be safe than sorry.

-Dale
"There's no such thing as bad luck, just an absence of good luck.