External enclosure for retrieving data from old drives?

[shinedog]

I have a stack of old hard drives at home from my PCs over the years. I always kept all the drives as I replaced them for obvious privacy issues plus I never knew if there would ever be anything on them that I may need in the future. I'd like to begin weeding them out so I can discard them.

What I would like is an external enclosure that I can attach the drives to it, view the data from within Windows and copy off anything I need. Running various wipe methods on them would be a plus. These drives are obviously IDE and SATA mixes so an enclosure that would connect both kinds of devices would be preferred.

Any recommendations? I scoured NewEgg and there are several choices. Not sure which is good for my intended uses as it looks like most people there tend to use them as backup units or hot swapping storage space.

Any recommendations would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[jsteph]

They have those little cables with the IDE and SATA connectors...they're about $20 from CompUSA, I have one and it's very handy.

http://www.compusa.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2329300&CatId=3770

--Jim

 

[manhunter2826]

^^Thanks js. What I don't understand is this: the power supply is provided for power-consuming drives (understood), but how would the power cable fit the hard drive molex connector. Do they provide an interface for this?? Thanks.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...onnector.jpg/800px-Molex_female_connector.jpg

 

[jsteph]

Yes, it provides both the new SATA power connector and the old style molex IDE power connector.

I just did exactly what you were wanting to do--I had a drawer full of hard drives dating back to the early 90's. It was a fun trip down memory lane looking at all the old stuff on those drives!
--Jim

 

[manhunter2826]

^Thanks js.

 

[Freestone]

manhunter2826 - In the link provided by jsteph, if you examine the larger picture showing 4 of the 6 provided pieces, the end of the power supply output cable is the actual molex connector. If you then hover your mouse over the smaller pictures, the second-from-left picture shows all 6 pieces, within which you'll see a coverter cable that plugs into the power supply molex connector at one end and has a SATA power connector at the other (lower-right item with yellow, black and red wires).

 

[shinedog]

Thanks for the input guys. Someone in my dept. here at work happens to have the exact same model as the one provided in the CompUSA link and is going to let me borrow it

 

[G0AOZ]

Unless they're all very small capacity drives, you'll end up spending a lot of time security wiping them. With hard drives being relatively cheap these days, to be secure when chucking 'em out, you're probably best to physically destroy 'em. Sledgehammer or electric drill methods would be recommended!

ROGER - G0AOZ.

 

[BadBigBen]

G0AOZ - quick and dirty... I like that...

actually, that is how I do it too, using a drill to destroy the platters, punching two holes through it, and if I really do not want anyone to get any data ever again of the drives, I'll degauss them...

Ben
"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."
How to ask a question, when posting them to a professional forum.
Only ask questions with yes/no answers if you want "yes" or "no"

 

[manhunter2826]

Freestone: Thanks for that, makes sense now.

 

[kjv1611]

BadBigBen, what kind of magnet do you use for degaussing drives? If we didn't already toss it, I may still have access to an audio cassette tape eraser that's basically a hand-held magnet that you plug into a standard wall outlet. Do you think that'd do the trick?

--

"If to err is human, then I must be some kind of human!" -Me

 

[BadBigBen]

BadBigBen, what kind of magnet do you use for degaussing drives?

I actually go to a local junk-yard, and have them pick them up with the giant magnet...

actually, it is pretty easy to build your own degaussing coil...

How to Make a Degaussing Coil

http://www.ehow.com/how_5240848_make-degaussing-coil.html

Ben
"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."
How to ask a question, when posting them to a professional forum.
Only ask questions with yes/no answers if you want "yes" or "no"

 

[kjv1611]

Thanks for the info and the link. Personally, I like the junk-yard idea. It sounds like more fun, really. [LOL]

I could see it now. I'm sure there are some junkyards where I live (SC, USA), where the folks running them might say, "what's a hard drive?"

--

"If to err is human, then I must be some kind of human!" -Me

 

[manhunter2826]

^^True, and some might say: "what's junk"

 

[BadBigBen]

When I grew up, that was what we called them... and since metal is really not junk, I guess it is/was a misnomer...

but these days, I guess, they call them Metal Recycling Center, or something similar... Political correctness... ;-)



Ben
"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."
How to ask a question, when posting them to a professional forum.
Only ask questions with yes/no answers if you want "yes" or "no"