How to Turn Your Laptop's Hard Drive Into an External Hard Drive

Sophie Webster, Tech Times 12 April 2022, 02:04 pm

One of the best and easiest ways to upgrade your laptop is by taking out the hard drive and replacing it with a solid-state drive or SSD.

This will allow your laptop to have a longer battery life, faster performance, better running temperature, and quieter operation. The SSDs have no moving parts at all. Thus, the run is silent.

So what happens to your old drive? After you've made the quick change, you will find yourself with an unused internal hard drive. If you do, you can turn it into an external one.

Turn Your Hard Drive Into an External Hard Drive

You got rid of the drive because it was slower compared to the SSD that replaced it. However, it is still a hard drive and is still useful as secondary storage, according to CNET.

You can use it as a backup drive or a drive to plug into your router for network-attached storage or NAS. It will be portable, so you can just put it in your bag when you travel.

Also Read: New Cryptocurrency Encourages Miners to Shift Dependency From Graphic Cards to Solid-State Drives

You can keep it around just in case there is a problem with the new drive, and you need to retrieve your data. However, you can't just plug it into a USB port yet.

The difference between a traditional external hard drive and the one you've got is the enclosure. It is a case that protects the drive and bridges the gap between the SAT interface and the USB.

Enclosures are inexpensive and easy to install, according to TechAdvisor.

Wrap Up the Hard Drive

Begin by determining what type of drive you have, which you can know if you bought and installed the replacement SSD yourself. Most likely, it is a SATA drive, and because it is from a laptop, it is likely to be a 2.5-inch drive too.

Now, you just need an external enclosure made for a 2.5-inch SATA drive. That is for the internal aspects. As for the externals, you need to check if what you have is a USB 3.0 or a USB 3.1, according to Laptop Mag.

The USB 3.0 guarantees compatibility with older hardware, but there are some enclosures with USB 3.1 interfaces, also called Type-C. That is an option to consider if you think that you will use the drive with newer computers.

If you travel a lot, or if you plan to. You can bring the drive with you. Just look for a rugged enclosure that can withstand many bumps and can handle being tossed around.

There are also transparent enclosures if you want to retain the drive's naked look. You can even light it up if you want glowing LEDs, and you can also go for multi-bay enclosures if you think that you might end up with several drives.

One option that experts recommend is the Orico 25Au3, which is a compact aluminum enclosure that is available in orange and red.

It is snazzier compared to the average black or silver enclosure. It also comes with a protective case that is great for traveling.

It also has a USB 3.0 interface and screw-free design, which means you don't even need a screwdriver to install the drive. Orico is currently on sale for $16.99.