Want to back-up to external hard drive

This is more of a hardware-related question, so I hope it's ok to post it here.

I have a hard drive that was the internal hard drive for my previous computer. I saved it since there was nothing wrong with it when my old computer died. Since it was a newer replacement for an older HDD that died in that computer not long before, I figured it might serve a future purpose.

I had been looking at SATA adaptors so I could plug this hard drive into my new laptop to access its contents and even use it as an external drive to back up my new laptop, but the adaptors I found seemed awfully expensive for what they are: https://www.bestbuy.com/site/j5creat...?skuId=5091216

Then I was advised to just get a hard drive enclosure, which I thought was a bit odd since I'm looking to connect my HDD to my laptop. I'm not worried about enclosing it in a container. But after doing some research, it seems that the enclosure includes a method of connecting it as well. At least, that's what appears to be the case. But is it? I can't entirely tell by the descriptions. But here's one that seems very reasonably priced: https://www.walmart.com/ip/2-5-inch-...Blue/102276332

According to the description, it even includes a USB cable. If that's the case, it seems to provide connectivity. But why an enclosure AND cable costs less that just a cable is beyond me!

It would be nice if something that encloses the HDD and provides a way of connecting it to my computer actually cost a fraction of what a simple cable costs. But it would be a waste of money if it didn't even let me connect it. That's the most important part.

Any advice?

Thre first biggest question that needs to be answered is if the hard drive is a 3.5" desktop hard drive or a 2.5" laptop hard drive.

The adapter cables are more for very occasional use as they offer no environmental protection for the drive. The enclosure is to protect the hard drive during frequent use.

NavyLCDR said:

Thre first biggest question that needs to be answered is if the hard drive is a 3.5" desktop hard drive or a 2.5" laptop hard drive.

The adapter cables are more for very occasional use add they offer no environmental protection for the drive. The enclosure is to protect the hard drive during frequent use.

The HDD in question is a 2.5" laptop drive.
I'd only be using it occasionally. Mainly, it would be to save back-up images of what's on my current laptop. I suppose I could use it to store other things too. It's a 250GB drive.

Delly10 said:

The HDD in question is a 2.5" laptop drive.
I'd only be using it occasionally. Mainly, it would be to save back-up images of what's on my current laptop. I suppose I could use it to store other things too. It's a 250GB drive.

Make sure you get a USB3 enclosure. I have one of these, but there are plenty of others makes to choose from.

dynamode

I also have one that can take old IDE drives as well as SATA, but that is only USB 2.0. Useful for recovering data from some really old laptops, or even a complete working system.

dynamode

If the data on the drive is going to be important, then you want it in an enclosure.

I bought a cheap USB3 drive caddy from Amazon which worked fine until I dropped the disk while it was running and is now toast!

Berton said:

And regardless of the brand of the 2.5" case check the cable included, some will work with only a single USB cable [mostly the USB 3] but some require/come with a Y-cable which one leg is for data and power and the other leg is for additional power. One will be shorter so having 2 USB ports close together will be important. The older PATA drives had higher power requirements than the newer SATA drives. USB 3 ports provide higher power for USB 3 devices in addition to higher data transfer speed.

I wish I had it with me right now, but I don't. I know it's maybe 4 years old, but don't know if it's a SATA or PATA. The enclosure I posted a link to at Walmart in the OP only has a single cable and is 2.0. Would that still work if my old drive is a PATA?

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Bree said:

Make sure you get a USB3 enclosure. I have one of these, but there are plenty of others makes to choose from.

dynamode

I also have one that can take old IDE drives as well as SATA, but that is only USB 2.0. Useful for recovering data from some really old laptops, or even a complete working system.

dynamode

If a 3.0 is important to have, how about this one? It looks like a great deal, but is it too good to be true? https://www.walmart.com/ip/Insten-US...lack/914110144

Your hard drive is SATA. $8 for a USB 3 enclosure is about right.