How to use an internal hard drive as an external one

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If you are a laptop user, chances are its hard drive is not very large, or, if it is, it is not very easy to expand it. These limitations appear not because the weight itself (a hard drive is not heavier than a few hundred grams) but because of the very limited space in the case. External hard drives are rather expensive, but you can turn an internal hard drive into an external one, which can be used by most operating systems, including Windows 2000/XP, Linux and FreeBSD.

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Steps

  1. Obtain a hard drive. The common sizes are 1.8", 2.5" and 3.5", of which the first two are standard for laptops. Most laptop hard drives can be powered using a USB cable, but are more expensive than regular desktop drives. If you are short on cash, you can use a desktop drive, but note that these require one more power cord, as they usually cannot be powered on using an USB port.
  2. Find a good enclosure (commonly referred to as "rack"). You must consider the drive's size, purpose and the interface it uses, so that you can also choose the way it will be connected. USB 2.0 is a good option. FireWire is faster but it is not as common. If the drive will only be used for backups, you need not bother with a fan, but if you will use it constantly, you will need one.
  3. Once you have these, unwrap the disc and the enclosure. Set the disc to Master (or Master/No slave) using its jumpers. Details on how to do it can be found in the manual that came with the drive. Now connect the rack's Molex and ribbon cable to the drive, making sure they are properly plugged in. Screw the drive into the rack, making sure it does not move.
  4. Connect the power cord and the USB/FireWire cord to the drive. These are plug-and-play so you can safely connect them while the computer is running. Still, it might be a good idea to power it off before connecting them.
  5. Power on your computer if you need to, and go to My Computer. There will be a new device in the "Devices with Removable Storage". Format it, using the NTFS file system.
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Notes

Be careful when choosing the drive's enclosure. Some limit the size of the hard drive they can use.

This should go without saying, but if the ribbon cables refuse to go in, the fault is probably yours. Do not force the cables in. If they do not fit, try again. Chances are you are trying to connect them upside down or you need to move them a bit to the left or right so that the pins can be aligned correctly.

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