Comments on: Turn an old notebook hard drive into a USB drive for $10.99

Meritline has a 2.5-inch hard drive enclosure, perfect for spare notebook drives, for just $10.99 shipped.

[joe643]

Does anyone know if such a product exists for PC hard drives?

[rickbroida]

Of course. What you need is a 3.5-inch drive enclosure. They tend to cost a bit more because they require external power supplies, but you should be able to find one for as little as $20.

[robsachs]

Absolutely; if you want an enclosure for a PC (3.5") hard drive, lots of places have them. Try Newegg.com; here's a listing: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=40000092+1053807123&Description=drive+enclosure&name=3.5%22. Desktop HD enclosures usually have an external power source, as they require more power to run than a laptop HD drive, which can be powered; you'll have to plug it into an outlet. Another suggestion: if you don't get an enclosure that has an onboard fan (=noise), make sure the case is aluminum to help dissipate any heat created by the drive.

[joe643]

Thanks!

[MrKhaki]

Sold out!!! Great buzz does move product!!

[Nalts]

Wow- this was just what I was looking for, and I'm so stoked it helped me find your fab blog which I've now RSS. Wait- this sounds like spam. It's not. I just searched for that converter and it's sold out, but there are some $40 at bestbuy. I'll bet you can do better. :)

[landonOWNS]

I have an old Toshiba Satellite L-35 S2162 laptop that doesn't work anymore, although nothing's wrong with the hard-drive. If I were to remove the hard drive, and use this enclosure, would I be able to transfer files that I had on my old laptop to a new computer?