Good day to all, my dear friends. Today I want to tell you about how to connect a hard drive via usb to a computer or laptop. Personally, I had such a question when I replaced it on my laptop, after which the old “hard” remained restless, although completely serviceable. Therefore, I hasten to please you. If you have such a device, then you can make an excellent mobile data storage out of it.
True, there is one small condition. These methods are suitable only for more or less modern hard drives with an interface not lower than SATA.
USB Box (containers, pockets)
Cam Box - This is (as you understand) a kind of box (plastic or metal), inside of which there is a special slot for a particular disk. Naturally, it should be noted that there are boxes for both large HDDs (3.5) and small ones (2.5) that go under laptops.
The HDD is inserted into the box simply elementarily, and after assembly it will not differ in any way from the usual external hard drive. After that, you just need to insert into it USB cable and connect to a computer. Thus, you get a double benefit:
- You bring an old device back to life and use it;
- You practically get an external HDD for free
It will be possible to store any backup and archive copies on such media, or use it in Everyday life.
All the pleasure will cost you an average of 300-500 rubles.
Adapter (SATA-USB)
The easiest and least expensive way is to purchase a special SATA-USB adapter. The adapter itself is a cable, at one end of which there is a connector for connecting a disk, and at the other end there is a USB port.
Well, I think that you guessed what you need to do in this case. Yes, it's simple. Connect HDD to the connector, and insert the other end into the usb-port of your computer or laptop.
But just keep in mind that conventional HDD (3.5) may not have enough power from one USB cable, so purchase a cable with two connectors and use them at the same time.
Depending on the company and product quality, such cables will cost you about 200-600 rubles.
Dock station
The most expensive, but very effective option is to purchase a docking station. These devices are somewhat reminiscent of old consoles such as Dendy or Sega. The similarity lies in the fact that instead of a connector for cartridges, there are connectors for HDD. You just have to simply insert a hard drive into this station, and then connect it via USB to your computer.
Such devices are different types, and in many cases you will be able to work not only with one disk, but with several at once, and even different form factors (2.5 and 3.5).
The cheapest options with one device will cost you no less than 1000 rubles, or even more. More powerful stations cost both 3 and 4 thousand rubles.
As you can see, there are enough ways to connect a hard drive via usb to a computer, and for every taste and color. So you no longer have to leave all your devices restless.
Well, this concludes my article. I hope you enjoyed it, so don't forget to subscribe to my blog updates and share blog articles in in social networks. Good luck to you. Bye Bye!
Sincerely, Dmitry Kostin
It happens that after replacing the hard drive on a laptop or in the event of a failure of the latter, it becomes necessary to connect the freed drive to a desktop computer. You can do this with two different ways, and we will talk about each of them today.
Portable and desktop computers use drives of different form factors - 2.5 (or, much less often, 1.8) and 3.5 inches, respectively. It is the difference in size, as well as, in much more rare cases, the interfaces used (SATA or IDE) that determine how exactly the connection can be made. In addition, the disk from the laptop can not only be installed inside the PC, but also connected to it in one of the external connectors. Each of the cases we have identified has its own nuances, which we will discuss in more detail later.
Note: If you need to connect a disk from a laptop to a computer solely for the transfer of information, check out the article below. You can do this without removing the drive by linking the devices using one of the available methods.
Removing a drive from a laptop
Of course, the first step is to remove the hard drive from the laptop. In many models, it is located in a separate compartment, to open which it is enough to unscrew one screw on the case, but much more often you need to remove the entire lower part. Earlier we talked about how portable computers are disassembled. different manufacturers Therefore, we will not dwell on this topic in this article. If you have any difficulties or questions, just read the article provided at the link below. 
More:
Option 1: Installation
In the event that you want to install a hard drive from a laptop into your PC, replacing the old one with it or making it an additional drive, you need to get the following tools and accessories:
- Crosshead screwdriver;
- Tray (sled) for installing a 2.5 ”or 1.8” disk (depending on the form factor of the connected device) in a standard 3.5” cell for computers;
- SATA cable;
- Loose power cable coming from the power supply.
Note: If the drives are connected to the PC using the outdated IDE standard, and the laptop used SATA, you will additionally need to purchase a SATA-IDE adapter and connect it to the “smaller” drive.
- Remove both side covers of the system unit. Most often they are fixed on a couple of screws located on the back panel. Having unscrewed them, just pull the “walls” towards you.
- If you are changing from one drive to another, first disconnect the power and connection cables from the "old" one, and then unscrew the four screws - two on each (side) side of the cell, and carefully remove it from its tray. If you plan to install the drive as a second storage device, simply skip this step and move on to the next one.
- Using the standard screws that come with the sled, secure the drive removed from the laptop to the inner sides of this adapter tray. Be sure to consider the location - the connectors for connecting cables should be directed inside the system unit.
- Now you need to fix the tray with the disk in the cell of the system unit intended for it. In fact, you need to perform the reverse procedure of removing the computer drive, that is, fasten it with the supplied screws on both sides.
- Take a SATA cable and connect one end of it to a free connector on the motherboard,
and the second - to a similar one on the hard drive you are installing. It is necessary to connect the power cable coming from the PSU to the second connector of the device.
Note: If the drives are connected to the PC via the IDE interface, use the adapter designed for it to a more modern SATA - it connects to the corresponding connector on the hard drive from the laptop.
- Reassemble the case by screwing both side covers back on and turn on the computer. In most cases, the new drive will be immediately active and ready for use. If with its display in the tool "Disk Management" and/or setup problems, please see the article below.
Option 2: External storage
Conclusion
Now you know how to connect a drive from a laptop to a computer, regardless of whether you plan to use it as an internal or external drive.
Practice shows that the likelihood of a need to connect the hard drive of one of the computer devices to a laptop or the implementation of the opposite reconnect scenario is prohibitively high. A precedent for this may be a suddenly or naturally manifested "digital trouble" ... The methods described in the article are designed to help the "puzzling user" in solving the often encountered difficulty, how to connect a laptop hard drive to a laptop. Of course, valuable material, consisting of exceptionally effective recommendations, will affect all options for interface-interaction of various types of information storage devices in order to obtain full access to the data they contain.
Discord in the single purpose of the hard drive: a threat to a healthy psyche
Wow, how confusing! are equipped with one type of drives, laptops and a separate type of computing devices with the prefix NET - with another. However, all these devices have a single universal ability - the storage and processing of information. So, the “interface-differences” when deciding how to connect a hard drive from a computer to a laptop can be bypassed. And also to avoid the often occurring (for the “victim of technological circumstances”) state of mild confusion, when the hard drive of a failed PC contains urgently needed data that is needed “right now”. Relax, dear reader, there is a way out! Take a breath ... and not even in a single version!
to a laptop: instructions for SATA devices
Let's take a closer look at this situation: there is a working laptop to which you need to connect an HDD from a PC.
- First of all, you need to purchase a special SATA-eSATA adapter, the choice of which should be guided by technical specifications receiver device. In our case, this is the presence of a “favorable” eSATA connector on the laptop.
- Most modern portable configurations have this interface. Which in the end will become a kind of answer to the question of how to connect a hard drive to a computer or laptop.
If your laptop has this type of interface, then the further initialization process takes place almost instantly. The operating system will literally immediately detect the connected device as an external drive. Moreover, the speed of work when organizing this kind of synchronization process is incredibly high, up to 6 Gb / s. Agree, with such parameters, you can quite comfortably interact with data of any (within reasonable limits) volume.
Guide for IDE Hard Drives: Universal USB Port
How to connect a hard drive to a computer (laptop) if the drive has a somewhat outdated interface, and the laptop has only a universal USB connector? Undoubtedly, quite a "complex symbiosis". However, as mentioned earlier, there is a way out!
- Everything is resolved using a special adapter that connects to a laptop using a USB cable.
- The input IDE connector of the device allows you to connect a PC hard drive, and a separately output cable is used as a power limit switch.
As a rule, such devices are often universally applied gadgets. Since they often provide two types of connection - SATA-USB and IDE-USB - using one controller adapter.
"Brotherly understanding": two cords decide everything!
You will not have a question about how to connect a laptop hard drive to a laptop if your laptop has the previously mentioned serial interface, and your "reconnect" arsenal has an eSATA to SATA (7+15 pin) adapter. Otherwise, you should pay a visit to the nearest electronics store and buy an inexpensive "pocket" for an external HDD.
This option is the most appropriate for the optimal solution of the voiced difficulty. Since the owner of such an HDD container may well use the purchased device (in the future) for its intended purpose - as an additional external storage device.
By the way, the "HDD-pocket" can be connected not only via the eSATA interface, but also via the universally used USB port. This will make it incredibly easy when you need to connect a 2.5 ̎-drive from a laptop to a desktop PC. See the benefits of such an acquisition?
The climactic finale: the extreme rise of information by the “poke” method
When deciding how to connect a laptop hard drive to a laptop, if the situation requires quick access to data on an external hard drive and provided that there is no necessary adapter, but there is a flash drive and access to the Internet:
- Download the Live USB distribution.
- After you create a bootable Flash drive, shut down and power down your laptop.
- Dismantle the battery of the device.
- On the back of the laptop, look for the HDD text designation, which is a kind of landmark that indicates the location of the installed laptop hard drive.
- Unscrew the protective cover and carefully pull out the HDD.
- In the freed space, install the hard drive, which stores the information you need (urgently!)
- After you boot from the flash drive, you can familiarize yourself with the "secret data".
This is how you can get a practical answer on how to connect a laptop hard drive to a laptop. Basic techniques for gaining access to stored on external HDD information has been reviewed in its entirety. Good luck and all the best!
In order to connect a hard drive from our laptop to a PC, you first need to remove the hard drive from the laptop, this is done like this:
Connecting a hard drive to a computer
- First of all, we open system unit(unscrew the side cover and remove it to the side).
- Find the SATA ports on the motherboard (they are shown in the picture) that have no wires inserted into them.
SATA ports on the motherboard
- Now we need a SATA cable to connect the hard drive to the computer. You can find one in any electronics store, by the way it is inexpensive.
SATA cable
- The SATA cable has two identical ends, therefore, we connect one of the ends of the cable to the hard drive.
- And the other end is inserted into the SATA port on the motherboard.
SATA cable to port
- Now you need to connect power to the hard drive. To do this, we are looking for a free wire that comes from the power supply and connect it to the hard drive.
Connecting power to the hard drive
- The hard drive from the laptop is connected to the computer, now turn on our PC. After loading operating system, go to My computer and see the display of our hard. Now you can use this hard for any purpose.
BOX for connecting a hard drive to a computer via USB
Technology does not stand still and does its best to make life easier for us. A special BOX has appeared on the market, into which a hard drive is inserted and it is already connected to a computer or another laptop via USB.
BOX for disk
Box is a rectangular box into which a disc is inserted.
BOX for hard
Such devices often have built-in power supplies. They are needed in order if the power USB port not enough hard drive to work.
Why connect a hard drive from a laptop to a computer?
This question has an infinite number of answers. Many who work on a laptop store their work information on their portable computer. And sometimes there is not enough memory on the laptop and then you have to transfer some files to a stationary computer. It also happens that the laptop is broken, and there were important files on it that are needed. In fact, there are a lot of answers to this question, because everyone has a different situation.
Video on how to connect a hard drive from a laptop to a computer
If the text instruction was not clear or if you still have questions, then watch the video on how to connect a hard drive from a laptop to a computer.
Any user may have a desire to connect a hard drive from a laptop to a computer, for what purposes it does not matter to us, but if he does not know how to do this, then after reading this manual everything will become clear to him.
As an example, the following can be given: the laptop on which you worked long and hard on some project broke down, the repair is not a quick thing, and the deadlines are running out. In order to start editing or finalizing the project again on another computer, you can put a hard drive from a faulty laptop there.
Existing interfaces
There are two interfaces for connecting hard drives and SSDs - SATA and IDE.
SATA– presented in all modern laptops and computers, with more wide opportunities than the IDE. It has 7 data pins and 15 power pins. This can be seen in the figure below.
IDE- the standard is outdated, but is still found in many devices, though old ones. Released more than a decade ago, it looks like a 40-pin connector for data transfer over a special cable and a 4-pin power port.
If you need to connect a SATA hard drive to an IDE connector, you will need an adapter.
mSATA- made in a miniature form, most often found in latest generation laptops.
If you want to connect this interface to a PC, you will need an adapter, because even many modern motherboards do not have such an interface.
M.2- the format is even smaller than mSATA, made according to this format are often found in ultrabooks. The interface is usually found in 3 forms:
- View B with cutout to the left;
- View M with cutout to the right edge;
- View of B&M with both cutouts on both sides. This type can be connected to slots B and M.
How to connect laptop hard drive to computer?
So, everything here is really simple. In order to connect a hard drive with a SATA interface from a laptop to a computer, you need a SATA cable (it’s more correct, of course, to say a cable). This loop is needed for data transfer. Next, we need a cable for the power supply.
So, you connect one end of the SATA cable to the hard drive, and the other to the connector on the motherboard. There may be several connectors that are marked 3 Gb / s and 6 Gb / s, where you decide to connect, this is just the data transfer rate.
Same thing with the power supply.
IDE connection
If you have an IDE interface, then you will need a 40-pin cable and a Molex cable for the power supply.
The computer can consider the inserted drive as native and boot from it, so that this does not need to be switched to the “Slave” position. Usually, there are jumpers on the contacts of the drive itself, located near the power port, and they put the drive in the “slave” position. Unfortunately, I can't tell you exactly where they are, each drive is different. Read the manual or find information on the hard drive manufacturer's website.
How to connect drives with different interfaces?
If you have a drive that has a connector that is not on the motherboard, you will need an adapter. They are different types, for example, like this:
- Adapter from SATA to IDE or vice versa.
- From SATA to USB.
- mSATA to USB.
- From M.2 to USB and to SATA.
There are many other combinations as well. If you need one, you can search for a product on the Internet.
What if you need to put a small drive in a computer case?
Many users still have old cases that do not allow compact storage of a hard drive from a laptop. What to say about modern cases, they already have special blocks (baskets) for placing HDDs and SSDs in them.
Before connecting drives to the computer, it is recommended to turn off the power completely.
WiFi
