Hard drive caddy

[lindala]

Apologies if Im on the wrong page Im not used to forums.Question is I have a hard drive from my old desktop pc that went kapoot(only 2 years old) So I bought a new desktop and would like to transfer my photos etc from the old hard drive Ive heard this can be done using a *caddy*.I have so far bought 2 and they arent what I was needing Could anyone please help me and tell me what it is I should get.Many thanks The old hard drive is WESTERN DIGITAL 320GB SATA/8MB CACHE I have the hard drive removed from old pc.

[Vr5fx]

If I understand you correctly, you should be looking for this,

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3-5-SATA-USB-HARD-DRIVE-CADDY-HDD-CASE-ENCLOSURE-/290613098810?pt=UK_Collectables_HardDriveEnclosures_RL&hash=item43a9e3f93a

that way you can copy the data from it to your new PC, and keep the old hard drive as a back-up.

Hope this helps.

 

[EDIT]

Another option is this one. Which will take a variety of Drives and medias

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-HDD-Dock-3-5-2-5-SATA-IDE-Caddy-Enclosure-Case-eSATA-/300519920120?pt=UK_Collectables_HardDriveEnclosures_RL&hash=item45f86211f8

Edited April 14, 2012 by Vr5fx

[Plastic Nev]

Hi, just in case you may have the right caddy and not sure if you have things correct, let us know which ones you have bought please so we can advise further. They should be for a 3.5 inch SATA drive, is that different to what you have already bought?

 

Nev.

[lindala]

reply

 

Hi, just in case you may have the right caddy and not sure if you have things correct, let us know which ones you have bought please so we can advise further. They should be for a 3.5 inch SATA drive, is that different to what you have already bought?

 

Nev.

//// Hi there and thanks for the reply.I have ordered and am waiting for a 3.5 Sata Hard Drive Caddy usb external hdd enclosure from Ebay.should be here by Monday.(The first caddy I bought appears to be only for a laptop ).I just hope the one I have ordered is correct.I may need to call on you againfor help. many thanks

[Plastic Nev]

Ah, I see, indeed a laptop hard drive is smaller at 2.5 inches so a caddy for that would be too small.

Once you have the correct size, it is usually only a couple of screws to remove and replace to fit the drive into it. After that it is just a matter of plugging the USB lead into a working computer and then looking for the files you want in the same way you would if it were a pen or flash drive.

Any problems with it don't hesitate to come back and ask.

 

Nev.

[lindala]

me again.

 

Ah, I see, indeed a laptop hard drive is smaller at 2.5 inches so a caddy for that would be too small.

Once you have the correct size, it is usually only a couple of screws to remove and replace to fit the drive into it. After that it is just a matter of plugging the USB lead into a working computer and then looking for the files you want in the same way you would if it were a pen or flash drive.

Any problems with it don't hesitate to come back and ask.

 

Hi Nev,thank you for the past replies but Im back again...I have received the hard drive caddy and have got the hard drive in it and the usb cable attached toit but there is also a power pack ,but it has a rounded prong end and 2 bars with holes in it.Shame the company didnt send any instructions.Can u advise what to do with the power adapter .thanks in advance theres nowhere to stick it grrrrrrr

[lindala]

Hi again!!!!!

 

Ah, I see, indeed a laptop hard drive is smaller at 2.5 inches so a caddy for that would be too small.

Once you have the correct size, it is usually only a couple of screws to remove and replace to fit the drive into it. After that it is just a matter of plugging the USB lead into a working computer and then looking for the files you want in the same way you would if it were a pen or flash drive.

Any problems with it don't hesitate to come back and ask.

 

Hi Nev,thank you for the past replies but Im back again...I have received the hard drive caddy and have got the hard drive in it and the usb cable attached toit but there is also a power pack ,but it has a rounded prong end and 2 bars with holes in it.Shame the company didnt send any instructions.Can u advise what to do with the power adapter .thanks in advance theres nowhere to stick it grrrrrrr

.............................. realised that the plug which they havent included isnt attached to the cable lol

[Plastic Nev]

Hum, not knowing what exactly iy looks like, I am a little stuck, but I assume it must need some sort of adapter to go on the end of the power pack lead, that will then plug into the caddy, am I correct?

If not supplied, the only thing is to get in touch with the supplier and let them know.

If you can take some pictures of both the end of the lead, and also the hole or socket the lead should plug into, I might be able to advise further, but no promises. Some of these things are unique to the devices they are intended for.

 

Nev.

[lindala]

helppppp

 

Hum, not knowing what exactly iy looks like, I am a little stuck, but I assume it must need some sort of adapter to go on the end of the power pack lead, that will then plug into the caddy, am I correct?

If not supplied, the only thing is to get in touch with the supplier and let them know.

If you can take some pictures of both the end of the lead, and also the hole or socket the lead should plug into, I might be able to advise further, but no promises. Some of these things are unique to the devices they are intended for.

 

Nev.

Good afternoon Nev,Me agin,Well Ifinally got the hard drive caddy altogether and connected to my computer,and the light is on and the enclosure is whirring but Im at loss what to do next I cant find any of the documents/photos I was after.Time to give up I think and call in the pc man i think.I go to my computer and it comes up hard drisk drives 2 Data (d)then folder empty!! Oh please .any advise

[Plastic Nev]

Hi, was the original system on the old computer that the drive came from, password protected? If so, that may explain the empty folder message. Even if you still know that password, I don't know of a way to use the password to open it as the password system is part of the operating system.

Someone else may know, but first let us know if it is password protected first.

 

Nev.

[RandyL]

Hi lindala.

 

It's not looking good is it?

 

When you go to Computer you can see the old drive that is now in the enclosure correct? Are you positive that you see the drive? You can confirm this by disconnecting it and looking in Computer again.

 

If the above is true then when you click on the drive it should open and show the file and folder structure just as it would show if you clicked on drive C in your computer.

 

On the chance that your old drive was partitioned it would show as two when you click it. Then you choose the partition that the OS was on to access your documents. A second partition might have been set up for data storage. If you never used it then it would be empty. A second partition could also be a recovery partition used to reinstall Windows.

 

A windows password should not stop you from seeing files. That would only stop you from booting into Windows.

 

Also unlike XP Windows 7 Home Premium does not have the encrypt feature to password protect files. Even if it did you would still be able to see them but not open them.

 

So if all the above is true then it's likely the old drive is too corrupt to save the files. It's possible that a file recovery program might be able to salvage some of them. I've never used those personally but quite a few other people have.