How do I connect 3.5" HDD to usb

Posted 15th Aug 2023

So I have these 3 3.5" internally HDDs that I want to connect to my laptop's USB A port purely to grab the data one time.

What is the cheapest tool I can buy to do this? Like an idiot, I recycled the towers before I realised I needed to extract the data.

I have seen this but im not sure if there's a cheaper soution. amazon.co.uk/gp/…LKB

If it helps, I do have spare kettle plugs.

One is ide with the 4 prong power port
One is sata with the 4 prong power port
One is sata but does not have the 4 prong power port.

Thanks.

20 Comments

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Author
15th Aug
Thanks guys.

Sorry, I should've mentioned that my laptop is only USB2, and these hard drives are only 320 and 80GB.

Why does the hard drive on the bottom have both sata and molex power?
15th Aug
In the era where pcs and drives were transitioning from Molex power to SATA power, many drives included both because many OEM manufacturers such as Dell, HP etc used Molex still and many used the new SATA. You only need 1 plugged in for it to work AFAIK.
15th Aug
What you have linked to will do the job, I doubt you'll find it much cheaper.
Well you might be able to get something similar for a few quid less on ebay or Aliexpress though...
15th Aug
Not convinced there will be a significantly cheaper readily available USB3 solution to service both IDE & SATA including power;
even most docking solutions will be £20+ for USB3.
15th Aug
These sort of things seem to have got quite expensive lately
ebay.co.uk/itm…b9i
I paid around a fiver pre-covid pre-brexit - but imho these are better solutions for your problem - just shop around. Got a local computer club?
Author
15th Aug
I don't think I can use the ide one in this, like my link.

How do I find out about local clubs?

Thanks
15th Aug
That seems quite a decent price for one that does IDE and SATA. I paid double that for SATA only in the distant past (Icy Box).
15th Aug
Yeah, for both versions that is a reasonable price.
You could always buy it, use it and sell it on ebay.

Or, if you had no moral qualms about amazon - buy it from them and return it within 30 days.......

One option is to buy an enclosure and convert the HDD into an external HDD - potentially useful for backups if the capacity is worth it - but you'd still need to get something that reads from the other type of HDD. (edited)
15th Aug
...or you might find a local offloading a semi-ancient but suitable PC for £zero on Freecycle,
or £low on Farcebook MarkupPlace, Dumtree etc.
15th Aug
ebay.co.uk/itm…OPY
Author
15th Aug
Can I have a link to the power adapter I will need to also purchase please?
15th Aug
Something like this will do all different drives: ebay.co.uk/itm…_Yg
Author
15th Aug
That's more expensive than my link
15th Aug
Try this one here. Looks like exact same as one I bought earlier this year and works fine although different seller and price now £5 dearer ebay.co.uk/itm…_Yg