[mrpooh3]

Hi,This will probably seem like a dumb question to you guys,but I was looking at an other topic on the forum from a few years back about using an old 40gb laptop HD on a desktop pc and I was considering doing the same.I was first considering putting it inside my PC and was told to get an ide to sata converter.but on the other topic it talks about a 2.5"hd usb caddy enclosure.Would it be possible to use it in a similar way to a usb flash drive using that method,(like having an external plug and play hd)?I was also wondering what is the difference between ide and sata,is it just something to do with different types of connecters?

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Quick and painless answer.
Top is a IDE connector and bottom is SATA.
Sata has a much faster transfer rate then IDE.
SATA also has larger capacity hard drives now up to 2 TB in capacity.
The use of a external enclosure would work as long as the internal connector is right for the HD and the link to system is USB or Esata depending on what you have on your syste, Personally I would do USB as it seems to be mostly on every system now.


[attachment=37406:sata_ide_lg.jpg]

[rshaffer61]

Quick and painless answer.
Top is a IDE connector and bottom is SATA.
Sata has a much faster transfer rate then IDE.
SATA also has larger capacity hard drives now up to 2 TB in capacity.
The use of a external enclosure would work as long as the internal connector is right for the HD and the link to system is USB or Esata depending on what you have on your syste, Personally I would do USB as it seems to be mostly on every system now.


[attachment=37406:sata_ide_lg.jpg]

[123Runner]

A lot will depend on the connectivity of the drive in question.

If it is a ide drive AND you have a ide port in the computer, you would need a conversion cable.
If it is a ide drive and you have no ide ports, you would still need a conversion cable.

The best scenario is a 2.5 inch external case with a USB connection.
You can then use it as a backup and move it to other computers.

[mrpooh3]

thanks guys.The HD I have is a Fujitsu MHT2040ah pl.I am unsure which type of connecter it is though.However,I am definitely going with the usb caddy though!cheers.

[rshaffer61]

You are welcome and I'm glad we could help. Come back if you have any other questions or just look around and enjoy the wealth of information in the forums.