What is a Hard Disk Enclosure, and how do I use one?

A hard drive enclosure (sometimes also referred to as a disk Hard Disk or Hard Case Caddy) is simply a process that includes an external hard disk and turns it into an external device that plugs into the PC via USB, Firewire or eSATA.

There are lots of external hard drive solutions on the market from companies such as Maxtor, Seagate and Lacie but these solutions include the disk drive and the enclosure. Great if you just want to buy something off the shelf, but if you have a hard drive that you saved from an old PC then its significantly cheaper to buy a cabinet and use the hard drive you have to create your own solution. There is nothing intimidating about using a caddy HDD, think of it as a tray that the slot is the hard disk (secured by a pair of screws) and with external connections for connecting the enclosure to your PC. They are simple to use, great for recovering data from old hard drives and excellent for the recycling of old hard drives. There are some options to consider when considering an HDD Enclosure:

1. Hard Drive Size (not the physical storage capacity) hard drives have in two basic sizes, depending on whether they are designed to be used in a laptop Desktop (Tower) PC. One Laptop Hard Drive is described as a 2.5 ", while the unit is a PC Desktop 3.5.

2. Interface: Most new hard drives are SATA (Serial ATA) disks, but if you are looking to use a hard drive salvaged from an old PC its probably going to have a IDE interface (also described as ATA or PATA). The IDE interface is very easy to distinguish because it has 2 rows of 22 pins along the interface connection. A SATA disk will look simple plastic connectors

3. Connection Type of connection: USB and Firewire are the most common ways to connect a case of hard drive to your PC or Mac's most recent cases also have eSATA as an option. Your choice of connection is often dependent on the computer / device you wish to use your hard drive and not you'rere sure you can buy cases with multiple interface options, but keep in mind that these will cost more than say a room that only connects via USB.

4. Number of rooms: single compartment boxes and dual are available. A dual-bay enclosure may have two HDD's and RAID support for some both hard drives can be configured to appear as a single unit or virtual support options to back up on both hard drives. With any drive drive, whatever the protocol, you also need to consider exactly what you will use to him, and consider these four attributes.

If you need some advice on choosing the right shower, get in touch with the team in USBNow

USBNow is a specialist supplier of USB Products including USB Cables, USB Adapters, USB Memory Sticks, USB Cases, Express Cards and lots more besides. Established in 2002 we have built up a wealth of experience on getting the most from your USB ports and we are happy to share this with our customers – check out our site for the latest products, news and for support – http://www.usbnow.co.uk

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