Things You'll Need:
- Screwdriver Open USB ports
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Step 1
Remove the hard drive from your laptop. Open the cover to the drive, using a screwdriver and slide the drive out. If necessary for your model laptop, remove any mounting screws before sliding the drive out. If your drive is in a cradle, remove the cradle with a screwdriver as well.
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Step 2
Mount the drive in the enclosure. Models of enclosures differ, so make sure you have one that is compatible for your laptop hard drive, or that you purchase one that is compatible with multiple types. Secure the drive in place with the mounting screws provided with the enclosure.
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Step 3
Connect the USB connections for drive access and for power supply. Because of the wiring on some models, these two USB connections may have to be relative close to one another. Some models may have AC adapters, rather than USB power supplies. In that case, you will also need an AC outlet close by.
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Step 4
Open "My Computer" on your Windows-based PC, or the equivalent file explorer, for other operating systems. USB connections for drive enclosures are "plug-n-play," so you should see a new hard drive in your file explorer. Linux users may have to "mount" the new drive in order to access it. Open the new drive to access the data stored on it just as you would any external storage device.
