How to Repair a Hard Drive Using an Enclosure
Some hard drive or computer problems may prevent your hard drive from being read properly. The inability to access a hard drive does not always indicate a malfunctioning drive and you may be able to fix the drive and recover your data by using an external hard drive enclosure. The hard drive enclosure is a shell that you put your hard drive in. It interfaces the hard drive to your computer using a USB cable.
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Instructions
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Turn off your computer. Unplug the power cable and disconnect all other cables from the back of the computer. Open your computer case to expose the internal hardware. You may need to unlatch a fastener or remove some screws to open up the cover or side panel.
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Disconnect the hard drive's power cable and interface cable that connects the drive to the motherboard. Unscrew the retaining screws on the drive brackets and slide the drive out. Close your computer case and reconnect all cables.
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Open the hard drive enclosure. The design of your enclosure product will vary between manufacturers. Common designs usually require sliding off a cover or opening a door on the front or the side panel of the enclosure.
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Connect the hard drive to the cables in the enclosure, following the manufacturer's instructions. Place the hard drive in the enclosure and close it. Connect the power cord and USB cables to the hard drive enclosure. Plug the other end of the power cord into an AC outlet and connect the USB cable to a USB port on your computer.
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Click "Start" and "Computer." Locate the drive letter of the hard drive enclosure. If the drive has not failed entirely, you can copy files off to another storage device. If the drive works perfectly in the enclosure, you may have a problem with the internal cables or the motherboard on your computer.
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Right-click the drive and choose "Format" if you want to wipe the drive and write the file system to it as a further troubleshooting step. Click "OK" to start the formatting process.
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Tips & Warnings
Formatting a hard drive will remove all programs and other data from the disk. If you are troubleshooting your primary hard drive using an external enclosure, do not format the drive until you have made a backup copy of its contents, assuming you are able to access the drive.
