How to Hook Up Old Hard Drives Via USB

Hard drive caddies are extremely simple to use thanks to USB technology.

Hooking up an old hard drive to your computer can prove helpful for many purposes. You can recover old files from a crashed machine, format a hard drive or back up files from your computer to the drive. USB connections have made it easy to plug in hard drives to your computer; all you need a USB hard drive caddy and a hard drive to put into it.

Things You'll Need

• USB hard drive caddy

Instructions

1. Purchase or acquire a USB hard drive caddy. You should be able to find one at an affordable price online.

2. Open the caddy's case according to the directions included, insert your old hard drive into it and make a solid connection. Close the caddy's case.

3. Plug the caddy into a free USB port on your computer and turn it on if required. Some caddies may require you to turn on a toggle switch -- often on the back. The drive icon should appear in the "My Computer" menu with its own drive letter.

References

• USB Now: Why Use A Hard Drive Caddy
• Dabs: Dynamode 3.5 Inch USB2 Hard Drive Caddy