Use Old Internal Hard Drives for Free Storage

Use Old Internal Hard Drives for Free Storage

Have an unused internal hard drive sitting around? Maybe you upgraded a laptop hard drive to a bigger capacity, or you pulled an internal drive from a desktop PC before selling it. You can put either kind back to work as extra, free storage.

3.5-inch SATA internal hard driveInside a desktop PC: 2.5-inch laptop and 3.5-inch PC SATA drives use identical connections, which means that a recent laptop hard drive can work instantly.


If you want to install a laptop drive in a PC, remember that it won't fit correctly in the regular screw mounts. If you're attaching it permanently, position it so that the airflow is unimpeded--stick it against the inside of the case or in a free drive bay. Secure the drive with zip-ties or removable double-sided tape. Of course, you won't have such trouble with a 3.5-inch SATA drive, which will fit.

Then, connect either drive to a free SATA port on the motherboard (you'll likely need a SATA cable) and connect to a plug leading from the power supply. You can add a power adapter if the only free plugs are older and too big to fit the SATA power port. If you have no free power cables, add a Y-splitter to branch off from an existing, used cable. All of these parts are available for a few dollars.

An older ATA drive also will work in your desktop. Unlike with the plug-and-play SATA interface, with ATA you might have to adjust a jumper pin on both the extra and current drives; check your PC's instructions or browse online for help. A 2.5-inch ATA laptop drive needs a $10 physical adapter to attach to a 3.5-inch drive's cable.

Connect the drive to a free power and data cable. If all the ATA interfaces are filled, consider connecting it in place of your floppy drive if that's an option.