2

My laptop died, and it contained an HDD I later extracted from it. I'm 95% sure the HDD is okay, and since I have valuable data on it, I want to buy an external enclosure and connect it to a new laptop.

The HDD is this:

https://www.cnet.com/products/hitachi-travelstar-7k750-hts727575a9e364-hard-drive-750-gb-sata-300/

And this is the enclosure I bought:

https://smile.amazon.com/Sabrent-Tool-free-Enclosure-Optimized-EC-UASP/dp/B00OJ3UJ2S/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=SABRENT+2.5-Inch+SATA+to+USB+3.0+Tool-Free+External+Hard+Drive+Enclosure+%5BOptimized+for+SSD%2C+Support+UASP+SATA+III%5D+Black+%28EC-UASP%29&qid=1608370251&sr=8-1

Now, some people say there is a need to format the Hard drive first. I even found this discussion where, if I'm not mistaken, the same is said:

https://forums.tomshardware.com/threads/old-external-hard-drive-in-new-enclosure-asking-me-to-format-the-disk.3319010/

Is this true? do I have to format my HDD before using it in an enclosure? To be honest, it doesn't make sense at all. The way I see it, the external enclosure is nothing but a carrier which allows me to connect hard drives using USB.

I also have an SSD that I plan on having as an external drive:

https://www.samsung.com/semiconductor/minisite/ssd/product/consumer/850evo/

Second question, even though I am sure the answer is yes - will the enclosure fit the drives? The HDD and the SSD?

Thank you.

Improve this question

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
2
  1. The HDD is correct SATA and the External Enclosure is correct SATA. You have chosen right.
  2. No need to format for own use. You can safely put the disk in an external enclosure without changing anything. The BIOS/UEFI will not boot from your old installation on that disk if you not tell it to. It will keep on booting to the new disk you install. All data will be accessible. Nothing will be changed. You only need to format if you want to delete what is on the disk.
  3. The SSD will probably fit without problems in the enclosure. You have to check which interface it has. I have an old Samsung SSD and it can easily be used as a portable SSD using only a USB3 to SSD cable. If it has only mSATA or M.2, you must use a cheap adapter. (https://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-mSATA-2-5in-Adapter-Converter/dp/B00J1EQH5I)

You have chosen correct, and there will be no trouble!

Improve this answer
2

Since you have valuable data on it, you should not format it. Formatting will make that data inaccessible. Put it in the enclosure, copy all relevant data to your new laptop, and then format it.

If that data is sensitive, you might want to do a secure delete, wiping all data. Formatting just wipes the index information, not the actual file data on the disk.

Furthermore, you want to make sure you create a backup. This time your laptop died. Next time your internal disk may die, with all data on it. You could use this disk for it. Now I would format it. Before formatting, make sure you have all data copied. Better have two backup disks, one in another location.

If you know how to, you can encrypt these disks, protecting the data if you lose them. Before encrypting, make sure you do a secure wipe.

Improve this answer
2
  • Thanks, but I don't think you understood my question, even though you indirectly answered it. What I asked is if putting the HDD in the enclosure and connecting it the to laptop will force a format, meaning, the computer won't recognize the drive until it is formatted. As you can see, if that were to happen, I would lose access to my data.
    – nettek
    Commented Dec 19, 2020 at 11:34
  • 1
    No of course not. And if that would happen, you would simply cancel that action or disconnect the disk. If you connect a disk with a different format, like HFS+ (Macos) on a Windows machine, but now you have probably a Windows machine with an NTFS disk.
    – SPRBRN
    Commented Dec 20, 2020 at 18:53

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .