HDD exchange query

Here's the gist, I want to take the HDD out of a laptop and into a tower. How do I go from this...

Other urls found in this thread:

newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817994162
twitter.com/SFWRedditVideos

... To this?

Plug it in

n-no bully

Aside from the issue that the laptop HDD is smaller than the tower drive slot. The socket doesn't look like it'll take the cable. Maybe there is an adapter?

I'm not really tech savvy.

This is the HDD socket.

These are the tower HDD cables.

This is what the HDD was connected to.

See

Not sure if OP is being an idiot, but if not, look at the bottom of your brackets for the HDD's. There are some screw holes. Screw them in and align them with the small HDD.

Yeah I'm retarded. I actually didn't notice that they fit. I was trying to look for When is the same thing but split apart.

Only problem is that the HDD doesn't fit in the rack. It's essentially going to be hanging a fair bit.

Aside from putting something underneath it to prop it up, are there any alternatives?

Just tape it down or buy an adapter.

Line up the holes, mark it out and drill holes in the tray then install like normal.

Also these are two very small HDDs running in raid.

Moving past the fitting issue, if I plug these two in the 3 and 4 slot. Will they automatically resume running in raid or will I have to mess around with the bios?

That very much depends on how they were setup in raid.
If it's windows softraid, you'll need to import the array and that's it.
If it's Linux softraid (which it likely isn't) just mount it.
If it's anything else, you're SOL.

Hanging drive is fine as long as its sitting on something and its electronics board isn't touching metal. Perfectly fine for a days use to get files off it. Done this a thousand times.

Yeah thanks, I'm going to find something small and bulky to try and keep them aligned and not touching anything else.

It's windows soft raid, although I'm not sure how to import the array.

1. windows key+r
2. type 'diskmgmt.msc' press enter
3. You should see your disks in there as a 'foreign' disk/array, right click one of them and there should be an import option, follow it through.

Thanks for your help. This is the first time I've gutted a PC for parts and exchanged them so I'm a bit anxious.

Also just out of curiosity, could I use cardboard cut into squares to hold up and separate the HDDs? Not sure how hot they are going to get.

>/sqt/
>/out/

they don't get too hot but still I wouldn't use cardboard to hold them.

What are some safe materials to use instead?

I'm weary of hard plastic but if it does the job. I don't think it's going to be a one day job. They may have to sit on this materials for a while.

If you're handy with a saw make some custom wooden blocks.

Cardboard isn't unsafe.
It's just not sturdy.

As long as your drives aren't getting loose in the case, your fine.
If you /really/ can't figure out a way to do that on your own, try affixing it to the wall of your case with a strong magnetic.

Appreciate the help, but I don't think anyone is inept enough to fall for that one.

You can buy 2.5" to 3.5" metal brackets on newegg or your local computer store. It's a different size, but people use to put 3.5" HDD in 5" bays like this all the time.

Your smaller hard drives have a bracket on them. Remove those brackets. Then you can just leave them hanging. Or you can get one of these.
newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817994162

There are so many of these on the market, so you can search for a different type and buy that instead.

That's perfect. I'll grab one, only concern is the distance between drives, the cables as it stands won't fit tightly together at the same time.