How to test hard drive

Tyrel Smith

New Member
Good day,

I have an old HHD drive from a desktop that has been lying around. I want to convert it to an external hard drive. Is there a way to test it before getting the case, I only have a laptop now.
 

DavidG

Active Member
Is there a way to test it before getting the case, I only have a laptop now.
Not really, in order to test it you would need a way of connecting it to a computer. The price of a USB-SATA adapter is the same price as an external case. If the drive was a 2.5" drive you could conceivably swap out the drive in the laptop and run some testing hardware from a bootable USB but it would be an awful lot of hassle and you would risk damaging the laptop during disassembly/reassembly if you are not used to this sort of thing.
 
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Trizoy

VIP Member
Is it worth it? Anything you put on there could be lost with a drive failure. I don't know how old it is, but there is usually a date stamped on the sticker. Drives usually last about 5 years.
 

aldan

Active Member
if you have an external drive enclosure just plug it in and run the diagnostic software applicable to the drive manufacturer.easy peasy.
 

Tyrel Smith

New Member
Not really, in order to test it you would need a way of connecting it to a computer. The price of a USB-SATA adapter is the same price as an external case. If the drive was a 2.5" drive you could conceivably swap out the drive in the laptop and run some testing hardware from a bootable USB but it would be an awful lot of hassle and you would risk damaging the laptop during disassembly/reassembly if you are not used to this sort of thing.
Ok thx
 
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