One of the easiest ways to add more hard drive space to your laptop or to back up all your important files without burning them to CD or DVD is to build your own external hard drive. This hard drive should be able to connect to any computer with a spare USB port. You will be able to easily and quickly transfer large files between computers and you will also be able to get some sort of backup in case a problem occurs on the computer. This external hard drive works on computers with Windows 2000 / XP, OS X or Linux.
Steps
Step 1. You need to get an internal hard drive (hereafter referred to as with HDD)
The first step is to decide what standard physical size it should be. If you already have a spare HDD for this project, skip to step 2. There are basically 3 standard HDD sizes: 1, 8 ", 2, 5" and 3, 5 ". The standard 1, 8" and 2.5 "are for laptops. These types of laptop HDDs can be powered via USB cable, so no AC adapter will be needed. They are more expensive than internal desktop hard drives, however, so if you don't mind the size or whether you can use another power cord, it may be convenient to buy one for desktop.
Step 2. Choose and buy a compatible container
Take into consideration the physical size of your hard drive and its interface (ATA100, ATA133, Serial ATA150, Serial ATA II, etc.). Decide which type of connection suits the needs of all computers that will be connected. USB 2.0 currently offers a good level of quality and will work on any desktop or laptop with a USB connection. FireWire (IEEE1394) is even faster, however it is not yet widespread on all computers. You'll also need to compare the fan noise levels (if it's included and if you can tell the noise level). If the HDD will run every time the computer is turned on, it will be good that it has a fan, while it will not need it if it will be used primarily for backup. Also check to see if there is a power switch on the 3.5 cases. If one is not provided, you will need to unplug the adapter to turn off the unit. For backup this is not a big deal, but who uses the drive as a secondary storage system may find it annoying to plug and unplug it every time your computer is started or shut down.
Step 3. Unpack the case and HDD
Step 4. Follow your instructions on how to properly open the enclosure for the drive
Step 5. Set your HDD to “Master” (or to “Master / No Slave” if there is a similar indication)
This setting is between the Molex power connector (the long 4-pin round one) and the ATA / SATA connector. You will see 2 rows of four or five tiny pins and a small jumper connecting two of them. Pull the jumper out with a tool (you could use tweezers or a pencil) and insert it into the Master position if it isn't already there. A diagram illustrating the different jumper settings is usually found right on the top label of the hard drive.
Step 6. Connect the enclosure's Molex power connector and ATA / SATA ribbon cable to your HDD
While it is very difficult to accidentally plug them backwards, take a moment to make sure the ribbon cable and power connector are properly aligned before inserting them.
Step 7. Screw the HDD into the enclosure, which should have four or more screws
There will be four holes, two on each side of the hard drive and their corresponding ones inside the case.
Step 8. Take one last look inside before closing
Make sure you've connected everything. Read the instructions again (you've already read them, haven't you?) And make sure you've gone through all the steps. It would be a big mess to have to reopen everything just because you forgot to change the jumper on Master or something!
Step 9. Close the case
Step 10. Connect the power cable (if needed) and the USB or FireWire cable to the drive
Step 11. USB and FireWire connections are Plug-and-Play:
it means that to use a device, simply connect it for it to work perfectly, without the user having to do anything else. Plug the other ends of these cables into your computer and into the surge protector (because you're ALREADY using one, right?).
Step 12. Turn on your computer if you haven't already
Go to "My Computer" (or Computer for Windows Vista or Windows 7). This entry is most likely on your desktop, but you can also find it in the "Start" menu.
Step 13. You should see a new device in the “Removable Storage Devices” section
Step 14. Right click on this entry and select "Format" (approximately in the middle of the list)
Step 15. Format the drive using NTFS as a File System for Windows (Ext3 partition is fine for Linux)
To read and write from Linux and also from Windows, use the Fat32 mode. You can assign a Volume label if you wish. For example: External, Secondary, Backup, etc. Make sure "Quick Format" is not selected. This foresight will make it possible to recognize any damaged sectors on which, at a later time, no other data can be stored.
Step 16. Wait for the formatting to complete:
the process can take longer with large drives.
Step 17. Good work
You have successfully built your external hard drive.
Advice
- The recommendations in this wiki can be applied easily even in the case of adding a Zip drive or a CD or DVD burner. Burners will only be supported by the 5.25 "case size. This size is special, because it also supports HDD. A Zip drive is 3.5" instead, so a bezel is required (sometimes supplied with the case, but which, however, only costs a few euros) to fill the void around the unit which is smaller than the case. All of the drives mentioned here can use a wide variety of ribbon cables and different sizes of power connectors, so make sure your enclosure is compatible with the hardware you will be inserting.
- If your new drive has both USB and FireWire ports, use only one (the fastest compatible with your computer). If you are using USB, connect the cable to the high speed USB (2.0) connector on your computer. If you don't have a high-speed connector or use the wrong one, data between the drive and your computer will transfer slower.
Warnings
- Do not force the ribbon cable! It should exert some resistance when you attach it, but if it can't get in, the pins may not be aligned properly. If you can straighten the pins (hopefully you don't have to fix too many!), Try bending them with needle nose pliers.
- HDDs break very easily when dropped on a hard surface. The read / write heads can hit the platter with serious physical damage, rendering that space unusable, as well as damaging the entire drive.
- You should always use all four screws when adding a HDD to any computer or case and tighten them securely. If the drive is not adequately protected, rotation and vibration of the disc can occur at a high number of revolutions. These vibrations can cause an annoying hum and even damage to the disc if prolonged over time.
- Formatting the drive in Ext3 mode on a Windows system will make it unreadable and NTFS formatting on Linux systems will make it read-only (you won't be able to copy files to it) without specific software. FAT32 (called Vfat in Linux) will be read - write on both operating systems.
- Make sure that the facility does not place any capacity limitations on the HDD - beyond a certain number of gigabytes (GB) - or that this limit, if any, does not conflict with the capacity of the disk. Unfortunately, some older cases may have a somewhat low limit (about 132GB) and don't make it known to buyers. be careful! And if you try to use a larger HDD, format it to the maximum to this limit or, most likely, you will run into sector read errors.
- Limit the movement of the unit to a minimum while it is on, as this causes unnecessary vibrations.
- Drivers are required if you connect an external hard drive (via USB) on Windows 98 (and 98 SE).
- Remember that, when the hard drive is out of its case, it is not protected from electrostatic discharges: therefore try to prevent it from becoming electrostatically charged due to the harmful consequences that the disk would incur.
- Make sure you remove the drive from the USB port not before using the "Remove Hardware" icon on the taskbar, otherwise the drive may not work properly.
