Computer Hard Drive Transplant

I've read several articles about disposing old computers and how necessary it is to disable the hard drive.  Even though you might have deleted all your files and even reformatted the disk, people with the right equipment can read the disk and get whatever information used to be on the disk.  The best solutions I've read advocate a violent physical attack on the hard drive, something like shooting a bullet through it or drilling a large hole.

We have an old computer that we stopped using 2 years ago.  We've left it intact so that we could retrieve any files we somehow missed in the transfer two years ago.  But the time has come to give it a decent farewell.  I moved the display units to our current computers giving us more virtual desktop space.  Then I removed the hard drive in preparation for some physical destruction.  At that point I thought, "Wouldn't it be great if I could just turn this internal hard drive into an external USB-connected hard drive?"  Then I wouldn't have to destroy the drive and, in fact, it could still be available for finding that long lost file.

Guess what!  I'm not the first to think of this.  Frys, for example, sells what is called a Hard Drive Case for less than $20.  All the connections, cables, and electronics come with the relatively inexpensive kit and anyone who can twist a screwdriver can put it all together.

Steps to changing an internal hard drive to an external hard drive.

1.      Open the old computer case and remove the hard drive.  It will look something like this and be about 4" x 5.5" x 1".  It will have pins in one end to receive a large, flat ribbon cable and another socket with 4 pins for power.  There may be a mounting bracket or strip attached to the drive which you'll need to remove but don't try to open up the drive itself.
2.      Attach the data and power cables to the control end of the new case.
3.      Slide the hard drive into the case and secure it in place so it won't bounce around or slide out.
4.      Slide on the control end of the case and fasten it with the screws provided.
5.      You're now ready to plug in the power  unit and connect the USB cable between the case and  your computer.
6.       Turn on the unit and wait for your computer to recognize the new disk.

Your new external hard drive takes up much less space than your old computer.  You can even tuck it away in a cupboard.  You can now access all your old files or save new ones.  And you don't have to decide how to kill the drive for a few more years.