The best Computer Hard Drive Accessories: Reddit reviews

From 3.5 billion Reddit comments

Is your HDD actually broken? If not, you can remove the HDD yourself and use an external hard drive enclosure, to access your files.

I'd recommend this one .

The factors are you looking for are:

*USB-C for easy power and fast file -transfer

*the size of the enclosure should be 2.5", the form factor of the SSD.

If it still works you could just buy a external hard drive dock, and then just plug it into your current computer

One of these: https://www.amazon.ca/Sabrent-External-Lay-Flat-Docking-EC-DFLT/dp/B00LS5NFQ2/ref=asc_df_B00LS5NFQ2/?tag=googlemobshop-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=326972463096&hvpos=1o3&hvnetw=g&hvrand=13912694636959243616&hvpone=&hvptwo=&a...

You gotta check out a 2.5 enclosure, just pop in the ssd, connect it to the laptop by usb and clone https://www.amazon.com/Sabrent-Tool-free-Enclosure-Optimized-EC-UASP/dp/B00OJ3UJ2S/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=sata+hdd+enclosure&qid=1568905424&s=gateway&sr=8-5

All you need is your hard drive, as long as that isn't the broken part in your computer (sounds like a power issue though so you should be fine).

Might be a bit intimidating if you've never been inside a computer before, but you shouldn't need more than a screwdriver to be able to remove the drive (lots of guides online for how to do it). Then you could put it inside an enclosure like this and it will function like a regular external hard drive. All your data, including the farms, will still be there.

Did you used to hotswap drives? Or did you have to remove them from your computer?

If they used to be inside your computer, it might be worthwhile investing in something like this:

https://www.amazon.com/Sabrent-External-Duplicator-Function-EC-HD2B/dp/B0759567JT/

And then spend a weekend looking through those drives. Might not find the wallet, but at least it’s something?

(Sorry if you have already tried something like this. I know unsolicited advice can be very annoying)

I got tired of losing flash drives and put a couple ssd's in external enclosures likes this

I bought one of these to consolidate drives into a single enclosure:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003X26VV4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_9jgpDbERCY0PX

They sell 8 drive versions as well.

It's a bit on the expensive side, but it was worth it for me because of the space savings, fewer USB drives, less cable mess, and plug points.

It really depends on what you want to store, how much and the amount of money you want to spend

I have one of these https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B003X26VV4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_fabc_R658KKQKC6W9BHWE0247?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

With four 8tb drives, so two sets s of redundant drives. One set holds my data: source code, books, others. The other set is my music, tv shows and movies.

I have one other set of two drives with my photos and videos.

All of this is backed up using Crash Plan.

I also have another set of drives that are backed up and placed into a fireproof safe.

Your needs, obviously, will be different. I added on as I needed, and it's easy to use Windows included drive dup Storage Spaces

I've used this exact drive before for Wii games. No issues.

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And rather than an adapter, I'd get an enclosure. Here's a good one: Amazon.com: SABRENT 2.5-Inch SATA to USB 3.0 Tool-Free External Hard Drive Enclosure [Optimized for SSD, Support UASP SATA III] Black (EC-UASP): Computers & Accessories

I am thinking ssd with an external enclosure.

SSK Aluminum M.2 NVME SSD Enclosure Adapter, USB 3.1 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) to NVME PCI-E M-Key Solid State Drive External Enclosure (Fits only NVMe PCIe 2242/2260/2280) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MNFH1PX/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_80VWEE9G7BYJ4M1CKF2J?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

My preferred bracket. It is meant to hold two SSDs but that means they are VERY close together. For practical purposes, you need one of the SATA cables to be a right angle and one to be a straight. Other than that, its awesome. I have used them in 5 different builds.

as everybody already said, you likely don't have two HDD slots (unless you happen to have a CD drive on your laptop...in which case it still depends, but SOMETIMES you can put a HD in that slot).

However, you can buy an external case for your existing HD and run it as an external drive.

You can buy adapters off Amazon for like $15 bucks:

https://www.amazon.com/Sabrent-2-5-Inch-Aluminum-Enclosure-EC-M2SA/dp/B01N6PMZLW/ref=mp_s_a_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=nvme+m.2+to+sata+adapter&qid=1606160840&sr=8-5

This is the one I have, works well

I bought 1 already but want another. I'm new to this, so after shucking where can I place them? My only computer is a laptop so my options are either building my own server or finding a dock that can support multiple 8TB drives, preferably 4 ports. Can someone gimme an amazon link for something to look at?

I was thinking this https://www.amazon.com/Mediasonic-ProBox-HF2-SU3S2-SATA-Enclosure/dp/B003X26VV4/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1503137746&sr=8-3&keywords=4+bay+8tb

But won't that not support plex transcoding?

fyi this is a sata m.2, not a nvme drive so you can just get a cheap enclosure and put it in that to use with a normal sata cable

Hell yeah! If you can't access the files using the computer, crack it open, take out the hard drive (and RAM for your next machine), and get an external hard drive dock. I got a dual dock from Amazon, so one holds all my VSTs and the other holds backups.

You mean the enclosure? Yeah here's just the first result on amazon

I'm not sure why the speed is higher. My speeds are from Linux dd command piped to /dev/zero.

I couldn't test the MX500 because I returned it to buy the Western Digital -- the MX500 had 3 sectors bad from the factory and I wasn't having it for ~$600.

I got a PNY 240GB SSD and just a basic External SSD enclosure, both from my local Best Buy. The enclosure was pretty cheap and i could have probably found it even cheaper on amazon or something but i didn’t want to wait for shipping.

Also: Microsoft says that the Xbox one requires the external drive to be 256GB or more to work, but it’s not true. Like i said, mines a 240GB and it works just fine. At Best Buy, the 240GB was $70 and the 480GB was $130, so it just depends on how much you want to pay.

Edit: I paid like $25 at Best Buy on my enclosure but here’s one on amazon for $10 link

I've been using an Icydock bay that fits 6x 2.5" drives into a single 5.25" bay - happy with that one. Just bought this Rosewill one for 3.5" drives that people seem to like - haven't used it yet though: https://www.amazon.com/Rosewill-5-25-Inch-3-5-Inch-Hot-swap-SATAIII/dp/B00DGZ42SM

The Icydock 3.5" ones are $93 and $133 on Amazon, but do hold 5 drives instead of the Rosewill's 4. There is also this external one, ugly but pretty cheap and you can stack two: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816111045

If all you're using it for is a simple NAS for storage and relatively infrequent access, I'd get an Orange Pi PC and a 2-bay USB3 SATA dock (https://www.amazon.com/Sabrent-External-Duplicator-Function-EC-HD2B/dp/B0759567JT). Install Armbian, install mdadm, NFS and SMB. Now you have a power sipping, silent, no extra heat generating, small form factor RAID1 2-bay NAS/Linux server for $50-60USD not including drives.

Edit: If you want something with gigabit ethernet, then look at an ODROID-XU4. I had 8 SATA 3.5" drives connected to my -XU4 via USB-SATA bridges, and was always able to fully saturate the gigabit link. The -XU4 will run you about $75, the drive dock another $30-40, so about $110-125 for all of it. Install the HardKernel provided Ubuntu image, mdadm, NFS and SMB and you're good to go.

Edit2: Also look at Rock64 with USB3 port and gigabit ethernet. $25USD for the 1GB RAM version+maybe $10-15 for case, power supply and shipping. So you're back at around $30-40USD for the computer, and $30-40 for the 2-bay drive dock.

Yes, you can do exactly that. You can also get a USB enclosure like this to turn the old drive into a convenient external drive.

Most M.2 USB enclosures won't do both SATA and NVME, make sure you get the right one for your SSD. I bought this one which does do both: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08RVC6F9Y?psc=1&ref=ppx\_yo2\_dt\_b\_product\_details

Man, I'd rather spend the extra $10 and get Sabrent's enclosure. They make solid drives, so I'd imagine they can make a decent enclosure that also doesn't look like it's out of the 90s.

You could also open it up, remove the hard drive, and try to mount it on another computer using one of these https://smile.amazon.com/Sabrent-External-Duplicator-Function-EC-HD2B/dp/B0759567JT or something similar. That will avoid any problems if it’s a power supply or motherboard failure. But like a previous poster suggested, I’d start with a bootable usb drive and see if that works. That’s the simplest thing to try first.

Looks like NewEgg and Amazon both have them. Literally looked for "M.2 to 2.5 caddie" on Google and this was the first amazon answer.

you need thing like this one: https://www.amazon.ca/Sabrent-2-5-Inch-Aluminum-Enclosure-EC-M2SA/dp/B01N6PMZLW/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=sata+m.2+to+pcie&qid=1617135583&s=electronics&sr=1-4

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your m.2 ssd is SATA SSD, the adapter you bought only work for NVME SSD.

Are you planning on keeping your current 1 TB 3.5" in the x51 along with the other two 2.5" drives? This will have you at capacity as there are only 3 SATA ports on the x51 motherboard, you won't be able to use the CD drive. The best answer I can give you on that is to find an adapter that'll slide into the 3.5" bay that allows for a 2.5" drive to be held in its place (something like this which actually supports two 2.5" drives in place of one 3.5" drive. Keep in mind I can't confirm if this works, just a suggestion!) Another choice would be that you could mount the 2.5" drives on the existing 3.5" HDD or somewhere else in the case. The problem you run into is that there isn't a lot of space and the case is hot, so keep that in mind before making any firm decisions.

You might can try to get a 330w PSU from eBay in your country or ordering straight from Dell. The part numbers you should search for are: Y90RR / 5X3NX / F0K0N / XM3C3 / 331-2429. Keep in mind the 330w PSU can be listed as an M18x laptop charger, but as long as you can confirm one of the part numbers above you should be good. I could be wrong, but I think you can sometimes buy from a different country's Amazon store and get it shipped internationally, so you might want to check into that as the US Amazon store has the 330w PSU listed.

The problem with CPU coolers in the x51 is that there is a cup that sits on top of the cooler which angles the air out of the case so your case doesn't get hot. I'm sure it'll function fine with a good enough cooler but you might not see much lower temps without it (in theory). This thread on the Dell website seems to have a lot of good information that might help you out.

Sure. There's plenty of disk bays that connect to the PC via USB 3 or esata. I have a Drobo, which has served me well, but my next purchase will likely be something cheaper than that. I've been running it nearly 24/7 since I bought it 4 years ago (there was a month or two when my PC was off, so the drobo was in sleep mode).

There's a wide range of things like that available. Just search 5 Bay enclosure or 5 hdd Bay on Amazon (I'm on my phone or else I'd link you).

Edit: Mediasonic ProBox HF2-SU3S2 4 Bay 3.5" SATA HDD Enclosure - USB 3.0 & eSATA Support SATA 3 6.0Gbps HDD transfer speed https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003X26VV4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_E62LybZ817YQM

That's a 4 bay drive for 99 dollars. But just FYI, I don't know much about what hardware is good or reliable for USB drives (or Nas for that matter). It's something I plan to figure out or ask about when I get the money to buy a new enclosure or Nas.

And it should be noted that while I've had a good experience with Drobo (it's super easy to use, you can swap out drives for larger ones when you need to, and it can protect against one or two simultaneous drive failures), they use a proprietary RAID. That means if your drobo enclosure dies, you'll need to get it fixed, or replace it with another Drobo before you can recover the data on your hdds. I've read thaf migrating from one drobo to another is easy, and you don't need to know which order your drives are in or anything like that.

Rosewill actually sells the cages by themselves on amazon here. If you bought the non-hotswappable one and decided to buy the 3 cages later you'd currently spend an extra $20 dollars then just buying the hotswappable rosewill chassis which isn't really that bad. But you do have to remember you will lose 3 drive spaces since the non-hotswappable has a total of 15 and the hot-swappable has a total of 12 drive slots.

Ultimately what I've done because I really didn't know what I wanted to do is use old computer parts for my current server and put that in my Rosewill chassis. Recently I've just bought new (used) server grade components and the next thing I'll do is switch to better bigger chassis after I fill up my current one which won't be any time soon for me.

I also recommend r/JDM_WAAAT he has really good (cheap-pricey) server builds if you don't know what you want to do.

Here's a "review" of the non-hotswap chassis so you can get more insight into it.