Can I change the drive in an External Hard drive ?

[Jerry38018]

I have a WD external HD and the drive has quit. It is 2 1/2 years old. I used it as backup with a desktop and when the desktop stopped, I got a laptop using Win 7 Home Premium and did not connect the drive for several months. I plugged it in the other night and got a "must be formatted..." notice and when I escaped from that, it was never recognized. It just clicks. Anyway, I took the drive out of the casing and it is a WD Caviar Green 1.0TB SATA drive. It seems to me I could get another SATA drive and put it in the casing and use it. Looks like a standard HD with the addition of the attachment to connect the power supply and USB connector. Am I everlooking something here? Thanks for your suggestions.

[Steve R Jones]

Yeppers. They are just standard drives.

[Shinma]

... WD Caviar Green 1.0TB SATA drive...

If applicable,
Connect the WD directly to a mobo
and
Run the HDD manufacturers' diagnostic utility to see if the hard drive is at fault, before spending money.

[Train]

And then again, the hdd maybe Okay, but the enclosure is bad. Seen that just to many times.

[Jerry38018]

Thanks for your replies. In checking the WD site, the whole shebang, so to speak, would be about $80 and shipping, just to start over all together with a new outside, etc. The thing is a USB 3, and I have only USB 2. How do the 2 and 3 differ in plugin capability? I only have a laptop so I do not have a SATA board to plug into, but that is a good idea. the laptop may be SATA, but I have never taken one of these things apart and do not know about a cable to reach the drive if I do. but you have been great to suggest these things. WD says the Green Caviar drives use less energy and run cooler. Correct, or is his sales talk?

[Train]

Enclosures are not that costly.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...osures&x=0&y=0

And for my laptop, this adapter has paid for itself many a time.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16812232002

[Midknyte]

What model number is your external? Is there a reason you want to use a desktop external instead of a laptop/portable external?

How do the 2 and 3 differ in plugin capability?

Do you just mean what is different between 2 and 3? USB3 drives can work on USB2 ports.

the laptop may be SATA, but I have never taken one of these things apart and do not know about a cable to reach the drive if I do

You would need some kind of SATA and power cable extensions to do that. It would be easier to use a USB to SATA adapter on the laptop. Otherwise, find someone with a desktop to help you.

Green drives spin at a lower spindle speed, so they tend to be cooler and more energy efficient at the expense of performance. That's fine for an external drive, since it's not your boot drive.

[Jerry38018]

Model number is WDBAAU0010HBK-NESNIM. Reason for desktop external is that is what I bought, using a desktop, and when it quit and I bought a laptop and thus am trying use the same external drive. I have that jig for hooking an EIDE or SATA drive to a USB port. I called a friend when my computer died -- it was not the drive that crashed, the computer just turned on and sat quietly, never getting to the first screen-- and asked if he would loan me an XP to unload the drives. He said he had a better way, and he loaned me his jig as you have linked me to. I found I wanted more time to unload files, so I just bought a jig. Love it. I could hook the drive to that jig, as it will connect to a SATA drive, but I do need a SATA cable. This could verify whether it is the drive or not. I had two IDE drives I have gotten files from using the jig. As to USB 2 and 3, it appears the USB 3 connector is different than the #2 connector, and I tried to ask would the USB 3 connect to a USB 2 port. Did not ask it right, but the answer came through. Thanks. Train, it appears that I could use my 500GB HD in one of the enclosures you linked me to, for the drive is IDE and the link has an enclosure IDE connection. Will the USB port supply enough power to run a drive?

[Midknyte]

Will the USB port supply enough power to run a drive?

If it was a laptop drive, yes. Desktop drives require more power; that's why they have an AC adapter.

[SpywareDr]

Almost all notebook components are specifically designed for reduced power consumption, and the 2.5" notebook hard drive is no exception. The average operating power consumption of a 7,200 RPM 3.5" desktop internal hard drive can exceed 10 watts. A 7200 RPM 2.5" notebook hard drive consumes only 2 watts by comparison.