I have a bunch of old IDE/PATA drives that could have any manner of data/photos on them that I really should recover to a single storage drive, then figure out backup solutions from there.
Is there an externally HDD docking station that would allow me to “hot swap” between this collection of drives and recover files (that doesn’t cost much, but works)?
mostly 3.5″ IDE/PATA, but a couple of 2.5″ SATA drives also.
Or, is my best option to use a regular enclosure and assemble/disassemble as needed.

Laptop or Desktop to read them?

I did it a while back just did them one at a time in the desktop, no massive time penalty as it’s just shutdown, swapping a couple of cables then reboot. No extra cost option.

If it’s laptop then your down to the caddy route anyway to get power etc. to them

AIO desktop or laptop.

that AIO=All in One? So no way to get at the board then.
Probably one of these then
http://www.msy.com.au/peripherals/17622-simplecom-sa391-usb-30-to-ide-sata-converter-with-power-adapter.html
No real experience but cheap enough to give it a go

A kit like this http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/USB-2-0-To-2-5-3-5-IDE-SATA-PC-Hard-Drive-Adapter-Converter-HDD-Cable-2A-Power/111061000032

I bought a caddy for SATA drives on ebay for about a fiver which works fine – though with IDE it gets a bit more complicated as you need an external power adapter (lots of the kits on ebay don’t seem to come with one).

aracer – Member
A kit like this http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/USB-2-0-To-2-5-3-5-IDE-SATA-PC-Hard-Drive-Adapter-Converter-HDD-Cable-2A-Power/111061000032

I have one of those. It is slow but it gets the job done.
I suggest putting each HDD in a separate directory of one large HDD, then using duplicate file finder etc to consolidate them into one organised directory. Then backup to cloud or suchlike. Then, importantly, get rid of all the old drives (the magnets in side them can be useful), otherwise, in a few years time you will wonder if they have any important files and start sifting through them again.

I’ve seen these, no idea if they require external PSU for IDE drives.

IDE HDD Dock

A kit like this http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/USB-2-0-To-2-5-3-5-IDE-SATA-PC-Hard-Drive-Adapter-Converter-HDD-Cable-2A-Power/111061000032

I’ve got a similar thing (branded “Roline” but there’s loads and they’re much of a muchness). Does the job.

A 3.5″ IDE (PATA) drive will definitely need an external power supply. IDE is not hot-swap, so you need to cut the power before making / breaking any IDE data connections. (There’s a rocker switch on the PSU cable).

Thanks all, purchased the red/blk doc pictured as it was the only thing available from Amazon in my region.