MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
We will be in touch
Got an Aspire L100 compact desktop. It stopped working months ago and shop diagnosed that motherboard had gone; quoted some ridiculous price to replace (out of warranty). Just collected it from them - I'm thinking of removing the hard drive and using it as an external drive with out laptop.
Is this easy and what bits would I need?
Screwdriver at most, sometimes they have tool-less caddies. Easy-peasy 🙂
Easy - usually just a cross bladed screwdriver is needed
Easy to remove - open computer case, probably undo a couple of clips (should be obvious) and unplug the cable(s). To attach it to a laptop you will need a USB external hard drive case - you need to make sure it is the same type as the hard drive you remove e.g. SATA. It will say on the hard drive. Should only cost you a tenner for the case from ebay etc.
Right I'll have a go..
How do I know if its 2.5" or 3.5"? - is that the diameter of the disk within the drive?
Don't quote me on this, but I thought that 3.5" drives were desktop size & 2.5" were laptop.
stumpy is correct, in *almost* all cases (sic) desktops will have 3.5" in.
"How do I know if its 2.5" or 3.5"? "
traditionally with a ruler 🙂
The size relates to the width of the drive casing.
Clink - If its IDE, I have an external caddy that you can have.
Removal of the actual drive will be 4 (or less) screws and unplugging the data and power cables.
Slimline desktops can be a right pig to work on sometimes though - components stacked in difficult and tight spaces etc...
No reply in two hours. I reckon the razor sharp casing edges have struck and Clink is currently bleeding out all over the PC internals. 🙂
All done! Thanks for the offer Colin, but hadn't checked back (was SATA) on here - silly me! Case arrived yesterday and was very straightforward (as everyone said!). All working swimingly 😀