Is it possible to make an external harddrive internal?

[cwblanch]

Hi,
I wasn't sure where to post this, so I thought this would be a safe place.

I have a 1.5TB Toshiba Canvio Basic external hard drive and I just need to know if its possible to make it an internal hard drive. On a laptop btw.

I googled how to make externals into internals, but only came up with how-tos for the big externals that need power sources. Mines just a small one with a usb cable.

Any help is appreciated.

Thank you!

[Redalien0304]

most likely not possible External Hard drives usually in there own case & most likely different size 3.5" (unless it is Laptop Hdd) as laptop Hdd are 2.5" in size

[monkeybrain2012]

But you can definitely make an internal harddrive external. :)

[kuifje09]

Its not an advice but I bet they don't make special disks for external use.
When you would able to open it up without damaging you would find a 2.5 inch disk in it. My guess on the picture at toshiba.
Then you can see if it is an ide or sata device... I also have used external disks out of the casing, even my DVD-recorder.
I needed a dvd player to read the dvd to install some linux mint, which was just too big for a Cd. And could not boot from usb.
It is usually a big game to open the box without damage. The are not made to be opened easely. Mabe someone did it already for you on youtube.

[CharlesA]

most likely not possible External Hard drives usually in there own case & most likely different size 3.5" (unless it is Laptop Hdd) as laptop Hdd are 2.5" in size

Pretty much this. An external drive is basically just a laptop (2.5") or desktop (3.5") drive in it's own enclosure with it's own interface and power supply.

Possible, but you would have to know which model uses a 2.5" drive.

[pqwoerituytrueiwoq]

all you need is a screwdriver to take the external plastic case off and remove the hdd and install it into the computer

[mips]

Hi,
I have a 1.5TB Toshiba Canvio Basic external hard drive and I just need to know if its possible to make it an internal hard drive. On a laptop btw.



That's a 2.5" drive so it should fit in your laptop http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822149255

BUT you would have to remove the drive from it's enclosure (voiding the warranty) and check if it has a SATA connector as some of those 2.5" external drives have the USB connector directly on the drives logic board without any SATA connector and if that's the case then you cannot use it in your laptop. Another factor is the drive thickness, some 2.5" drives are thicker than normal so might not work but this is the minority.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YYCrFwMrEU dunno if your's opens the same way.

If you can post some pics of the actual drive inside the enclosure I'll be able to tell you more but keep in mind this could void your warranty.

[Paqman]

Its not an advice but I bet they don't make special disks for external use.


They don't. External drives are just normal internal drives in a case. Nothing at all stopping you from taking it out of the case and slapping it into a machine if it's the right size. One of the nice things about SATA is that the connectors are the same for 2.5" and 3.5" drives, so you can fit either into a desktop (but only 2.5" into a laptop).

[VeeDubb]

all you need is a screwdriver to take the external plastic case off and remove the hdd and install it into the computer

+1.....mostly.

Most external drives are compact drives, i.e. 2.5" drives, which are what most laptops use.

Most external drives are very standard drives that will work just fine using standard connections if you remove them from their enclosures.

The problem, is that some external drives have all the connections soldered to the board instead of using standard sata connections, which means that converting them to an internal drive is not worth the effort or outright impossible. They also sometimes (more rarely) are made with 1.8" drives or something highly non-standard.

Also, if you open up the external enclosure and it isn't going to work for whatever reason, there's a chance that you won't be able to get the enclosure back together and working. Many of them are not built with disassembly in mind. That means this is generally not a good plan unless the drive is a throw-a-way, or the replacement cost is just pocket change to you, but if that's the case, just buy a drive and call it good. They're cheap.

[forrestcupp]

The problem, is that some external drives have all the connections soldered to the board instead of using standard sata connections, which means that converting them to an internal drive is not worth the effort or outright impossible.
This is right. If you have an electronics degree, it's probably possible. But it's probably not worth it. It might be a little easier to rig it in a desktop case by just connecting it to one of the internal USB connections. But it's not going to be worth the effort for a laptop.

[cwblanch]

That's a 2.5" drive so it should fit in your laptop http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822149255

BUT you would have to remove the drive from it's enclosure (voiding the warranty) and check if it has a SATA connector as some of those 2.5" external drives have the USB connector directly on the drives logic board without any SATA connector and if that's the case then you cannot use it in your laptop. Another factor is the drive thickness, some 2.5" drives are thicker than normal so might not work but this is the minority.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YYCrFwMrEU dunno if your's opens the same way.

If you can post some pics of the actual drive inside the enclosure I'll be able to tell you more but keep in mind this could void your warranty.

That video pretty much worked perfectly!
It took some messing with to get it open, but it opened in the end. I also reassembled it and it works just fine.

I'm not well versed on pc hardware so im not sure what SATA is. But I took the hard drive out of a junker laptop a while back (I'm not using it because its smaller than my current hard drive) and the old hard drive looks exactly the same as the external one with the usb plug-in taken off. Does that mean I can use it in my laptop?
Also will there be any formatting issues or proprietary software problems?

[CharlesA]

That video pretty much worked perfectly!
It took some messing with to get it open, but it opened in the end. I also reassembled it and it works just fine.

I'm not well versed on pc hardware so im not sure what SATA is. But I took the hard drive out of a junker laptop a while back (I'm not using it because its smaller than my current hard drive) and the old hard drive looks exactly the same as the external one with the usb plug-in taken off. Does that mean I can use it in my laptop?
Also will there be any formatting issues or proprietary software problems?

SATA is just the type of connector/technology the drive uses. There used to be (and still is) IDE drives, which use a different technology for interfacing with the computer.

A drive is a drive, so you should be able to just format it as you want. :)

[uc50_ic4more]

All of HDD's that are in systems I have set up for family, friends, neighbours, etc. started off as external HDD's. A few turns of a screwdriver nets you a plain ol', off-the-shelf SATA HDD that you can put anywhere you'd like. You'd be voiding the holy heck out of your warranty, of course!

[mips]

That video pretty much worked perfectly!
It took some messing with to get it open, but it opened in the end. I also reassembled it and it works just fine.

I'm not well versed on pc hardware so im not sure what SATA is. But I took the hard drive out of a junker laptop a while back (I'm not using it because its smaller than my current hard drive) and the old hard drive looks exactly the same as the external one with the usb plug-in taken off.

Does that mean I can use it in my laptop?

Also will there be any formatting issues or proprietary software problems?

If you say it looks identical to a drive from another laptop then it should be fine. If you wanna be 100% sure remove the external and post a pic of the back/connector side.

If it's as you say then YES.

NO issues.

[forrestcupp]

Amazing. I thought it would be a lot harder than that. I thought the connectors would be soldered or something.

[cwblanch]

Amazing. I thought it would be a lot harder than that. I thought the connectors would be soldered or something.

I'm sure some of them are. But the particular one I have isn't soldered.


If you say it looks identical to a drive from another laptop then it should be fine. If you wanna be 100% sure remove the external and post a pic of the back/connector side.

If it's as you say then YES.

NO issues.

And I just tried it out. Everything is the same...but its just a HAIR to big! I'd say about a millimeter!!! ARRGH!!
When I find my camera Ill take a picture of it. I tried to gently force it in, but it just wouldn't work.
I'm sure there's not a miracle fix for this :(
I was so close!

[CharlesA]

Tap tap goes the hammer. :p

[cwblanch]

Tap tap goes the hammer. :p


:lolflag:
That would be nice if something like that would actually work.

[cwblanch]

241771
The one on the left is the external and the one on the right is the one that fits in my computer.

It's just a tiny bit bigger.

[mips]

241771
The one on the left is the external and the one on the right is the one that fits in my computer.

It's just a tiny bit bigger.


Another factor is the drive thickness, some 2.5" drives are thicker than normal so might not work but this is the minority.


Unfortunately for you it falls into that minority I mentioned earlier on...

It being a 1.5TB 2.5" drive it's probably got an extra platter which adds to the thicknes.

EDIT: If you laptop has a CD/DVD-ROM drive it might be possible to remove it and replace it with a hard drive caddy. You would have to research this and also check the maximum thickness drive the caddy/laptop can handle.

[cwblanch]

Unfortunately for you it falls into that minority I mentioned earlier on...

It being a 1.5TB 2.5" drive it's probably got an extra platter which adds to the thicknes.

EDIT: If you laptop has a CD/DVD-ROM drive it might be possible to remove it and replace it with a hard drive caddy. You would have to research this and also check the maximum thickness drive the caddy/laptop can handle.

Crap. I didn't think about that. It wasn't really noticeable until I tried to put it in.

I do have a disk drive though. I like that idea, I rarely use my disk drive.
I'm not sure how to search for a caddy tho. I'm just coming up with caddies for specific makes of computer, and for desktops.

But first I'll see if the disk drive can even come out of my computer

EDIT: I can take my disk drive out. But I'm still not sure about the caddy.

I found this (http://www.amazon.com/SATA-caddy-12-7mm-Universal-DVD-ROM/product-reviews/B0056EW4A4/ref=cm_cr_dp_see_all_btm?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending) caddy. But some of the reviews says it's not bootable...

[mips]

I'm not sure how to search for a caddy tho.


Full make & model info for your laptop?

[scouser73]

Hi,
I wasn't sure where to post this, so I thought this would be a safe place.

I have a 1.5TB Toshiba Canvio Basic external hard drive and I just need to know if its possible to make it an internal hard drive. On a laptop btw.

I googled how to make externals into internals, but only came up with how-tos for the big externals that need power sources. Mines just a small one with a usb cable.

Any help is appreciated.

Thank you!


Not in this instance because I'm guessing your external HD is 3.5" where a laptop drive is 2.5".

[mips]

Not in this instance because I'm guessing your external HD is 3.5" where a laptop drive is 2.5".

http://i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/175/315/PicardDoubleFacepalm-1.jpg?1316330080

Did you even bother to read the thread or look at the pictures?

[forrestcupp]

Just put it where it goes and duct tape the bottom of your laptop. :D

[CharlesA]

Just put it where it goes and duct tape the bottom of your laptop. :D

/thread

[cwblanch]

Full make & model info for your laptop?

I'm not getting much luck with the make and model. But then again, I'm not entirly sure what I'm looking for.
I have an acer aspire.
When I'm not searching the make and model all I can find are universal ones that don't seem to be bootable as far as the reviews say.