Finally, disconnect the old drive and put the new one in its
place.
Start by purchasing an SATA/IDE to USB 2.0 Adapter, like the $20 Vantec
unit shown in Figure 5-13. Alternatively, you can use an external hard drive
enclosure, although a unit like this may be a better investment, as it supports
SATA, 3.5 desktop IDE, and 2.5 notebook IDE drives all from the
same cable.
Next, plug the drive into the adapter, plug the power supply into the drive,
and then plug the adapter into a free USB port on your PC.
Now, I know what you??™re thinking: why don??™t I just plug the drive directly
into my SATA or IDE controller? While it??™s true that you can connect
your new drive to your motherboard??™s controller, there are several reasons
to use a USB adapter like this one instead. First, it??™s quick and easy;
you don??™t need to take your PC apart (yet) and you don??™t have to leave the
new drive dangling from the side of your box while you transfer your data.
Hard Disk | 259
Performance
Second, it??™s great for laptops that may not have a way to connect two drives
at once. Third, it avoids the nasty problems you??™d encounter if your PC tried
to boot to the wrong drive in the middle of the procedure. And last but not
least, when you??™re done, you can use the adapter to clear off the old drive. A
device like this makes things so much easier.
When Windows detects and installs the new drive, it??™ll show up in Disk
Drives branch in Device Manager (devmgmt.
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