Do you have a laptop with a small hard-drive capacity? and finding the answers. That, Can laptop hard drive be used in desktop. So, Do you have a desktop but need more storage space? In that case, you want to know if you can increase its space.
To convert a laptop hard drive into a desktop hard drive, you will have to back up your data, disassemble the laptop, select a new hard drive, install the new hard drive into the desktop computer, and then reassemble the computer. First, back up any data you need from your laptop’s hard drive. You can use an external hard drive or cloud storage for this purpose. Next, disassemble your laptop and select a new hard drive. You can use any 2.5-inch hard drive of the same capacity as your laptop. For example, a 500 GB hard drive for a laptop with a 500 GB hard drive. Once you have selected the new hard drive, install it on the desktop computer. Reassemble the computer, and you’re done!
In this article, we will learn how to convert your laptop hard drive into a desktop one and answer some commonly asked questions about it. Read on to find out everything you ever wanted to know about converting your laptop hard drive into a desktop one.
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What Exactly Does It Mean to Convert a Laptop Hard Drive?
When we talk about converting a laptop hard drive, we are talking about physically replacing the hard drive inside your laptop with a new one. You can then use the old hard drive as an external hard drive for your desktop computer. The conversion can happen via an internal SATA to USB cable, an external SATA enclosure, or an internal IDE/SATA RAID controller.
How to Turn Your Laptop Hard Drive into a Desktop One?
There are two ways you can do that.
- Using a SATA-USB cable.
- Using an external SATA enclosure.
Using a SATA-USB cable:
To use this method, you need an IDE/SATA to USB cable. This type of cable is readily available in the market and can also be bought online. You can also use a SATA-USB cable if your laptop supports booting from an external USB storage device. That applies to most modern laptops.
Using an external SATA enclosure:
This method involves mounting the laptop hard drive into an external SATA enclosure. External SATA enclosures are available in the market and can be bought online. You can also use an internal SATA-IDE adapter to turn the laptop hard drive into a desktop drive if your laptop supports booting from an external USB storage device.
3 Steps to Convert Laptop HDD to Desktop One
- Before you go ahead with the conversion, take the following steps.
- Check if the laptop hard drive is 2.5-inch or 3.5-inch.
- Check if the laptop hard drive is SATA or IDE.
- If it’s SATA, then you can go ahead with the conversion. If it’s IDE, then you can’t. You need a SATA to USB cable. You need an external SATA enclosure if the laptop hard drive is IDE.
How to Install and Use the Converted HDD in Your PC?
If you have used the SATA-USB cable method to convert the laptop hard drive, then you need to plug the USB cable into the laptop port.
If you have used the external SATA enclosure method, you need to mount the drive and plug the SATA cable into the enclosure.
You can install the new hard drive on your desktop computer like any other internal hard drive. Once the drive is installed, you can use it to store data just like any other internal hard drive.
2 Scenarios When You Should Not Convert Laptop HDD
When there is an option to buy a new laptop with a larger hard drive capacity, don’t convert the laptop’s hard drive. If you’re dealing with an old laptop with an obsolete hard drive, don’t convert it too.
Whether the laptop hard drive is IDE and the laptop doesn’t support booting from an external USB storage device, don’t attempt to convert it. If the laptop hard drive is 2.5-inch and you have replaced it with a 3.5-inch external hard drive, don’t convert it.
Advantage of converting a laptop hard drive into a desktop drive
The biggest advantage of converting a laptop hard drive into a desktop one is that you’ll be able to store a lot of data. That would allow you to use the laptop hard drive as a desktop hard drive when you connect it to your desktop computer. Another advantage of converting a laptop hard drive into a desktop one is that the laptop hard drive is almost always smaller than the desktop hard drive. It means you can use the smaller laptop hard drive in a desktop computer, which allows you to store more data in the same amount of space.
What You’ll Need
To convert a laptop hard drive into a desktop hard drive, you will need the following:
- A laptop
- A desktop computer
- A screwdriver (depending on the computer)
- A new hard drive with the same capacity as the laptop hard drive
You will also need a computer with an available SATA port, a USB flash drive to store the data from your laptop hard drive, and a computer with enough processing power to handle two hard drives.
Summary
So, you probably got the answer to your query: “Can laptop hard drive be used in Desktop”.Converting a laptop hard drive into a desktop one is a simple process. All you need is an IDE/SATA to USB cable or an external SATA enclosure. But before you go ahead with the conversion, check the laptop’s hard drive size and its compatibility with the desktop computer.