Old Hard Drive Question

jumbal · 04-13-2009, 09:58 PM

I'm trying to get the data off an old hard drive via a caddy. I've tried a caddy that I already have, but the hard drive does not seem to fit the caddy. It's a relatively old hard drive (1999). It's a Western Digital Caviar 14300 (model AC14300).

Now for the newb question: If it's even possible with an old hard drive, what type of caddy should I get to facilitate the data transfer? Any specific recommendations would be great, but otherwise I guess I just need to know what to look for.

Thanks for your help---simpletons like me really appreciate it.

**raptor_pa** · 04-13-2009, 10:07 PM

Best guess would be the caddy you have is either for a SATA drive or for a 2.5 inch drive. So the question is when you ay doesn't fit, do you mean physically too big to go into the case, or wrong connector type? You need an enclosure for a 3.5" IDE ( or PATA ) drive. If you are using a desktop and it has IDE ports, just connect it to those to grab the data you need a lot cheaper than an enclosure LOL.

jumbal · 04-14-2009, 09:02 PM

It's the wrong connector type. The one I have can be used for both 2.5" and 3.5" and it's SATA. I guess what you're saying is that I need a PATA (the hard drive seems to have a larger male end than the caddy's female.)

I am unfamiliar with IDE ports. I can use a desktop--I guess I need to know how to use the IDE ports to hook up the old hard drive.

Thanks a ton for your reply.

04-13-2009, 09:58 PM	#1 (permalink)
jumbal Registered User Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 2 OS: win98	Old Hard Drive Question I'm trying to get the data off an old hard drive via a caddy. I've tried a caddy that I already have, but the hard drive does not seem to fit the caddy. It's a relatively old hard drive (1999). It's a Western Digital Caviar 14300 (model AC14300). Now for the newb question: If it's even possible with an old hard drive, what type of caddy should I get to facilitate the data transfer? Any specific recommendations would be great, but otherwise I guess I just need to know what to look for. Thanks for your help---simpletons like me really appreciate it.

04-13-2009, 10:07 PM	#2 (permalink)
raptor_pa Mod Hardware Team Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Central PA Posts: 4,786 OS: XP	Re: Old Hard Drive Question Best guess would be the caddy you have is either for a SATA drive or for a 2.5 inch drive. So the question is when you ay doesn't fit, do you mean physically too big to go into the case, or wrong connector type? You need an enclosure for a 3.5" IDE ( or PATA ) drive. If you are using a desktop and it has IDE ports, just connect it to those to grab the data you need a lot cheaper than an enclosure LOL. __________________

04-14-2009, 09:02 PM	#3 (permalink)
jumbal Registered User Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 2 OS: win98	Re: Old Hard Drive Question It's the wrong connector type. The one I have can be used for both 2.5" and 3.5" and it's SATA. I guess what you're saying is that I need a PATA (the hard drive seems to have a larger male end than the caddy's female.) I am unfamiliar with IDE ports. I can use a desktop--I guess I need to know how to use the IDE ports to hook up the old hard drive. Thanks a ton for your reply.