I can remember someone saying about a USB case that you slide a normal hard drive into so you could read it......does anyone know if it was maplins or has anyone got a link to where I could buy one .....I need to get some pictures off of my old hard drive but don't want to mess about fitting it into the PC case.

TIA

Will this do? You should be able to buy them at most reputable computer shops.

PC_World - Enclosures

Hard Drives - Accessories, Caddies & Coolers - Ebuyer

Just make sure you get one for the right size - 2.5 or 3.5" , and with the right connectors - IDE or SATA

Maplin sell them if you just want to get one.

Pretty good as i've sent a few people there for similar issues.

You do pay a bit more but if any of your kids are uni students they get a 5% student discount with their card

I got one of these, which is good for all types of hdd, altough sata drives require an Esata connection on the computer which your eading the drive in (if that makes sense)

Dual Interface Storage Bridge - HEISEI Electronics

HEXUS.net - Review :: SOHOUSB Magic Bridge SATA/eSATA IDE/USB bridge : Page - 2/6

Those devices are fine if you don't use the HDD more than once in a blue moon to get some data you forgot off it, or if you don't mind having stand alone fans blowing over the drive.

Without the cooling you will potentially cook the hard disk and reduce it's lifetime and data integrity.

I got one of these, which is good for all types of hdd, altough sata drives require an Esata connection on the computer which your eading the drive in (if that makes sense)

Not all sata enclosure need and esata connection. A lot have USB2 headers on them.

I have a Maxtor 4D060H3 that I want get stuff off of ....it's ide not sata and Maplins is the only place to get one quick ....which one is best

TIA

That is the best as you can use USB or e-sata at the PC end and IDE or SATA at the other.

Maplin > Akasa E-SATA / USB to IDE / SATA Hard Drive Enclosure

A bit pricey but then you can use it with pretty much any drive you have from any PC.

Otherwise this one would do for the current drive:

Maplin > USB 2.0 3.5 Inch Hard Drive Housing

Was gonna say, I've got a SATA enclosure here going spare that I could have sent you, but you've mentioned IDE :(

Steve

If it was my own money I'd get the first box from maplin

Not sure if you can still buy the catalogue with the £5 off when you spend £50 vouchers in it.

I need to get some pictures off of my old hard drive but don't want to mess about fitting it into the PC case.

TIA

Ain't £50 a bit overkill for a one off use

If it's a one off.

The reason I'd get the £50 one is that you can put a SATA or IDE drive in it and bridge to USB 2 or e-SATA.

That means any drive you have over the next few years can be used as an external drive to swap between machines.

Thanks guys.....picked up one in Maplins last night ......and it works a treat ide and sata if I need it as well ....was very surprised how fast it was ....I was expecting to have to wait hours to get some stuff off

Did you go for the first maplin one and if so did you find any discounts for it?

Glad it did the job.

If you don't need the HDD then you can use it as a permanent external backup device assuming the drive isn't too old.