For PCs: Any hard drive will work as long as you know the form factor of the hard drive bays in your case and the connection types on your motherboard. Again, it’s most likely 3.5-inch for desktops and 2.5-inch for laptops and most likely SATA connections.

Reader Fred wants to know if a laptop hard drive can be plugged into a desktop PC. “The pin out appears to be the same,” he notes, “but there is no separate power-supply connector.” Short answer: yes. … (Newer SATA drives for laptops have the same interface and power connectors as their larger desktop counterparts.)Feb 20, 2012

Subsequently, Is it OK to use laptop HDD in desktop?

Can I use a laptop HDD in a desktop? Yes, they have the same interface, assuming SATA, and are even the same size connection as opposed to when 3.5 and 2.5 HDD’s were IDE (PATA).

Also, How do I connect a laptop hard drive to a PC?

– Connect it using a special USB adapter cable.
– Hack an external HDD.
– Build your own external HDD.
– Use a USB docking station for disk drives.
– Install the disk in your PC.

Can I use a 2.5 inch HDD in a desktop?

Generally speaking, 3.5 inch drives are used in desktops and 2.5 inch drives go in notebook computers. 2.5 inch drives also fit well in small form factor computers with tight cases. While it’s possible to use a 2.5 inch drive in a desktop, you typically need a special bracket to fit it in a 3.5 inch drive bay.

Last Review : 16 days ago.


Can I use laptop hard drive in desktop?

Reader Fred wants to know if a laptop hard drive can be plugged into a desktop PC. “The pin out appears to be the same,” he notes, “but there is no separate power-supply connector.” Short answer: yes. … (Newer SATA drives for laptops have the same interface and power connectors as their larger desktop counterparts.)Feb 20, 2012

Can I connect 2.5 SATA to desktop?

You can connect 2,5″ laptop-Sata-HDDs without any risk directly into your desktop-PC – no need for any workaround using USB which will slow down the transfer.

Can I connect SATA drive while PC is on?

Yes you can do that. In order to do this, we need enable the hot plug capability in BIOS settings. If it is enabled, then we can add second HDD to computer while running. System will install the drivers instantly and the HDD would be ready for use like a USB drive.

Can you have 2 HDD in desktop?

You can install additional hard disks on a desktop computer. This setup requires that you set up each drive as a separate storage device or connect them with a RAID configuration, a special method for using multiple hard drives. Hard drives in a RAID setup require a motherboard that supports RAID.

Can laptop hard disk be used as external hard disk?

If you’ve upgraded your laptop, don’t discard that “naked” drive. You can put it back to work as external storage. Don’t discard your displaced drive.

What happens if I plug in a hard drive while computer is on?

Yes, you can plug in a hard drive while the computer is on. … If you’re plugging in an internal drive then never do that, this can result in either motherboard damage or the harddisk damage.

Is there a difference between laptop and desktop hard drives?

The difference is just in size – laptop hard-drives are 2.5 inches in length (they are sometimes referred to as just 2.5″ drives, instead of laptop drives, as you can use them inside desktops as well) whereas desktop drives are 3.5 inches.

Do laptops and desktops use the same SSD?

Any 2.5″ SSD will work as long as you have a free SATA connection. This standard is exactly the same for both laptops and desktops. … mSATA – those are extremely uncommon in desktop computers, but it isn’t hard to get an adapter. Then they work just like a normal SSD.

Is HDD universal?

If you’re trying to connect a hard drive and a computer motherboard that don’t share a common connection standard, you may find yourself in need of an additional expense: an adapter card. Any computer motherboard and hard drive that share a supported connection standard will work with each other.

Can I connect a laptop hard drive to my desktop PC?

The laptop hard drives can be easily connected with the desktop motherboards using connectors. These connectors and adapters are nothing but the serial busses and synchronous devices to connect laptop hard drives to motherboards.

Can I have both SSD and HDD in desktop?

The answer is absolutely yes. You can install both, but, SSD will have faster SSD speeds and HDD will still have slower HDD speeds. It is an excellent idea to use SSD and HDD at the same time.

What happens if you remove a hard drive while the computer is on?

If you take the hard drive out and don’t put a new hard drive in, the computer will still turn on, but without a hard drive there’s no operating system, so the computer won’t load and you won’t be able to do anything with it.

How do I connect 2.5 SATA SSD to desktop?

Watch the video on YouTube

Can you use a 2.5 hard drive in a desktop?

Desktop and Laptop drives are compatible if they are SATA Drives. Usually laptop drives are 2.5″, while desktop drives are usually 3.5″.

How do I install a 2.5 inch hard drive in my desktop?

Watch the video on YouTube

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