[UFO Chicago] Old hard drive question

[Neil R. Ormos]

Carey Tyler Schug wrote:

> You don't need a complete enclosure for a one
> time "recover the data".  You can get just a usb
> to ide (pata or sata) adapter for much less than
> a complete case, which might or might not fit
> your drive, if you need a 4 pin molex for power,
> a little more.  I've recovered numerous disks
> this way.

An advantage of the enclosure approach is that the
drive can continue to be used, e.g., as a back-up
drive. Also, it's reasonably portable. Of course,
the drive could also continue to be used with the
adapter Carey mentions, but that arrangement is an
attractive nuisance if you have children or cats.

Some price data points: 

Newegg is selling a "USB enclosure" for a 3.5 in
drive (internal SATA interface) for $17 shipped
(special deal, Monday 5 PM to 8 PM).

Newegg has a similar enclosure with an IDE/PATA
internal interface for $20 shipped.

Overstock.com is offering a USB to SATA/PATA/IDE
converter "cable" (including a power supply and
several useful cables) for $5.49 shipped.  While
these converters are sometimes available cheaper
on Ebay, they don't always include the power
supply and the useful cables, and the buyer may
need to wait a while for the product to arrive
from the Far East.