I have an old WD 5.0TB SATA drive that I had installed internally on my desktop PC. The PC no longer works, however, this drive was for all of my documents, pictures and music that I would like to retrieve. The model #: WD5001FZWX with 128mb cache. Is there an easy way to obtain connectors, conversion cables, etc, so that it has a usb port that I can simply plug into my laptop? If so, would you be able to inform me what all i need to purchase and explain what I need to do once these items are purchased. I look forward to hearing from you. Have a great weekend.
Yes, you can access your WD 5TB SATA drive without your old PC.
What you need is a SATA to USB adapter or docking station that supports 3.5-inch drives and the full 5TB capacity. Make sure it comes with an external power supply because 3.5-inch drives need more power than what USB alone can provide. Once you have that, just connect the drive via USB to your laptop. Your system should automatically detect it and assign a drive letter.
If for some reason the drive doesn’t show up or asks to be formatted, don’t format it without backup.
