- 1). Plug the IDE to USB adapter into the back of your IDE hard drive. Since many adapters also work for SATA drives and 2.5-inch IDE hard drives, make sure to match the plug on your drive with the proper plug on the adapter.
- 2). Hook the hard drive up to a power source. Your adapter should come with a power cord that allows you to plug your IDE drive directly into a wall outlet. When you plug the drive in it should begin to spin up.
- 3). Turn the laptop on.
- 4). Plug the USB attachment on the adapter into a USB port on your laptop. The drive should automatically be recognized as an external storage device just like a flash drive or standard external hard drive would. If the drive doesn't automatically open, search for it under your list of hard drives. (Click "Start," then "My Computer.")
- 5). Transfer files between the external hard drive and your laptop as necessary, and then unhook the adapter.
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