We all have one or more than one hard drive gathering dust somewhere in our home. Hard Drives are replaced by faster SSDs. 

Why throw your hard drives in some closet when you can repurpose them. If you were planning to throw your Hard drives in the dump yard, you would change your decision after reading this. 

The best part is that you can give a new purpose to your old hard drive, whether they are functional or not. We will help you to extend your Hard Drive’s life for a few more years or maybe indefinitely. 

Increase Storage Capacity on Your Main PC 

One of the best methods of using your old Hard Drive is to use it as a secondary storage device on your main PC. 

You can also use this as secondary storage for your gaming console. 

Considering the size of modern games, heavy graphics and assets, having additional storage is always a bonus point. 

And using your old drive will not only give you 1TB of extra storage but also save you from affecting the environment. It’s a win-win for you!

Similarly, if your gaming console storage isn’t large enough, then this old hard drive will help expand external storage. 

You can also use these extra GBs to store lesser-used files, games, media, and more. 

Use it for Long-Term Storage 

Compared to SSDs, hard drives still come at the top when it comes to price points, especially when you consider large-capacity drives. If you are a creative professional who works with heavy assets and doesn’t want to pay for cloud storage. Then repurposing your Hard Drives is a great option for you. It will keep your file safe for a long time. 

Hard drives can serve as reliable archival storage as compared to SSDs. SSDs keep power off for longer periods and make you suffer from data loss. 

HDDs are far better than SSDs if a user is seeking a cold storage option and needs dozens of drives as cold storage (Unplugged, to be used later). 

HDD is a great option from a financial and reliability standpoint. 

Create a DIY External Drive 

The best way to use an old hard drive is to use it as an external drive for your PC. Power adaptor needs for your old DIY hard drive depends upon their form factor of 2.5” to 3.5”. 

A simple and affordable hard drive enclosure bought from Amazon can easily transform your internal Hard Drive into a portable external drive. You can use it for many purposes in addition to secondary storage. 

Note: Before using your old hard drive external storage, please check it for hardware faults. 

All that’s left is to insert the drive into the enclosure, format it to your desired file, format it to your desired file system (NTFS or APFS), and transfer some data from your main PC that you only need occasionally. 

Create your Own NAS or Media Server 

If you want to build your own NAS, then a functioning Hard Drive is just the thing you can get started with. 

You don’t need to buy the new NAS box or use your old PC if you don’t want to. 

• Just get a cheap Raspberry Pi. 
• Connect your old Hard Drive. 
• Install Raspberry Pi OS Lite. 
• Lastly, get your NAS online. 

Recover Valuable Components from Old Hard Drives

Your dead hard drives cannot be used for the above-listed projects, but they can still be useful for their internals. 

Hard drives incorporate numerous smaller components, which can be extremely useful for more than a few crafty initiatives. 

Parts of your old Hard Drive can be used as the foundation for some cool upcycling projects. 

Final Words

It’s important to focus on the policy of reusing and recycling. Reusing the components not only saves your money but also saves the environment. In the case of Hard Drives, it is necessary to repurpose it.

If your PC or laptop is running slow, then connect with professionals at The Mobile Hub for laptop and PC repair in Australia.