USB multi-adapter route (works with 43 pin ATA and Serial ATA laptop HDDs)

• 1). Use the jeweler's Phillips screwdriver to remove any screws holding the hard disk drive (HDD) sled in place, then remove it. The laptop HDD can generally be found on the bottom of the laptop, at the edge on one of the sides.
  
  If your HDD is 4 pin, it will have 2 rows of pins, 22 on top, and 21 on the bottom. A Serial ATA HDD on the other hand, will have a 7 pin data connector and 15 pin power connector.
  
  
• 2). Remove the HDD from the sled using the jeweler's Philips to remove the mounting screws. Remove the connector adapter if there is one.
  
  
• 3). Attach the USB multi-adapter to the HDD. Nearly all 43 pin laptop HDDs these days are keyed (meaning 1 pin is missing to facilitate correct connector orientation), and the adapter should be as well, so plugging the adapter in properly should not be an issue. If the drive is not keyed, locate pin 1 and make sure you match pin socket 1 of the adapter up with it. If the HDD is Serial ATA, then use the Serial ATA connector on the multi adapter, and power the HDD with the power brick supplied with the multi-adapter.
  
  
• 4). Plug the USB plug end of the multi-adapter into a free USB port on a computer. The USB adapter will supply power to the laptop HDD. The computer will auto-detect the laptop drive and then you will be able to access the contents. This will work on both Macs and Windows-based computers.
  
  

43 pin to ATA adapter (works only with 43 pin ATA laptop HDDs)

• 1). Follow steps 1 and 2 from above to remove the HDD from the laptop.
  
  
• 2). Locate pin one of the laptop HDD and pin socket 1 of the 43 pin to ATA adapter, and plug it into the laptop HDD.
  
  
• 3). Shut down the computer, and open the case. if you have a free port on an existing ATA cable, plug that into the ATA adapter on the laptop HDD. If not, then either unplug an ATA cable from a nonessential optical drive, or if you have a free open ATA port on the motherboard, plug the ATA cable into it. Connect the now-free ATA cable into the adapter.
  
  
• 4). Connect a free 4 pin molex power connector plug from the computer power supply unit into the 4 pin molex power connector socket on the ATA adapter.
  
  
• 5). Turn the computer on. Boot fully into the operating system and the computer should detect the HDD, giving you full access to its contents.