This is a great idea, the USB Universal Drive Adapter, the easy way to get data off all those old drives you’ve got kicking around.

I’ve lost count of the number of old hard drives I’ve got hidden away in cupboards and drawers. Before I throw away an old PC I’ll take all the useful bits out and store them as they may come in useful in the future (deluded I know). The discs then gather dust as I never have the drive (excuse the pun) to dismantle a current working machine to connect it to.

The USB Universal Drive Adapter however makes it a piece of cake to re-use your old discs (or just extract data from). Simply connect the USB end to your PC and the other end to the old disc (via standard IDE/ATA/ATAPI 40 pin or Serial-ATA) and you can then access the disc like any other. Simple but effective.

You can get the USB Universal Drive Adapter from newer technology for $24.95 and IMO is one gadget that should be in every support technicians gadget bag.