{"id":"external-drives.connect-a-drive-from-an-old-computer","url":"/faq/external-drives/connect-a-drive-from-an-old-computer","category":{"id":"external-drives","title":"External drives"},"subcategory":{"id":"other-devices","title":"Using drives with PCs, iPads and other Macs"},"question":"How do I connect an internal drive from an old computer to my Mac?","alt_questions":["SATA to USB adapter Mac","Put old laptop SSD in an enclosure","Read old PC hard drive on Mac","use old internal drive as external","nvme from old pc into enclosure"],"short_answer":"Put it in a matching enclosure or adapter — SATA-to-USB for 2.5-inch drives, a powered dock for 3.5-inch disks, or an NVMe enclosure for M.2 SSDs — and plug it in. Mac drives read normally, Windows drives read-only, Linux drives need extra software.","answer_markdown":"Use an enclosure or adapter that matches the drive: a **SATA-to-USB** adapter or case for 2.5-inch drives and older SSDs, a SATA dock with power for 3.5-inch desktop hard disks, or an **NVMe enclosure** for M.2 NVMe SSDs. Then plug it into your Mac like any external drive.\n\nWhat you can do with it depends on its format: Mac drives read normally, Windows (NTFS) drives are read-only, and Linux drives need extra software. Copy what you want first; once it's empty you can erase it as APFS and reuse it as extra storage. See [what an NVMe enclosure is](/faq/external-drives/what-is-an-nvme-enclosure).","answer_html":"

Use an enclosure or adapter that matches the drive: a SATA-to-USB adapter or case for 2.5-inch drives and older SSDs, a SATA dock with power for 3.5-inch desktop hard disks, or an NVMe enclosure for M.2 NVMe SSDs. Then plug it into your Mac like any external drive.

\n

What you can do with it depends on its format: Mac drives read normally, Windows (NTFS) drives are read-only, and Linux drives need extra software. Copy what you want first; once it's empty you can erase it as APFS and reuse it as extra storage. See what an NVMe enclosure is.

","answer_text":"Use an enclosure or adapter that matches the drive: a SATA-to-USB adapter or case for 2.5-inch drives and older SSDs, a SATA dock with power for 3.5-inch desktop hard disks, or an NVMe enclosure for M.2 NVMe SSDs. Then plug it into your Mac like any external drive.\n\nWhat you can do with it depends on its format: Mac drives read normally, Windows (NTFS) drives are read-only, and Linux drives need extra software. Copy what you want first; once it's empty you can erase it as APFS and reuse it as extra storage. See what an NVMe enclosure is.","tags":["enclosure","sata","nvme","old drive"],"related":[{"id":"external-drives.what-is-an-nvme-enclosure","question":"What is an NVMe enclosure, and is it a good fast drive?","url":"/faq/external-drives/what-is-an-nvme-enclosure"},{"id":"external-drives.can-i-use-an-ntfs-drive","question":"Can I use an NTFS-formatted drive from a Windows PC?","url":"/faq/external-drives/can-i-use-an-ntfs-drive"},{"id":"external-drives.can-i-read-a-drive-from-my-old-mac","question":"Can I plug my old Mac's drive into my new Mac and get my files?","url":"/faq/external-drives/can-i-read-a-drive-from-my-old-mac"}],"applies_to":"all","last_reviewed":"2026-10-01","title":"How do I connect an internal drive from an old computer to my Mac? — Storage Studio FAQ","description":"Put it in a matching enclosure or adapter — SATA-to-USB for 2.5-inch drives, a powered dock for 3.5-inch disks, or an NVMe enclosure for M.2 SSDs — and plug it in. Mac drives read normally, Windows drives read-only, Linux drives need extra software.","crumbs":[{"name":"Home","path":"/"},{"name":"FAQ","path":"/faq/"},{"name":"External drives","path":"/faq/external-drives/"},{"name":"How do I connect an internal drive from an old computer to my Mac?","path":"/faq/external-drives/connect-a-drive-from-an-old-computer"}],"jsonld":{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","url":"https://storagestudio.us/faq/external-drives/connect-a-drive-from-an-old-computer","inLanguage":"en","dateModified":"2026-10-01","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"How do I connect an internal drive from an old computer to my Mac?","alternateName":["SATA to USB adapter Mac","Put old laptop SSD in an enclosure","Read old PC hard drive on Mac","use old internal drive as external","nvme from old pc into enclosure"],"acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Use an enclosure or adapter that matches the drive: a SATA-to-USB adapter or case for 2.5-inch drives and older SSDs, a SATA dock with power for 3.5-inch desktop hard disks, or an NVMe enclosure for M.2 NVMe SSDs. Then plug it into your Mac like any external drive.\n\nWhat you can do with it depends on its format: Mac drives read normally, Windows (NTFS) drives are read-only, and Linux drives need extra software. Copy what you want first; once it's empty you can erase it as APFS and reuse it as extra storage. See what an NVMe enclosure is.","url":"https://storagestudio.us/faq/external-drives/connect-a-drive-from-an-old-computer"}}]},"fragment":"
\n
\n\n\n\n\n
\n
\n

External drives · Using drives with PCs, iPads and other Macs

\n

How do I connect an internal drive from an old computer to my Mac?

\n

Short answer: Put it in a matching enclosure or adapter — SATA-to-USB for 2.5-inch drives, a powered dock for 3.5-inch disks, or an NVMe enclosure for M.2 SSDs — and plug it in. Mac drives read normally, Windows drives read-only, Linux drives need extra software.

\n

Use an enclosure or adapter that matches the drive: a SATA-to-USB adapter or case for 2.5-inch drives and older SSDs, a SATA dock with power for 3.5-inch desktop hard disks, or an NVMe enclosure for M.2 NVMe SSDs. Then plug it into your Mac like any external drive.

\n

What you can do with it depends on its format: Mac drives read normally, Windows (NTFS) drives are read-only, and Linux drives need extra software. Copy what you want first; once it's empty you can erase it as APFS and reuse it as extra storage. See what an NVMe enclosure is.

\n\n

Last reviewed

\n\n

Related questions

\n

Also available as Markdown and JSON.

\n
"}