Q: I have an old laptop laying around (Toshiba Satellite) that I currently don't use and I would love to turn the hard drive into an external hard drive. The only problem is the drive has a ton of stuff on it. I was wondering if there was anyway that I could erase EVERYTHING from the drive so that I could get maximum storage space. Also, just out of curiosity does it matter that the old hard drive ran on Windows XP and my current computer is a Mac? From all the research i've done no one has mentioned this as a problem, but I just want to make sure.
A: Ok I am betting the size of your laptop hard drive is 2.5 that said (look it up to be sure) youll need a external hard drive case, make sure you get the right size (2.5 or 3.5 laptops are typically 2.5). The case should be relatively inexpensive $5-$25 depending (make sure the case is mac compatable). The case should have a power supply and a usb cord (firewire is more expensive). After that just plug it in via usb and format the drive. It will be wiped clean and you should have no problems with anything, happy storeing.