| The standard size of a Hard Drive designed for use in | | | | these can also be 12.5mm dropping back to 9.5mm |
| a Laptop PC is 2.5" but this is a misleading size really | | | | when the drives hit full production. So, beware and if |
| as it refers not to the physical dimensions of the | | | | necessary measure the thickess of your hard drive |
| hard drive but the actual disk platter (the disk) | | | | before committing to purchase a hard drive |
| inside what most people would assume to be the | | | | enclosure. |
| Hard Drive itself. | | | | Because the vast majority of Laptop Hard Drives are |
| But. 2.5" is the critial size that's used to refer to | | | | 9.5mm most enclosures are designed for 9.5mm |
| laptop hard drives and the size you will need to be | | | | drives. HDD enclosures for the thicker 12.5mm drives |
| aware when considering an enclosure. | | | | are difficult to find and enclosures that support both |
| One key dimension to be wary of when considering | | | | sizes don't exist because the enclosure needs to be |
| an external Hard Drive Enclosure for your laptop hard | | | | a "snug" fit around the Hard Drive. |
| drive is the "thickness" of the drive. The vast | | | | Something that can catch you out is a "sheath" or |
| majority are 9.5mm thick but some older Hard Drives | | | | "frame" put around a standard laptop hard drive by |
| and 1st genreation hard drives are a little thicker at | | | | the laptop manufacturer. This will need to be |
| 12.5mm. | | | | removed before the Hard Drive can be used with |
| It would be straightforward if it was possible to say | | | | any enclosure. These are "sheaths" are normally |
| only older hard drives are the thicker 12.5mm size but | | | | pretty obvious and can removed easily. |
| as hard drives push the boundaries of storage | | | | If in any doubt or your want some advice before |
| (e.g.500GB SATA Hard Drive) the "1st generation" of | | | | buying contact the team at USBNow. |