Old laptop SSD: turn it into fast external storage

If you've just put a bigger drive in your laptop, or you have an old machine sitting unused, the SSD inside can still earn its keep. Pull it out and pair it with an external enclosure, and it works as a high-speed external storage option.

It's a bit bulkier than a typical USB drive, but it offers much faster read and write speeds. It also keeps a working component out of the e-waste pile.

Not every laptop lets you take the storage out. Some ultra-thin models, including Apple's MacBooks, have storage soldered straight onto the logic board, so there's nothing to extract.

If yours does come out, match the enclosure to the drive's form factor. The two types named are the larger 2.5-inch SATA and the more compact, faster M.2 NVMe. Enclosures on Amazon are described as fairly affordable.

Before setting the drive up, look for any important files still on it. Then check its health: on macOS you can use Disk Utility, on Windows the Drive Management tool.

If the SSD is near the end of its life, keep only things you wouldn't mind losing. An older drive suits bulky files you want off your main machine, such as AAA games. After that, format it to clear the data and fit it into the enclosure.

Most of these shells connect over USB-C, so the drive behaves like any external storage once plugged in.