(I'm not sure whether I'm in the right CATEGORY on this Forum for this question.)  I need to retrieve the data on a hard disk drive which I have removed from my daughter's MOBO-fried (and old) computer.  I do not have an available computer to put it in as a slave since none of my computers has an extra 3.5" bay.  I just found something called a USB 2.0 External Enclosure for sale on-line -- two brands, one a Bytecc and one a Plumax.  These are in my price range (under $30) but the information is skimpy about these products.  Can anyone on this forum confirm for me that I can PLACE the HDD with the data on it in this enclosure, connect it via USB cable to my computer, and that my computer will recognize it as as an additional storage drive (and I'll see the files in Windows Explorer)?  What CONFUSES me is that one website selling the Plumax says something about formatting  the hard drive (first?).  If that is so, then, of course, I WOULD be defeating my purpose as I want to ACCESS the data on the HDD.  Any insights most appreciated.And why can you not free up a 3.5" bay for a short while?You can use the drive as you describe without having to format it, & then you just have a spare external drive you can use for backing up purposes in the future.