Hard Drive enclosure for 2007 Mac Pro HD?

Question

Hard Drive enclosure for 2007 Mac Pro HD?

Hi, I have a 2007 Mac Pro which I have not been able to use for over a year because my monitor stopped recognizing it after I tried upgrading my OS. It may be a graphics card issue; I don't know. I didn't want to spend the money on a new graphics card for such an old computer, and I already have a newer laptop now.

At this point, I just want to put the HD from my old Mac Pro in an external enclosure so I can hopefully access my data again. I bought an enclosure on Amazon based on previous searches, but after opening up the Mac Pro and looking at the HDs, the enclosure I bought seems to be the completely wrong size.

The HD is a Western Digital Caviar SE16. Can anybody tell me what kind of HD enclosure I can get that would fit this? I really just want to get my old files and be done with the old Mac Pro.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

Mac Pro

Posted on May 8, 2016 2:49 PM

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Answer 1

lllaass

Level 10

210,513 points

May 8, 2016 3:06 PM in response to emmagraphicdesign

The Western Digital Caviar SE16 is a standard 3 1/2 inch SATA drive.

Any enclosure for a 3 1/2 inch SATA drive will work.

What enclosure did you purchase?

Was it for a 2 1/2 inch SATA drive or older PATA/IDE drives?

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Answer 2

May 8, 2016 3:10 PM in response to lllaass

Somehow I ended up with a 2.5 inch SATA enclosure. (Maybe my search for Mac Pro enclosures accidentally turned up results for Macbook Pros instead?)

Thank you for the quick response, I will try ordering a 3.5 inch enclosure and hope that my files are still accessible!

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Answer 3

lllaass

Level 10

210,513 points

May 8, 2016 3:21 PM in response to emmagraphicdesign

You stated "(Maybe my search for Mac Pro enclosures accidentally turned up results for Macbook Pros instead?)'

Yes, it is very likely what happened. Many users with MacBook Pro laptops post in this Mac Pro desktop forum too.

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Answer 4

kahjot

Level 4

2,463 points

May 9, 2016 1:48 PM in response to emmagraphicdesign

If you just need to get files from the drive, you could use something like this:

http://www.amazon.com/Plugable-Lay-Flat-Docking-Station-Supports/dp/B00APP6694/r ef=sr_1_3?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1462761204&sr…

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Answer 5

May 8, 2016 9:00 PM in response to emmagraphicdesign

If your new MacBook has a FireWire interface, you could turn the Mac Pro into a giant drive enclosure by invoking firewire target disk mode on the Mac Pro and connecting it to your MacBook as a FireWire Drive:

Share files between two computers with target disk mode - Apple Support

.

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Answer 6

May 9, 2016 1:46 PM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

I'm not able to invoke target disk mode or access anything directly from my Mac Pro because when I connect it to a monitor nothing shows up. So when the computer is on I can't see anything to know where to click or respond to any prompts.

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Answer 7

May 9, 2016 1:47 PM in response to kahjot

Is there any benefit to using that instead of an enclosure? It seems to be about the same price...

http://www.amazon.com/Acomdata-Samba-3-5-Inch-Enclosure-SMBXXXU2E-BLK/dp/B000VNJ D18/ref=sr_1_5?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1462745472&sr=1-5&keywords=3.5+hd+enclosure+mac

http://www.amazon.com/Mediasonic-ProBox-K32-SU3-Drive-Enclosure/dp/B0065DUJ0C/re f=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1462745472&sr=…

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Answer 8

kahjot

Level 4

2,463 points

May 9, 2016 2:32 PM in response to emmagraphicdesign

The only benefit would be that you could easily use it to access any hard drive you might acquire or need to test, either 2.5" or 3.5". It's not permanent storage. It's a tool for your trouble-shooting toolbox. If your laptop has USB 3, you should go with the Mediasonic enclosure. I don't know how good it is. I prefer sturdy aluminum enclosures for long-term use, but the Mediasonic is probably OK; mostly positive reviews.

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Answer 9

May 9, 2016 3:26 PM in response to emmagraphicdesign

There are no prompts. You hold down the T key at Startup.

There will be a firewire icon screen saver floating around the screen. You do not need to see it or anything else or respond to anything. The code is all in ROM. The Mac holding the drive does not even have to boot up Mac OS X, that is why it could be an option.

to finish, you shut it down or restart, or simply power it off.

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Answer 10

Sep 11, 2016 10:34 AM in response to emmagraphicdesign

I purchased this enclosure: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GAML7OK

And it works great to access my old files from my 2007 Mac Pro!

However, I started deleting some old files that I don't need anymore, and the amount of available space on the drive is not freeing up. Does anybody have any ideas as to how I can fully delete some of these old file?

They seem to be gone after I delete them, and when I used the Terminal to show hidden files, I checked the .Trash folder on the drive and they aren't going there either, so I'm not sure what the issue could be.

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