Reddit mentions of StarTech.com USB 3.0 to SATA IDE Adapter - 2.5in / 3.5in - External Hard Drive to USB Converter – Hard Drive Transfer Cable (USB3SSATAIDE)

>it could blow up and spread metal dust all over my floor.

Pictures? More info on exactly what happened. I'd love to be able to point to something like this when people are talking about buying cheap PSUs.

For your immediate problem, get a USB adapter and use it to connect the drives to a different computer. Adapters are cheap and, besides being useful in situations like this, they let you turn any drive into an external drive. Very handy things to have around.

If the drives do turnout to be dead go to Western Digital's warranty site and plug in the serial numbers. You may be able to get them replaced under warranty. A lot of their drives had as much as 5 years warranty.

You may need something like this:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00D76J1KO/ref=mp_s_a_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1527680482&sr=8-7&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=ide%2Bto%2Busb&dpPl=1&dpID=41eTPi3W3YL&ref=plSrch&th=1&psc=1

I have been using this one since 2013 and it is still going strong. Comes with an external power brick which is handy as well. I would listen to /u/yelnum and purchase an msata/ m.2 converter to cover all of the bases.

Don't worry too much about the issue of not being able to read the external drive via USB. In a worst case scenario it is possible to remove the drive from the external casing and directly connect to the computer or use a third party USB3 to Sata cable such as this.

The real danger however is having only one backup and that backup is on the same drive as the original. In a worst case scenario which I have as well as other have seen is that the entire drive goes belly up and everything is lost. So an external drive is far better. You only connect when you need to backup and disconnect when you don't need. That way if a fire, electrical failure, malware (like randsomware) do affect you you are ok.

A better option is having multiple backups at multiple levels. So you can have a daily backup that uses a USB drive for only files that change from day to day, then you have a system backup that you can do weekly or monthly as it fits with your regimen, plus online backup of the most important files. You then have multiple protections in case of failure.

I would recommend this adapter. http://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-Drive-Adapter-Converter-USB3SSATAIDE/dp/B00D76J1KO/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1419214879&sr=8-2&keywords=usb3+to+sata+startech

Ah, now I see. Shopped around on Amazon and found this. I figured it was a 3.5 HDD we're talking about but they have 2.5 option as well for that cable.

For sure! Mine is petty old, so I don't think it's sold anymore, but if I were to get another this guy looks alright.

External drive enclosures like this, that let you swap drives quickly, are pretty handy if you're only concerned with sata.

There's probably better choices out there, but it'll get you started. :)

These do exist(https://www.amazon.co.uk/StarTech-com-Port-Express-Controller-Adapter/dp/B000YAX13Y)
There are also a variety of IDE to SATA converters(https://www.amazon.co.uk/StarTech-Bi-Directional-SATA-Adapter-Converter-Black/dp/B00310MFPY?ref_=fsclp_pl_dp_2) or USB IDE connectors(https://www.amazon.co.uk/StarTech-com-SATA-Drive-Adapter-Converter-Black/dp/B00D76J1KO)

USB sounds the most convenient for this sort of purpose

I know.

The adapter I have is this. It has a separate power supply which isn't pictured. So the HDDs are powering up (With a loud clicking on one.) I just can't get Windows to detect either drive.

I had a spare PSU, but it died a few years ago. It was only about 350W. I moved to an Antec 500W PSU when I upgraded to a 750 ti GPU.