Don't throw out that old hard drive from your computer! Yes, that's even if you've got a fancy new solid state drive (SSD) or if your hard disk drive (HDD) finally gave up. Whether it's functional or not, your old drive still has some cool uses.

What you do with it depends on whether the hard drive is working or dead. But surprisingly, a functional old HDD has fewer uses than a dead one.

So roll up your sleeves and check out some of these DIY projects to recycle, reuse, or repurpose an old hard drive.

Projects For Working Hard Drives

If the drive is still working, don't waste that space. It can still be valuable storage for your data and thing is, you don't need to use it inside a computer anymore.

1. Turn It Into a Portable Drive

Hard drive enclosure

Once you upgrade your laptop's drive or run out of space on your PC, you have a functional HDD in your hands. Put it to use again by popping it into an external hard drive enclosure and you'll have a DIY external hard drive.

Depending on the drive and the enclosure, you'll be able to use it with or without a power adapter. As a rule of thumb, power adapters are helpful for desktop (3.5-inch) hard drives, while adapters aren't usually needed for laptop (2.5-inch) drives.

You will find plenty of enclosures and cases on Amazon, including the simple Amazon Basics 3.5-inches SATA HDD Hard Drive Enclosure. Alternatively, you might want to look at a docking station for multiple hard drives also available on Amazon.

2. Build a NAS Box With an Old Hard Drive

hard drive nas diy

In case you already have an external drive or don't have use for one, it might be time to build your own network attached storage (NAS). Basically, what this allows you to do is access your hard drive's contents from any device connected to your Wi-Fi.

There are different levels of NAS. If you're fine with spending some money, you can buy a NAS box like the TerraMaster F2-220 and simply pop in the drive.

How to Reuse Dead Hard Drives

If the hard drive doesn't work anymore, data storage is out. But you can still recover data off a dead drive, and the drive's physical parts are still valuable. For any of the projects below, you will need to open it up and strip its parts, which is a pretty easy process.

The above video has all the steps you need to disassemble the drive and use its components.

3. DIY Magnetic Knife Block

A magnetic knife block with knives on a white tiled kitchen wall

Hard disk drives contain two large neodymium magnets which can be removed by following our guide to removing HDD magnets safely.

Once that's done, you can take a look at this Instructable guide to see how to create a magnetic knife block. You won't need any special tools for this, but if you don't have wood glue or other simple hardware tools around, your local hardware shop should have it.

Once you're done, you'll have a neat magnetic knife block that you can hang above your kitchen. Knives will stick to this block like magic, turning what would have been e-waste into something practical and convenient.

4. Cubicle Rear View Mirror (or Other Mirrors)

hard drives cubicle mirror
Image credit: Michael Hiemstra / Flickr

The platters inside a hard disk drive can act as perfectly polished mirrors. Be a little gentle while dismantling them: you don't want chips or scratches here. But if you get it out whole, it's the perfect mirror.

You can get creative in your cubicle by turning this into a rearview mirror; all you need is a large thumbtack. Mount it on your cubicle, place the thumbtack in the center, and you will be able to see who is trying to sneak up on you from behind.

Use old hard drive platters as a pocket mirror

Platters can also turn into signal mirrors (i.e. a mirror that reflects sunlight to show your location), as shown in this Instructable guide. Apart from being handy in survival scenarios, it can also be a decent safety tool for cyclists.

Or if a simple mirror is all you want, then this Instructable will show you how platters can double up as pocket mirrors. It's a nice arts and crafts project to do, especially if you have children.

5. Turn Platters Into a Geeky Wind Chime

A screenshot of a windchime made from old hard drive mirrors above information about the creator

If you have several old drives, harvest the platters and turn them into a wind chime. It's an easy DIY project that puts your geek cred out there for the world to see—and of course, someone has made a tutorial on Instructables.

Most of the project uses the parts you dismantle from a drive, like the base plate and the mount ring. You'll need a strong line to hold all the plates, of course. Run the lines through the ring and into the corners of the plate, then attach a platter to the end of each line.

There you go, your personal geeky wind chime.

6. Make a Hidden Safe With a Hard Drive Case

hard drive safe

Once you remove all the parts inside, what should you do with the hard drive case itself? One Instructables user has figured out that it makes a pretty cool safe for storing your cash and no one will suspect it!

It's also the easiest safe to construct. Take out all the parts, then insert one of the screws in the corner. This turns the front of the hard drive into a swiveling door to open and close the container. Perfect for stashing your emergency money.

7. Fancy Hard Drive Clock

An old hard drive's parts are perfect to build yourself a brand new clock, complete with LEDs and other cool bits. You'll need to buy the clock hands separately, such as these from Amazon.

DIY guru Kipkay has a wonderful video guide for this project. The method is well refined and the end product looks fantastic.

That said, he uses several parts that DIY beginners might not have, or would need to go to their local hacker-space for.

8. Hard Drive Sander

If you have one of the older HDDs then you'll be familiar with the spinning disk inside. For a project that you would never expect, turn that spinning disk into a micro sander.

For less than $10 you can hack your old HDD and use it as a sander to sharpen tools, with many other applications possible too. The extra components required are a servo tester, an electronic speed controller, two banana terminals, and some sandpaper. With these parts, you can assemble your own brilliant desktop sander!

There is just one word of caution: make sure your hard drive has aluminum platters. Glass platters will not work and could easily cause harm to you. You can find out how to check the material over on the Instructable page, alongside the complete guide.

9. Hard Drive Laser Motor

The best part about old technology is that it usually has mechanical components. Unlike the newer SDDs, HDDs have small motors inside to spin the platter. This can be harnassed in an incredibly fun way to build a small laser machine.

This one requires some thinking as the guys who made this project on a whim haven't officially documented their process.

However, we do know that they used an Arduino to control the current supplied to the hard drive. By sending a PWM signal from the Arduino at varaible audio frequencies, plus the use of one well positioned elastic band (a classic MacGyver solution), you can control the exact position of the arm reflecting the laser.

What's even more clever? They use the highly reflective surface of the platter inside the drive to reflect the laser beam. A pretty ingenious litte laser machine, made from repurposing the components of an old hard drive.

For Working or Broken Hard Drives

Harddrive Benjamin Lehman Unsplash

Whether it's functional or not, if you don't have any use for the drive, sell it. Even if you strip the parts of a dead drive and handle only a few, you can sell the rest and let somebody else make better use of it.

You will find buyers for everything online and here are some of the best places for selling used computer parts.

In case you're selling a functional disk, make sure you know how to completely wipe a hard drive on Windows—just formatting it isn't enough. You don't want any confidential data falling into the hands of the wrong people.

Repurposing an Old Hard Drive

It's not always easy to know what to do with old tech, even knowing where to safely dispose of hardware can be a pain. Luckily, you don't need to throw an old hard drive away.

There are several answers to what you can do with an old external hard drive. For hard drives that still function, the best answer is using it as a valuable DIY external storage device. And as for dead drives, there are plenty of tricks for turning them into magnetic knife blocks, mirrors, wind charms, and clocks.

With easy guides to dismantling your hard drives, reusing an old drive isn't difficult at all.