An SSD left over from a laptop upgrade or an unused device may have another use as external storage. Put inside a compatible enclosure, it can work as a portable drive, offering faster read and write speeds than a typical USB flash drive while giving the hardware a second life.
First check whether the SSD can be removed. Some thin laptops, including certain MacBooks, have storage soldered to the logic board. If the drive is removable, match its enclosure to its type: common options include 2.5-inch SATA and M.2 NVMe, which is smaller and faster.
Before formatting the drive, check for files you want to keep and assess the SSD’s health. The source recommends using Disk Utility on macOS or Drive Management on Windows for a health check. If the drive is nearing the end of its life, reserve it for files you could afford to lose, such as large games.
After backing up anything important, format the SSD to erase its data and fit it into the enclosure. Many enclosures connect over USB-C, allowing the repurposed drive to be plugged into compatible devices as external storage.
Sources: Engadget.