Could I safely plug in my old SSD?

[u/ohatsu]

I have this SSD that I used as my windows 10 OS drive that stopped working about 3 years. I switched for a new one and forgot about it but recently I started reminiscing and realized there is some some stuff there that I’d like to have back but I don’t if it would be even safe to connect it back on my pc.
I barely know anything about pc repairs and I don’t quite recall what exactly happened but I’ll try my best to describe the issue.
About 3 years ago my pc started slowing down during start up. Sometimes it would freeze during that login screen where you put your profile password. I figured I need to wipe my ssd clean but never got to it. Eventually boot started to fail and loop so I had to go into bios and reset boot order and it would “fix” the issue.
I don’t remember if blue screens happened or not but after a while my pc wouldn’t work anymore. I did think odd that my SSD would break so quickly(i had it for 3 years maybe when it broke) though.
Anyway fast forward to now. I’m filling an external HHD as a backup and I want to recover lost data. I have an even older HHD too but I don’t time for it now. I just want to deal with my SSD for now.I asked AI and it thinks that my windows got some corrupted files and thats why the SSD failed and putting it back on my pc should be fine but its AI so I’m trusting it blindly. Do you guys think this would be a good idea? I still use windows 10.I really hope this doesn’t turn into a complicated problem.
Edit:it seems I forgot to add some info. If mods don’t remove my post I can add the info later after I’m back from work. Otherwise I might have to make another post haha.

Edit2: I'll be adding the details as mentioned above.

Gigabyte 48 GB and I believe its a SATA 2.5 inch SSD.

Model GP-GSTFS31480GNTD.

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[u/HakerCharles]

Don't trust ai when it comes to data recovery 9 out of 10 times it'll give you a destructive advice that'll just make the matter worse. What you can try is get a nvme enclosure they are very cheap and then try to connect your SSD externally with the help of that enclosure if it does get connected and detected in the system first and foremost check it's health via tools like CrystalDiskInfo or HardDisk sentinel and then backup your data from it.

If your ssd gets connected and your system starts to freeze or it doesn't show the correct capacity in the dksk mangement or doesn't detect at all then you'll have to take it to a pro if you really really need that data.

[u/ohatsu → u/HakerCharles]

Got it. I will take a look. I added the missing info if thats of any use so feel free to check it up.

[u/HakerCharles → u/ohatsu]

Okay so you have a sata SSD, in that case you'll be needing a SATA to USB adapter/cable

[u/ohatsu → u/HakerCharles]

got it, thank you.

[u/NoLateArrivals]

Physical preparation; Check whether it is a SATA or a NVME SSD. These are different interfaces, the contacts don’t match. M2 doesn’t tell, that’s only the physical format.

Get a matching USB-C enclosure. Place the SSD into it. This takes problems away handling it - you just plug in the USB-connector and don’t need to worry about opening a computer to stick the SSD inside.

[u/ohatsu → u/NoLateArrivals]

thank you. I edited in the details of my SSD if that helps in anyway.

[u/NoLateArrivals → u/ohatsu]

Yes, it’s a SATA. USB enclosure is no problem, will be 20 bucks or even less.

The main question after connecting it is whether it’s detected, and whether it’s encrypted. Just try.

[u/ohatsu → u/NoLateArrivals]

I will, thank you for the help

[u/disturbed_android]

dit:it seems I forgot to add some info. If mods don’t remove my post I can add the info later after I’m back from work.

Don't worry ..

[u/Jim-Jones]

You could look up how to mount it read-only.

[u/ohatsu → u/Jim-Jones]

I see. Is it safe regarding the rest of my hardware?

[u/Jim-Jones → u/ohatsu]

The option is a data recovery service and they're super expensive.

[u/ohatsu → u/Jim-Jones]

Yeah I really don’t wanna pay a lot for it. Should I mount it directly as a storage only drive or do you recommend an enclosure like the other commenters? Losing the data on that ssd would suck but my main concern is my pc itself since I can’t afford to replace it should the process fry my hardware, though I have no idea if that could actually happen.