For the first solution, you will introduce your hard drive into a docking station that you will then connect via firewire, Sata or a USB cable. Note, however, that these stations only allow disks in Sata format like a Western Digital or Seagate SATA hard drive. So make sure that your disk is in this format, that the case can accommodate the format of your disk: 3.5 and/or 2.5 inches.
Also check the connections maintained by the station and the PC on which you want to connect this box: firewire, e-Sata, USB 2 or 3… As far as connecting your Data Recovery hard drive to an external box is concerned, the principle is simple. You will only have to introduce your disk in a box that you connect, thereafter, via a USB cable, or Sata or firewire on your computer.
However, try to be sure that the box can accept the connection of your disk and the 3.5 and/or 2.5 inch format. Also check the connections supported by the box and the PC on which you want to connect this box: Firewire, e-Sata, USB 2 or 3…
You have as many possibilities to do hard drive data recovery with a cheap price, and therefore plug it into another tower of the PC to go there to recover your data. Otherwise, you can also add a hard drive to your tower and install a system there, in order to boot on it and recover your data from the other hard drive.
Note however that if you place a hard drive in a tower covered by a guarantee, you run the risk of losing the cover which is canceled by opening the PC. Finally, note that sometimes the fact of connecting a defective disk prevents the PC from starting.
In this case, try to start Windows without the disk that contains the data to be recovered. Then plug it in right after booting by putting the Sata cable back in, being careful as power is flowing. This is to be avoided at all costs. Instead, try using an external box or docking station.