Internal HDD

Hi guys,

Please let me know if this post should be elsewhere. I have an older macbook pro with a dead logic board. I would like to salvage the HDD and keep it as a backup of the data. Is it possible to just remove the drive and put it in an external housing and boot from it, or access it in any way? Do I need a specific housing etc? I had a Zalman ve350 that I dropped it into, but while I can see it in disk utility, it won't mount or boot. Any tips or advice would be great!

Thanks guys!