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Salvaging Info on a Dead Computer
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Jul 19, 2014 11:30:55   #
tradergeorge Loc: Newport, Kentucky
 
sarge69 wrote:
A computer can die easily. Hard Drives are a bit harder.

Having a device that plugs into your USB port and also has an IDE ( hard drive connector) end and also a SATA (laptop drive connector) lets you plug into any drive (out of the laptop or computer) and access the data. Even on a boot C Drive and then copy the info onto your drive or an external drive.

I value mine so much I bought a backup for it so I'll always have that option to move files around no matter what.

Sarge69
A computer can die easily. Hard Drives are a bit h... (show quote)


I have one of those also, but have not used the IDE port for a long time. It reminds me too much of stone axes and knives....IDE is painfully slow and limited in storage space..

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Jul 19, 2014 11:33:10   #
tradergeorge Loc: Newport, Kentucky
 
Indi wrote:
OK, the device I have does the same thing, except I can connect any kind of drive.
So how do you get data from a dead drive?


If you have a PC, it should just show up in your drive list under the next available drive letter....From there, you can access it like any other drive. If you do not understand what I just said, you need Geek Help....

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Jul 19, 2014 11:37:08   #
tradergeorge Loc: Newport, Kentucky
 
blackest wrote:
These days most drives are sata which is an improvement over ide drives (2.5 ide drives had a 44 pin header and 3.5 40 pin + a separate power connector).

so with a relatively modern desktop system you could disconnect the dvd drive and use the power and data cables to connect the 2.5 sata drive from the laptop (they use the same connectors) boot up the desktop system and you should have a new drive on your system which is your dead laptops drive. which you can now read and write from.

pretty good chance that you can choose the boot menu on startup or go into the bios and change the boot order and you can boot up with the laptop drive, chances are it will need to update drivers and it may need windows activating but you would have your desktop kind of turned into your laptop for that session.
These days most drives are sata which is an improv... (show quote)


Yup, that is a piece of cake for many of us. However, there are many who are positively phobic about opening their computer cases and messing with the wires. For them, a dock that plugs into a USB port is a Godsend...

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Jul 19, 2014 11:43:26   #
tradergeorge Loc: Newport, Kentucky
 
DummieAtThis wrote:
Could this Sata docking station be used to retrieve data from an external drive that just stopped? I am not a computer person and have to have very specific instructions. Have a very old Seagate external drive which I have used for several years that just stopped operating. It is so old that it is not the compact flat design but a very bulky heavy stand up design. Had most of the data backed up but would like to be able to see all the data on the drive to be sure I have not missed anything since most files are pictures of my grandchildren down through the years.
Could this Sata docking station be used to retriev... (show quote)


That is a case of , "maybe, maybe not"...It depends upon whether the drive failed or the electronics in the box....However, for the price of the box, you can hook it up, remove the drive from the old external case and try it. If it comes up and reads, then "Bob's yer uncle"....If it fails to read, you are only out the price of the dock, and you will probably use it elsewhere anyway....WIN-WIN!!

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Jul 19, 2014 12:02:21   #
Retina Loc: Near Charleston,SC
 
Leon S wrote:
I was told by Best Buy Geeks that the mother board was shot, not the hard drive.

My neighbor took dead out-of-warranty desktop to Best Buy. The drive worked but the OS was corrupt and I was out of town. They offered to sell him another computer and save his personal files from the old drive. What they did was remove and reformat the hard drive before saving any data, "lose" his old computer, and charge him $90 on top of the cost of the new machine. He got only his old wiped drive back. The computer had extra RAM and a new PCI video card which I had earlier installed. I will never spend another dime at Worst Buy. I recommend sending any drive that needs critical data recovery to a truly professional service. There is one in Minnesota, the name escapes me. Most of the time data can be recovered by attaching the old drive to a working machine with an external drive enclosure (about $10 for laptop drives) or attaching cables to the motherboard or appropriate external ports. There is no shame in asking for help. Barter some portrait work for it. (oops--is the Eye Are Ess reading this?)

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Jul 19, 2014 12:29:22   #
romanticf16 Loc: Commerce Twp, MI
 
Indi wrote:
OK, the device I have does the same thing, except I can connect any kind of drive.
So how do you get data from a dead drive?


It depends. Often it is the diode(electronics) attached to the drive that gets fried by a surge. If you can buy an identical drive and switch the electronics it is usually able to get the drive to work and you can recover your data.
If you've heard the "click of death" the disk mechanism itself is rubbing and there is less chance of recovery. The drive has to be taken apart in a "clean room" and the disks spun up and read to try to recover data. This is $$$$.

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Jul 19, 2014 13:10:16   #
wvatxn Loc: Texas
 
In straightening up my computer area (such a mess) I ran across an older HP computer. I want to get rid of it but want to remove the hard drive before doing so. What is a simple way to connect the old hard drive to my present computer to see what's on it and not do damage to anything?

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Jul 19, 2014 13:21:08   #
sailor2545 Loc: Victoria, BC
 
I did the same and still use it to download to or to work on old pics.
Leon S wrote:
What I bought from Best Buy is a BLAC X docking station. Read the instructions and played with the retrieval. I'm many things, but a computer geek, I'm not. Therefor most people could do the job. I will confess, my wife helped a lot in transferring the info.

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Jul 19, 2014 14:20:28   #
bunuweld Loc: Arizona
 
Indi wrote:
Well, that's "sort of," good news. If you can replace the motherboard, your computer should fire right up. Maybe your wife can help you with that.
BTW, the GEEKS at BB really don't know anything.
I had some serious issues with them.


You said: "....BTW, the GEEKS at BB really don't know anything". I know from bitter experience that to be true. They are eager to take your money, but apparently not very very capable or interested to really help.

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Jul 19, 2014 14:23:59   #
bunuweld Loc: Arizona
 
Leon S wrote:
A few years back, our home was struck by lightening and we lost our computers and a lot of other items. What wasn't backed up and stored unplugged from the wall was lost. We paid a service $95 dollars to retrieve info on one machine. A few days ago my lap top mother board fried. Instead of paying another $95 dollars to try to retrieve what wasn't already backed up, I bought a Sata docking station for $35. It was easy to remove the lap top hard drive and recover the unsaved info onto my desk top. Now for $35 I have my info and a cheep portable hard drive for future use. These docking stations are available for almost all hard drives. If your not a computer geek, you may not have known about this alternative.
A few years back, our home was struck by lightenin... (show quote)


Thanks for the suggestion of the docking station, and for the very useful information that your post has generated on this thread.

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Jul 19, 2014 14:26:10   #
Leon S Loc: Minnesota
 
Capture48 wrote:
You got VERY lucky!!!! A drive is an electrical component and could easily be fried as well. when those go it can cost thousands of $$$ to recover data. Your solution is a VERY poor substitute for a backup!

You should buy a lottery ticket!


I agree with you but I don't back up every day, every hour, so there were items I could have lost but luckily didn't.

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Jul 19, 2014 14:48:21   #
Royalruler Loc: Rancho Cucamonga
 
I have used these for years, I have three of them so I can recover several kinds of disk drives. I have helped a number of my friends.

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Jul 19, 2014 15:26:48   #
romanticf16 Loc: Commerce Twp, MI
 
wvatxn wrote:
In straightening up my computer area (such a mess) I ran across an older HP computer. I want to get rid of it but want to remove the hard drive before doing so. What is a simple way to connect the old hard drive to my present computer to see what's on it and not do damage to anything?


If you have an open eithernet port on both machines all you need is a Cat5e cable.

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Jul 19, 2014 15:43:48   #
Royalruler Loc: Rancho Cucamonga
 
The cat5e works assuming both computers are working.

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Jul 19, 2014 18:37:10   #
peterg Loc: Santa Rosa, CA
 
I've recovered data from several hard drives with:
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/NewerTech/U3NVSPATA/ While not pretty, it can be configured many ways.

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