AndrewTS 0 Report post Posted February 1, 2007 I have a friend whose computer is shot--specifically, the processor. Troubleshooting it myself narrowed it down to memory or processor. It fails the POST, and replacement memory didn't change anything (although the DIMM slots are functioning, they recognize the memory). However, now there's pretty much no way for him to recover the data save for connecting up the hard drive to a working computer. Is there an easy way to get the data off another hard drive aside from yanking the one out a similar computer and putting the other one in? For example, is there any sort of adapter that I could connect up the (internal) harddrive to adapt it to a USB/Firewire, like most of the market's external harddrives? Both my friend and I have similar (but not identical) Compaq Presarios. Both have Ultra DMA hard drives installed with Windows XP SP2. The same amount of memory installed so both meet the system requirements to boot XP. So in theory I guess it would work, but I'm hesitant to yank my hard drive out (I haven't even opened it yet) if I could use connect up a cable and use it as a storage device. Any suggestions? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jaxxson Mayhem 0 Report post Posted February 1, 2007 You could just hook it up to your computer. If it's like most/all, you won't have to unhook yours. You can have more than 1 hard drive in your computer at once. Just open up the tower, connect the hard drive to one of the open slots and hook it up. Install the hard drive, and transfer the files. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
muzz 0 Report post Posted February 2, 2007 You can also get a Hard Drive Caddy, which houses the hard drive externally and connects to the computer via a USB port. I would have lost a lot of data if I didn't have one this week. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AndrewTS 0 Report post Posted February 2, 2007 That's exactly the type of thing I'm looking for. Where'd you find it/price? I'm looking for hopefully a brick-and-mortar place. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
muzz 0 Report post Posted February 2, 2007 I lucked out since my brother had one, but I've seen some around on the net from $30 US upwards. Couldn't help with an actual place though, unless you were prepared to travel overseas. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ripper 0 Report post Posted February 2, 2007 Or you can hook it up to your new computer for free, copy it over and be done with it. Its really not that hard, unless you don't know how to put a hardrive into a computer. But you won't even have to unhook yours. Just set the jumpers on the old harddrive to slave if necessary and boot up. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AndrewTS 0 Report post Posted February 2, 2007 You skimmed the post--it's for a friend, and his new computer is a laptop. However, I guess I'll just go with the 2ndary harddrive route on mine. If I get the data off it he'll be glad to let me keep his dvd drive/memory/hard drive. Should I just pop it in and go? The top of the hard drive suggests running some disk wizard first. Or is that for n00bs (like router install discs)? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ripper 0 Report post Posted February 2, 2007 You skimmed the post--it's for a friend, and his new computer is a laptop. However, I guess I'll just go with the 2ndary harddrive route on mine. If I get the data off it he'll be glad to let me keep his dvd drive/memory/hard drive. Should I just pop it in and go? The top of the hard drive suggests running some disk wizard first. Or is that for n00bs (like router install discs)? Oh. well you never mentioned it was for a laptop. That would make it more difficult! I thought you meant PC to PC. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Prophet of Mike Zagurski 0 Report post Posted February 2, 2007 Check CompUSA. They have lots of hard drive enclosures and some of them have USB capabilities. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AndrewTS 0 Report post Posted February 3, 2007 I've hit a major snag, unfortunately. The drive cable that connects my hard drive to my motherboard is just a single-drive cable. So I'll need a dual-drive one to get this sucker working. So, in summary, to get this installed as a secondary drive, I need a dual-drive Ultra DMA jump cable. Either that or a drive caddy, which is looking more and more appealing at this point. I've googled and hit compusa's site with little luck. Am I just using the wrong keywords? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AndrewTS 0 Report post Posted February 3, 2007 Hm...this looks good... http://www.compusa.com/products/product_in..._Disk_Enclosure The harddrive is a 3.5", so that should work okay. Is there anything else here I should verify before purchasing? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jaxxson Mayhem 0 Report post Posted February 5, 2007 Is this what you were looking for? http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/ADS-Technol...roductDetail.do Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AndrewTS 0 Report post Posted February 17, 2007 I got the one you suggested, and it worked out great. Thanks a lot. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
