Paper wrote:


Richie Hardwick;906042 Wrote:
Paper wrote:



Hello,

(I apologize if this is in the wrong section.) I was browsing the
internet for answers to my question, but didn't quite find what I was
looking for. It seemed as if you folks could help me.

I currently have an HP Pavilion a6110n PC running Windows Vista Home
Premium 64bit, believe. I got this computer after my old one seemed to
fry, it wouldn't boot up, and still won't. I still have the old one
because it had many valuable files on the hard drive. I believe it's a
Compaq running Windows XP. My question is: is there any way I can
retrieve the files from the hard drive? I don't care about the
programs, just the documents (text, audio, video).

Are you handy inside a computer?

Open the old one, take the hard drive out. Open the new one and slave
the drive (it's getting tricky now).

OR, take the drive to your nearest computer shop and get an external
USB enclosure for it - about $20.

You should then be able to access your files and to move them to
wherever you want them.

IF you had made image backups of your system all along, you would
merely have to open the imaging program and then to the image to get
at your programs. Consider that in the future... Acronis True Image,
about $25 from the recently discontinued version which is fine, or
another $10 for the latest and greatest.

Richie Hardwick


I'm not too handy on the inside of the computer, but I read up on
slaving the drive. Would it hurt for me to attempt to slave it, and if I
can't get it to work, just go buy the enclosure? Or are there risks
involved in slaving/failed slaving?

No risks at all. Just make sure your computer is UNPLUGGED from the
wall when you play around inside it. Even thought power is off, if
it's still plugged into the wall outlet power is live in some places
on the motherboard.

Thanks for showing me these methods and all that, I thought it would be
really difficult. My nearest "computer store" would be Best Buy. Would
New Egg.com or something like that be my best bet for a cheap enclosure?

Newegg is a GREAT place to shop for an enclosure. Be careful: there
are USB enclosures for every kind of drive. My guess is that you need
one for a 3.5" IDE drive.

Richie Hardwick