computer crashed, can I do this?

rpm9001

rpm9001

Donating Member
Registered
We had a power outage in our town, Power came back on and my power supply was fried.. replaced it and it still will not turm on. I went and bought a new tower, but want to try to see if I can retrieve some of the old hard drives data. Is there any easy way to do this? I want 2k pictures of my daughter, pdf filesand my itunes music. Mos of it was backed up to disk, but I want to look through it (if the hd works)

Any sugestions? Old os was xp new is vista. I have the old hd on my desk.

Thanks for the help.. Just looking for some ideas,
 
sure, load up your OS on a new drive and after it is up and running, just plug the old drive back in.. should get recognized just fine..

path:

most likely Documents and settings/ {her user name} and then documents folder

if the tower you bought is complete, just open it up and install the drives... restart system, go to my computer and look for the new drive letter
 
Last edited:
Thats it? old drive as slave? I will have to open it up and see if there is a place to mount it.

Thanks, Going to do a search on the net for more info.

Thanks!
 
you can do it two ways...
cheapest is to open the new PC case and plug in the hard drive to the ribbon cable that the new PC's hard drive is connected to or the ribbon cable that the CD/ROM or DVD/ROm is connected to. Make sure on the OLD hard drive the jumper pins (it looks like 2 rows of pins with a black thing across 2 of them) are set up as "auto" or "line select". There is a diagram on the hard drive right by those jumper pins on the top of the drive.
Option #2 is to buy a USB hard drive case which you put the old drive in and plug it in to a USB port and it will show up in "My Computer" as another drive letter.
Either of these two will work as long as the hard drive wasnt fried along with the power supply.
PM me if you need further assistance.
 
acehole said:
Option #2 is to buy a USB hard drive case which you put the old drive in and plug it in to a USB port and it will show up in "My Computer" as another drive letter.
Either of these two will work as long as the hard drive wasnt fried along with the power supply.
PM me if you need further assistance.
Click to expand...

I run a lot of old hard drives this way, makes them portable.

Yes, there will be a slot and ribbon in the new pc for the drive.

Just make sure you change the jumper on the back of it.
 
it is always possible that there is no ribbon cable in the new system..

you might want to just get an external drive kit (they make them to take an IDE drive and make them a USB drive)...

if you get screwed up, I would be more than happy to strip the data off the drive for you (I have dedicated boxes for doing just that).. usually just copy all the Documents folders over to DVD and ship it back to you or send the DVD and drill the HDD..

PM me if you want that :)
 
Boy I love this board!! Thank you for all the help. I like the hard drive case idea, I'm going to go to my local computer shop and see what I can find. Hope the drive is not shot also.

Thanks again for the help! I feel much better knowing I may be able to save a few important things. I started backing everything to my thumb drive more often,

Lesson learned.

Geo:beerchug::beerchug:
 
The USB thing is getting really common for backup use.. I would not suggest using the OLD drive for backup but if you get a "External" drive bay, you can get hard drives for dirt cheap now days.. 300+GB for under $50

or even buy a "book" drive ready to go, swap the old drive in to rob the data and then put the new drive back in the bay..
 
For backup use I have a 1TB NAS(fixin to drop 4 1TB drives in it though). It was about 400 bucks for the entire NAS with 4 removable 250GB drives. I can decide which raid I want in it from 0 1 5 or 10.

If a drive fails just pull it out drop in a new one and let it rebuild and your good to go. The one I purchased is also capable of being on a Gigabit network which is good cause transfer speeds are pretty quick. Most people wont have a GB lan but have a 10/100 lan which will still transfer the files at a decent rate. Also it matter not which PC you use as long as its on your lan you can access the NAS.


Just my .02
 
lavinrac said:
For backup use I have a 1TB NAS(fixin to drop 4 1TB drives in it though). It was about 400 bucks for the entire NAS with 4 removable 250GB drives. I can decide which raid I want in it from 0 1 5 or 10.

If a drive fails just pull it out drop in a new one and let it rebuild and your good to go. The one I purchased is also capable of being on a Gigabit network which is good cause transfer speeds are pretty quick. Most people wont have a GB lan but have a 10/100 lan which will still transfer the files at a decent rate. Also it matter not which PC you use as long as its on your lan you can access the NAS.


Just my .02
Click to expand...

Lavin you geek speakin 'busa ridin mofo! :cheerleader:I have one of those NAS devices and I recomend then to all my firends and clients. Pretty slick unit.
 
I bought another hp, I did buy another surge suppressor....funny thing is the old one was also plugged into one. WOODS brand .The light said "protection indicated" I guess it did not work.
 
Last edited:
Ok here we go.... Went and picked up the hd case and getting ready to ge the hd out of the old tower.. unplugged everything but for some reason I plugged them all in and tried to power it on again....... pushed the power button and it started!! it now works like normal! WTF??? I dont know if I should be mad or happy. I guess I bought a new computer for no reason. The good thing is I can retrieve what I needed. I have a feeling when I plugged the power switch to the MB I missed a row of pins when I plugged it in. It pulled off easy. Reminds me of the time I changed the clutch in my f150 in the driveway and it turned out to be a badd plug wire.. but that's another story

Thanks for everyones help! I'm going to keep the hd case and do something with it.

ps...I know what you are all doing right now--------->:rofl:

George
 
Last edited:
not at all unusual.... (looking over shoulder) I put HDD's in the freezer after they fail and refire them while they are cold... works pretty often (well often enough I do it)..

Same can go for a MB.. they will go intermittent.. get your data off WHILE it is working because it is going to quit again... gotta love things that work with electrons...
 
Mr Bogus...

cover.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

D
Computer help pls
2
Replies
21
Views
1,975
VIPER
VIPER
Justyntym
Computer wipe issue
Replies
5
Views
869
Blazing-Saddle
Blazing-Saddle
thepushercg
computer experts need a little help
Replies
16
Views
1,029
Strife
Strife
rubbersidedown
i used to know this stuff
Replies
6
Views
502
Mandangelo
M
KanjiBusa
Microsoft Vista
Replies
16
Views
1,256
KanjiBusa
KanjiBusa
Back
Top