Topic: DIY Internal Hard Drive Removal and Transfer

[rich]

So, my computer died weekend before last.  After way too much time spent trying to fix the thing myself, I have purchased a new desktop.  My question is, does anyone have any tips, suggestions, etc for removing the hard drive from my old computer and transfering the information to a new external drive.  I would like to retrieve the music.  Thanks.

Rich

[Jeremy Lykins]

You can buy a case to put the old hard drive in and use it as an external drive.  I did that for my little brother with his laptop after his motherboard melted, and it's super-easy and pretty cheap to do.

[Brian Skalinder]

What is the condition of the old HDD?  Did your old computer dying include the HDD going bad?

If the old HDD is still good, you might be able to connect it internally - assuming the new desktop supports the same type of HDD.  Do you know what type (IDE, SATA) the old HDD is?  And do you know what HDD type the new desktop supports?  If not, do you have model #s for the old HDD and the new computer?

[rich]

Okay Brian here it goes...i am pretty sure this is accurate is I am taking the information directly form the respective owners manual.

OLD SYSTEM  -  not sure if the hard drive is functional; computer shut down and would not load OS

Dell Dimension 8300 Series
ATA-66 or ATA-100 Ultra DMA hard drive, serial ATA drive
Internally accessible via two bays for 1 inch high hard drives
also various CD, zip, DVD, etc drives

NEW SYSTEM  -  purchased as a bandaid solution to salvage the above system; so far so good, much to         
                         to be determined

Compaq Presario SR5410 f
WDC WD3200AAJS - 65VWAO ATA Device

if i have missed something let me know.  i genuinely appreciate your help.  thank you.

rich

[Lil Kim Jong-Il]

you should be able to just move that SATA drive over and read it if it hasn't otherwise failed.

If those recordings are your masters, you might want to consider a backup plan - like using DVDs to archive the master flacs.  Everything fails eventually.

[rich]

okay.."move it over and read it"  ?

does this mean remove the hard drive from the old computer and install to the new and simply attach cables as directed, and the new computer should read the new drive.

sorry, not very computer savy.  thank you for your help.

rich

[sleepypedro]

okay.."move it over and read it"  ?

does this mean remove the hard drive from the old computer and install to the new and simply attach cables as directed, and the new computer should read the new drive.

yes, that's what he means.  this is pretty basic stuff -- connect the drive and go, pretty much.

[rich]

look bro..i really dont need your  ass vibe comment.  I was extremely clear that I was not computer savy.  I felt comfortable asking a stupid newbie question here on the TS.  Until you, i have received helpful and positive suggestions.

Rich

[live2496]

So, my computer died weekend before last.  After way too much time spent trying to fix the thing myself, I have purchased a new desktop.  My question is, does anyone have any tips, suggestions, etc for removing the hard drive from my old computer and transfering the information to a new external drive.  I would like to retrieve the music.  Thanks.

Rich

Hopefully, the drive is still accessible. It's possible that it might not bootup but yet you could access data files on the drive. If the drive seems like it's not spinning or is making loud clicking noises then it might be a lost cause.

Try the external USB option. The other option is to open the case on the new system and see if you can plug in another drive cable somewhere. There may be an extra set of pins for another SATA cable on the board. Restart your system and it should detect it and show up as another drive letter in "My Computer".

[alpine85]

I just had the same thing happen - computer died (black screen with "Operating System Not Found" message).  I'm assuming the HD with the OS is dead and hopefully the other HD (with all my files) is OK.

I'm thinking about trying one of these -
http://www.xpcgear.com/ideusbv2.html

Anyone ever use one of 'em?

[rich]

hey thanks folks.  i will post an update tonight.  alpine, if you find something that works let me know.  again, thank you for the feedback.

rich

[Lil Kim Jong-Il]

look bro..i really dont need your  ass vibe comment.  I was extremely clear that I was not computer savy.  I felt comfortable asking a stupid newbie question here on the TS.  Until you, i have received helpful and positive suggestions.

Rich

Peter wasn't intending any rudeness.  Saying that the procedure is basic was meant to put you at ease.  Never worry about asking questions here.

To get your files, simply attach this drive to your new machine using another SATA cable between the motherboard and when your machine boots (I'm assuming a windows machine) the drive will be detected by the OS and it will just be there for you.  If the drive is somewhat new and you aren't concerned about it failing, I would just leave it in there for the additional storage it provides.  The old OS and programs will be there still.  You can erase them or you can leave them there for another machine sometime.

The USB cases are good if you intend to carry it around, otherwise I'd get one of those little adapters.  I have a few of them at work, we use them all the time and they perform flawlessly for us.