Broken pc ...new laptop how to get my files off pc?

Go to any store that has a wide selection of computer parts and accessories and ask for a USB hard drive enclosure. They have them for both desktop hard drives and the smaller sized laptop hard drives. Open your computer chassis to get to the Hard drive inside. Depending on your computer brand and model this might require the use of a screwdriver. Some newer models open with the push of a button, or two. Check your computer manual or computer brand website if you are unsure how to do this. If you are unsure what the hard drive looks like then type in "hard drive" on either Google or Yahoo under the "images" search. Many computers are organized differently inside so the exact location of the hard drive will differ between models. There should be two cables attached to the back of the hard drive. One is for power and the other connects to the motherboard and looks like a ribbon. Disconnect them both from the back of the hard drive. Remove the Hard drive from the computer. If it does not easily slide out after the two cables are disconnected then check for any screws holding the hard drive in place. There may be two on either side. Now follow the instructions that came with the USB hard drive enclosure that you bought to plug the broken hard drive into the enclosure. A USB wire should be included with the enclosure kit to attach it to a working computer by the USB port. You do not need to open the chassis of the working computer. Preferably choose a Windows XP computer, rather than a Windows 98 or older, for working computer you will connect the USB drive enclosure to. XP will have a better chance of recognizing the drive without you needing to install special drivers on the working computer. If you see messages on the screen like "new hardware found" then go to the "my computer" icon and look for a drive other than A,C, or D. For example, if you find a drive called "F" then most likely that is the old broken hard drive recognizes via USB on the working computer. If you have several CD\DVD drives or multiple hard drives already on the working computer then the USB connected drive might show up as a higher letter like "G" or "H". Here is the moment of truth. If your broken hard drive only had a corrupted operating system on it then you will be able to get to many of the files on it through the working Operating system on the good computer. Just double click the F, G, or H icon under the "my computer" section. If you can get to folders on that drive then you can copy and paste them to the working computers hard drive. If you get an error message when you try to access the broken drive then the damage might be physical rather than just a corrupted OS.

Get an HD enclosure from Novatech, link below, read the reviews, very simple and quick to use, and for less than £9.00 good value, alternatively, plug your HD in to a mates pc, ensure you put the jumper at the back to slave, then copy files to CD/DVD or memory stick. http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/prods/Components/HardDrives-External/HardDriveEnclosures/Novatech/NOV-25ENCS.html Good luck anyway JB

maybe you can borrow a monitor so you can copy the files to get them onto your new laptop. For future reference, invest in an external hard drive and use it to back up your files.

If you purchased the new laptop from a shop or retailer, pretty sure they would copy the files across for you for nothing.(they should have offered to do this when the laptop was bought) Tell them to put your old HD into a portable USB caddy. After confirming your files have been transferred to your laptop, format the usb hard drive to give yourself an external backup drive. ___________________________________ If bought on the web : Sounds like its your monitor thats packed up. Your new laptop will have a connection on the back to be able to connect an external monitor. Take the video lead out of the monitor, and insert it into this laptop connection. Connect them together using USB cable. Power up. Your laptop should detect your desktop. One of the cleverer guys should help you further, but I would hope there was a way your desktop's hard disk would be found by the network on your laptop. Cost £0.00 ______________________________________…

It all depends on the condition of your old hard drive. First and most important you need to earth yourself to the chassis of the old PC or wear an earth strap. Then remove the old hard drive and get yourself an external hard drive enclosure with a USB connector. Place the hard drive inside cross your fingers and with luck you will then be able to access all your old files

Take it to a PC shop, they will recover all your old pictures etc for a small fee =)

You could buy a caddy. Then take out the hard drive from the old pc, plug it into the caddy and then connect that up to your laptop; assuming there is nothing wrong with the hard drive. something like this; http://www.ebuyer.com/product/120659