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How do you transfer files from a dead computer to an external hard drive?

I need to know how to transfer files from a internal hard drive to another computer?

  • My laptop won't turn on completely, the power light turns on but nothing else loads on the screen it is just black. I have files on that laptop that I need. I need to know how to transfer those files from the internal hard drive to another laptop. I don't want to know how to take out the hard drive and put it into another laptop I just need to know how to get those files to another computer. Is it possible to do without having the laptop on and running?

  • Answer:

    Ok my friend, I hope you know or have a Geek as a good friend! This is not an easy thing to do... First you will need to remove the hard drive from the old computer & place it in a 2.5" drive case. Now Depending on what OS the old computer used be it XP or Vista you will need to use the same OS to salvage the data of the old HD. If the OS was XP, hook the 2.5" drive to the comp boot to safe mode, now find your user files, now you have to take ownership of the files in order to see the continence. read here http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308421 once you have done this you will be able to get at your files & use them again. Sorry there is no easy way!

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not without the laptop running. If you don`t want to take it out, I would suggest finding another monitor and connecting it to the laptop. That would solve you problem given that the laptop works and only problem is the display. If the laptop doesn`t work - does not turn on, then you would need to take out the hard drive in order to power it up from an external enclosure.

chrgr

If you do not see a POST display, I don't think booting with a bootable Cd would help you see anything either. On my laptop, there is a tiny lever on the top right side, just above the keyboard which presses down when the lid is closing and shuts off the video display. If you have something similar, check to see if that lever has popped up when the lid is raised. I had a similar problem and to all intents and purposes the laptop was working but no display because of problems here. Even connecting a different display to the laptop didn't help. Of course this doesn't answer your question but may give you an insight to your problem. Obviously to transfer files, the laptop does have to be working and you need to see what you are doing. Removing the Hard Drive from the laptop is not difficult. Finding a friend with a similar laptop might be. Good Luck

Prospero

As far as I know - no. The computer in question does need to be in good shape enough to boot before you can start transferring files. Do you have a boot CD or floppy disk? That way, you could get to a command prompt, and then transfer files to a USB stick. At least, this is what I would try if I had your problem. If that didn't work, I'd get someone who knows about computer hardware to see if they could do that or find another way to fix the laptop and/or transfer the files.

ketira

If the laptop will not load far enough to boot off of a CD or the hard drive, then there's no way to get the files without accessing the drive itself. You can get an external case for laptop hard drive for about $10. Makes a nice external for future use after salvaging what files you need. Should you decide to go that route, be sure to see if the drive is IDE or SATA before ordering an enclosure.

AdamR

in order to accomplish the task without moving the hard disk to another computer, the laptop must be powered on, networked and shared.

edmund.m

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