help recovering hdd data

[huffmonster]

the ram slots on my motherboard recently crapped out, the computer just gives me the beeps and wont load so im like 99% its the ram slots, i got a lot of artwork and music i've made on the HDD that i want to recover, but here's the kicker; i cant find a desktop to throw my HDD into, everyone i know only has a laptops. does anyone have any ideas on how i can get the data from my HDD? for example is there maybe like a a powered usb cable for such a scenario, is it even possible to slave my HDD to my laptop? or am i stuck until i find a desktop i can use?

[thejefferson]

You can get an external enclosure for your hard drive and then take it to a friends house and plug it in via USB or something and drag and drop.

[therage800]

Like thejefferson said you could use an external enclosure or another option which is more like what you sound like your picturing is one of my favorite tools ever

http://www.amazon.com/Sabrent-USB-DSC5-3-5-Inch-Converter-Adapter/dp/B000HJ99DI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1223754544&sr=8-1

[white]

@therage is that just an enclosure without the case?

[computoman]

Trinity rescue kit (trk) is great for doing things like that. It is free and on cd so you do not have to take the computer apart. You could also probably do the same thing with any of the lastest live linux cd based distros such as ubuntu or whatever. point and click to back up whatever you want.

[tehboris]

Trinity rescue kit (trk) is great for doing things like that. It is free and on cd so you do not have to take the computer apart. You could also probably do the same thing with any of the lastest live linux cd based distros such as ubuntu or whatever. point and click to back up whatever you want.

Except the computer is physically broken.

USB to IDE/SATA adapter is all that is needed.

[tokenuser]

@therage is that just an enclosure without the case?I use an Apricorn unit that is very similar to that.

It is the interface without the case. The box plugs into the port on the HDD, and power is provided either via USB, or a power brick that converts to a 12V DC plug for a harddrive.

Great for testing drives outside of the enclosure.

[huffmonster]

thank you so much to everyone, those tools will be exactly what i need :D

[computoman]

We have been lucky enough to collect several machines where the system was thought to be broken so the user said. The user bought a new system and then gave the old system to us. The old systems are running just fine for us now. We never turn down free computers and the customer is always right. If they say it is broken, then by gosh it is. That is till it gets to our work bench. We have had one or two that could not be saved, but we wait till we get one like it and make one good one out of two. Worst case scenario, we have some spare parts or at least a reusable case. Though we are at the point where we will probably make a donation to goodwill soon again. There is too much of a good thing sometimes.

[therage800]

@therage is that just an enclosure without the case?

Exactly, it's not a good permanent solution, like I wouldn't use it for backups, but it's a good tool for recovering data off bad hard drives or doing one time transfers. Also it works with 2.5 and 3.5 IDE hard drives and SATA hard drives. Actually it'll work with any IDE or SATA interface (CD burner, etc.)

[huffmonster]

We have been lucky enough to collect several machines where the system was thought to be broken so the user said. The user bought a new system and then gave the old system to us. The old systems are running just fine for us now. We never turn down free computers and the customer is always right. If they say it is broken, then by gosh it is. That is till it gets to our work bench. We have had one or two that could not be saved, but we wait till we get one like it and make one good one out of two. Worst case scenario, we have some spare parts or at least a reusable case. Though we are at the point where we will probably make a donation to goodwill soon again. There is too much of a good thing sometimes.

hey thats cool and all but i dont see what that has to do with me and my situation and this thread. also if you need to take the donated systems to your workbench doesnt that mean you had to fix something and the system was infact broken like the customer said. are you like trying to show off or something, i just dont get why you even bothered posting this lol.