My laptop died a couple of years ago. I still have it put away but I'd like to salvage the files that were on the hard drive. The laptop doesn't want to turn on at all. Not even the fans or the lights turn on. Not sure what's going on there. Is there any way I can save the files I have on there without paying a lot of money to have someone do it for me?
2007-08-21 06:43:16 · 11 answers · asked by Anonymous in Computers & Internet ➔ Hardware ➔ Laptops & Notebooks
I can't help but wonder how important those files are if you haven't done anything about it for so long!
Simply put, laptop batteries die after a while. A new one for about $30 may be a good investment. Let it charge at least one full day before using the computer. If the computer still won't turn on, it could be that the battery and/or power cord are not making good contact; you may need a qualified electrician or computer repair person to help you with that. If that still doesn't help, then get it repaired at a local computer retailer, or, considering the drop in prices, buy a new one, and ask the retailer to copy the important files from your old hard drive to your new drive (consider the following: if you like the operating system that's on your old drive, and don't mind the potential loss of computer power with an older system, then just have the retailer put the old drive in the new one's slot!).
Considering all the inexpensive, external drive options (flash drives, MP3 players, CD/DVD recorders, zip drives, etc, etc, etc), if nothing else, I hope this teaches everyone a lesson in backing-up your files!!!
2007-08-21 07:13:52 · answer #1 · answered by skaizun 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It sounds as if the actual laptop CPU has died and not the hard drive itself. This means that you're in a good position to remove the hard drive from your laptop and access it from another computer. The easiest way to do this is by using a "2.5 HDD enclosure" kit. Just search on the web, or ebay for it and you'll find plenty of them. If you have the option of a self-powered enclosure kit or a A/C powered version, go with the A/C powered version.
To remove the hard drive in most laptops only requires the pressing of one or two buttons. Flip your laptop over and look around until you see these. Most newer laptop hard drives slide to the side while older laptops tend to remove vertically.
See this page for an example:
http://www.fonerbooks.com/laptop_1.htm
Once you've removed the actual hard drive you may need to remove some screws which are holding plastic onto the drive. Doing so will allow you to insert it properly into your USB kit.
After that, connect the USB cable into both the kit and a working computer and you should have access to all your files.
If you look under the following location you should be able to find your user account name which will give you access to "My Documents" and "Desktop"
F:\Documents and Settings\
Good luck,
Rick
2007-08-21 07:01:40 · answer #2 · answered by Charlotteguy2007 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
the easiest way would be to open up the laptop, take out the harddrive (normally accessibel through flap on bottom of machine, but this may vary) and connect it to another PC. You can get an external casing for the drive with USB or Firewire connectors or just hook it up to the connectors in a regular PC. Hope this works.
2016-05-19 00:10:01 · answer #3 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
((My laptop died a couple of years ago)) not sure if your files still exist on the hard drive because after amount of time the data will be erased.
however, the only way is to take the hard drive out and connect it to another computer as a slave and copy your files.
2007-08-21 06:48:14 · answer #4 · answered by amlife 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Take the hard drive out and put in in an external housing not only will you get your old files back but have a back up hard drive. I've posted a link to newegg.com click on the size you need on the left.
2007-08-21 06:51:15 · answer #5 · answered by entikryst 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Take out the hard drive and then connect it to another computer, it has to be used as a slave to another laptop.
2007-08-21 06:52:13 · answer #6 · answered by Runs with Scissors 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
you need to open the computer up, take out the hard drive and then connect it to another computer. it has to be used as a slave to another laptop
2007-08-21 06:46:47 · answer #7 · answered by Colin R 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Siempre he comprado en los sitios web hard disks de buena calidad, y siempre acabo llenándolas así que al final me he decidido compra un hard disk con una gran cantidad de almacenamiento, de una marca que ya conozco muy bien he encontrado un hard disk bastante grande a un precio sin rival, la compra ha valido la pena porque aunque es grande tiene una excelente velocidad de respuesta, una excelente compra.
2014-12-13 11:57:24 · answer #8 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
you can remove the hard drive and buy a USB hard disk case that will fit to your existing hard disk, better bring it with you to the computer shops to make sure that you purchase the correct hard disk case. then you can plug and play into your current system with USB ports.
2007-08-21 06:49:22 · answer #9 · answered by OgieV 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
get an external, hard drive to USB box.
A-Power 2.5" USB2.0 Aluminum Ext IDE HDD Enclosure w/Adapter
geeks.com
$10
MIKE
2007-08-21 06:52:01 · answer #10 · answered by mike 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋