How can I connect a laptop hard drive to a desktop computer so I can recover, transfer files?
Yesterday my laptop failed to boot. Everything appears to be normal but each time I turn it on it hangs on Windows screen with a running bar. I cannot boot my laptop to the desktop. I tested the hard drive and it passed the test. I think that my hard drive is fine and the operating system is corrupted. I have very important files in my documents and I need to recover, transfer them to the desktop computer as soon as possible. How can I connect the laptop hard drive to a desktop computer?
It is nice that your hard drive passed the test. I think you have very good chances that your data is still good and you would be able to transfer it to the desktop computer. Here are some tips for connecting a laptop hard drive to a desktop computer:
1. You can use 2.5” hard drive adapter and connect the laptop hard drive directly to a desktop computer through the IDE connector on the system board. The desktop hard drive would be connected to IDE1 so you can connect the laptop hard drive to IDE2. After you boot the desktop computer the second hard drive would be detected and you can access it as a regular HDD. Now you can recover, transfer all needed files from the laptop hard drive to the desktop hard drive. Here are detailed instructions with pictures.
2. You can use an external USB enclosure for laptop hard drives. I think that would be the easiest and fastest way to access your data. You can find an external USB enclosure in any computer shop and it would cost you about $20-$30 or buy it here for $10. After you remove the laptop hard drive, place it inside the enclosure and connect to the desktop or another laptop computer via the USB cable. It is not necessary to install any drivers for the enclosure if the desktop PC runs Winodws 2000 or Windows XP. If the desktop PC runs Windows 98, then most likely you’ll have to install a driver for the enclosure before you can access the hard drive. The USB cable and the driver usually supplies with the external enclosure. Now you can access the laptop hard drive as a regular drive on your desktop/laptop computer.
June 23rd, 2009 at 4:17 am
I just got a Dell 1707fpt monitor flat screen from my friend and I have a gateway computer. I have the usb connected and power cord, but all that comes up is a screen that has a box with yellow, red, blue, white boxes in it and nothing else. What do I have to do to make it work?
June 6th, 2009 at 10:32 am
Thanks for the response! Unfortunatly the computer itself was “tweaked” apart by a guy claiming to know what he was doing. With the enclosure, it showed the mass storage device in my computer but when I clicked on it it said “insert a disk into drive e”. In the taskbar it only showed an icon to safely remove hardware. I have come to the conclusion that the hard drive is damaged and I have to send it to a recovery clean room. I hope is doesnt cost me to much lol! Thanks again for the tips!
June 4th, 2009 at 9:03 pm
merideath,
If the laptop has a broken scree, you can try starting it with an external monitor attached to the VGA port. If there is nothing wrong besides the broken screen, you should be able to start the laptop with video on the external monitor and recover your files.
Did you get any error messages? Can you see the external hard drive in My Computer? Can you see the hard drive in the disk management utility?
This is not true. You should be able to access the hard drive even if it has an operating system. Of course if there is nothing wrong with the hard drive.
This is not true. You should be able to access the hard drive even if you have 64bit Vista installed.
The laptop didn’t boot at all? Did you get any video on the screen, any error messages? It’s possible that your hard drive has been damaged.
I would suggest taking the hard drive to a professional repair shop for diagnostics. Let them take a look at the drive.
June 4th, 2009 at 8:11 pm
ok, my old laptop(xp) was dropped and the screen broke. i had no money to get it fixed so i just took out the hard drive in hopes to later recover it. i just got a new laptop with vista 64bit. i bought an enclosure and hooked it up properly. the computer recognized it as a mass storage in my taskbar but i was unable to access it at all. the company who made the enclosure told me it wouldnt work because the hard drive had an operating system on it.. someone else told me that wasnt the case and that it was probably due to the 64bit vista. noting that many programs are not compatible with the 64bit. when i bought my old computer my sister got the same one so i figured i could just switch out my hard drive for hers but her computer wouldnt boot up from my hard drive and i wasnt technical enough to try and make it boot. i took it to geek squad and they shook it and said it was broken because it made a small noise, even though there is a sticker on it that says “rattle noise is normal when handled”. im jumping through so many hoops with no luck and i really would love to have the 5yrs of pics and documents on my hard drive. if it is due to the 64bit i can try the enclosure on an older xp computer. sorry for the length of this post but im going insane! could you please tell me if theres anything i can do. thanks!
June 3rd, 2009 at 7:18 am
Ren,
Also, HP offers a free repair for some out of warranty dv2000, dv6000, dv9000 laptops. Maybe your laptop qualifies for this repair?
June 3rd, 2009 at 7:16 am
Ren,
You can transfer file using an external USB enclosure. Take a look at this data transfer tutorial.
June 3rd, 2009 at 5:47 am
Hey, I have been having problems with my HP laptop recently its a DV6000 series, first it started with the speakers, (im not sure if it was because of the loud music that i played) my left speaker just stopped giving sound while my right one still did. Shortly after that, my right speaker also ceased to play any sounds so I just bought some external speakers and plugged it, it worked fine. This wasnt a problem until I turned off my laptop one day and turned it on, and at first i thought the screen was blank but the laptop was on, the lights were on and everything, but as i noticed closely the screen wasnt blank but just really dark, as if i changed the brightness of it but never did. So i just concluded that there is a problem with my screen, but the laptop still worked. My main concern is losing my files on that laptop, music, movies, pictures, etc. I think one solution would be plugging a vga cable from it to a tv that supports it (so i can see what im doing) and just transfer all the files into a hardrive or something but I was wondering if there are any easier ways to access my harddrive, I mean thats the only component that I value from the laptop. Getting the laptop totally fixed would take some major time and expenses which im not really willing to spend, and most probably I would lose my files. Anyways, I would like to transfer the files anyhow, either to a desktop or most preferebly to my new laptop. Any suggestions would be appreciated, oh and Im sorry if this might be a bit too long.
regards,
Renato
May 11th, 2009 at 2:26 am
Hey,
i have the same problem described above only i have an MSI Wind U100 with a windows XP on it.
is there any way i can retrieve the data without taking the hard drive out or opening my computer at all? just a USB plug of any kind??
THANX!!
April 13th, 2009 at 9:18 pm
Have an even faster solution:
Re-install the operating system, without deleting any portions or reformatting. Of course, no programs will work besides those that are directly integrated with the OS. Now you will be able to copy all your files to a flash drive, DVD, CD, etc.
I would recommend however after coping said files that you reformat and reinstall Windows
April 9th, 2009 at 12:35 am
I need a recommendation for an ATA external USB enclosure.
March 31st, 2009 at 6:27 am
I am using a USB to IDE Hard Disk adapter to connect a hard disk (from a dead Acer Aspire notebook) to a laptop and/or desktop PC. I hear the drive spin up when I connect it to the laptop and/or to the desktop PC, but I can’t see it. A friend said this is because it has an operating system (XP) on it, so I should boot it from the BIOS setup on startup. This hasn’t worked, and I’m now wondering whether the drive is getting enough power. I notice the ‘enclosures’ shown in the links from this page have two USB plugs. Any thoughts?
Thanks
Rob
February 17th, 2009 at 3:45 am
I have an old Toshiba A45-S120 laptop. When i switch it on the Windows XP screen shows then after 15 seconds it turns off by itself with a blue screen, which flashes for a fraction of a second, then boots up again continues doing this. I dont have a CD drive so i cant reinstall windows. Has my hard disk crashed or have my windows gone corrupt??? And is there a way that i can install windows and my Toshiba laptop drivers by connecting my hard disk to my new Dell laptop or via networking or something else??? Please help.
February 9th, 2009 at 3:47 am
Hi
Even though i think you have already answered this question I still wanted to confirm….
Is there any way in which I may be able to transfer contents from my PC’s hard disk to a laptop?
Thanks
January 30th, 2009 at 6:10 pm
This relates to similar questions back in late ‘06: WD hard drive from an ‘04 Gateway with corrupted XP OS. Put it in external enclosure, power up and connect to computer, system detects new hardware, installs drivers, says it’s ready to use. But doesn’t appear in My Computer. Appears in Disk Management as WD mass storage device (seen as Disk 7 on a newer Dell), only no volume alpha is assigned. Disk Management options for assigning volume alpha are grayed-out, no Enable is visible, only Disable/Uninstall.
January 23rd, 2009 at 10:41 am
Hi Laptop Freak, Thanks for the help but I couldnt crack in. What if it is the same comp Gateway 5350 but once upon a long time ago I used Novell Client 4.91 ? When I boot up it asks me to hit control alt delete and then takes me to the username password screen. I cant find my old disks either. Help!!! Thanks
January 11th, 2009 at 2:51 pm
BrazilianBro,
Are you asking about Windows user account password?
1. Try booting in Safe mode. Can you see the administrator account? Try this account without any password. Sometimes it helps.
2. Reinstall the operating system from the recovery disc.
3. Use Active Boot Disc. It has locksmith utility which helps to clear the password.
January 11th, 2009 at 8:48 am
Dear LTF,
Hello. I have a GAteway 5350 and after several years I powered up but I forgot my passwrd to login. How can I recover or bypass this? Thnak you for your time.
December 20th, 2008 at 9:06 am
HELLO FRIENDS,I just got this nice problem with my laptop,when i try to boot it says
1782 disk controller failure
non-system disk or disk error
replace and strike any key when ready
my laptop is a HP COMPAQ NC6000
I GOT WINDOWS XP PRO
any idea what this mean or what i should do or how to fix it
thanks
miguel
December 13th, 2008 at 5:34 pm
How do I know if I got a “bad enclosure?” I bought one, hooked up my old laptop computer, and it worked fine the first two times I used it. Every time after this, it freezes my desktop computer. Once I remove the USB cord from the desktop, everything goes back to working normally again; but anytime he USB cord is connected it freezes.
Any thoughts or suggestions?
Thanks,
Kevin
December 11th, 2008 at 6:20 am
I have an Acer Aspire One that the guy at B*st B*y says is likely a failed motherboard. It is covered under warranty. Problem is, this little guy has no way to easily remove the hard drive so that my confidential information (some client files) are safeguarded. He can give me a backup of the files for $159, but I am more concerned with whether I get the original drive back, and if not, where the files on the old drive end up. Is there any fix to this other than having someone fix it locally outside of warranty? Any other laptop I have owned I would have taken out the hard drive, taken the files off, and sent it in to be fixed.
Thanks for any help.
December 6th, 2008 at 1:15 pm
Hi,
I just purchased a Toshiba laptop for my son for Christmas. I am tring to find out a way to transfer purchased games from a desktop and transfer them to his laptop. I have a external hard drive but am not quite sure of what to do…….Please help!!!!
I need computer for dummies 101!!
November 26th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
RE: Debbie Says:
November 16th, 2008 at 6:10 am
My laptop is a Toshiba Portege M200 that does not have a DVD drive. It crashed recently and the message tells me to use the recovery disc. I don’t have the Optical drive that toshiba wants me to use to run this recovery disc..theirs is quite costly. Do you know of any way to run the recovery disc using a thumb drive or by going thru my desk top? My company recently sold about 75 of these laptops to our employees and several of us are having the same issue. Our IT department has washed their hands of them and is offering no help. Your help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Debbie
>>Go to ebay, or get a USB drive. SAVE A BUNDLE!!!