retrieve data from old HD using other computer?

[sinister]

A friend's computer had a hardware crash; she can't get it to past the POST,
so she bought another computer.

Assuming the old hard drive is still good, what's the recommended way to get
the data off of it? I assume one should stick it into another computer with
one hard drive, but I don't know the exact procedure and the risks involved.

 

[rello]

A friend's computer had a hardware crash; she can't get it to past the POST,
so she bought another computer.

Assuming the old hard drive is still good, what's the recommended way to get
the data off of it? I assume one should stick it into another computer with
one hard drive, but I don't know the exact procedure and the risks involved.

define old computer ..naming the processor at least will help
at what point does it stop during post?
after memory check?
after detect ide?
before OS loads?
if you want specific information supply full details of the system in
question......from the info supplied in your initial post i would
suggest that you not touch your friends old computer just yet.....
getting data off a hard drive from an old computer can be a tricky
process......until you know more or you have somone else that
understands the problems involved dont take the drive out of the old
computer....

relloman

 

[sinister]

define old computer ..naming the processor at least will help

"old" just means "not new"...if I recall correctly, it's a dell, probably
pentium 2 or 3...

at what point does it stop during post?

I'm not sure...this is all over the phone, and she's extremely
techo-naive...sounds like before *any* of the things you list
happen...certain before any "beep"

after memory check?
after detect ide?
before OS loads?
if you want specific information supply full details of the system in
question......from the info supplied in your initial post i would
suggest that you not touch your friends old computer just yet.....
getting data off a hard drive from an old computer can be a tricky
process......until you know more or you have somone else that
understands the problems involved dont take the drive out of the old
computer....

What's wrong with just unplugging it, properly grounding oneself and the
case, and then taking the drive out?

relloman

Thanks for replying to my post.

 

[rello]

"old" just means "not new"...if I recall correctly, it's a dell, probably
pentium 2 or 3...


I'm not sure...this is all over the phone, and she's extremely
techo-naive...sounds like before *any* of the things you list
happen...certain before any "beep"


What's wrong with just unplugging it, properly grounding oneself and the
case, and then taking the drive out?


Thanks for replying to my post.

if the machine is not posting ie blank screen when you press power on
you will have to do what you outlined above and trust that the drive
geometry settings in the old bios are the same when it is detected by
a newer computers bios...if they are not you are screwed...in older
systems settings for hard disks [386 486 & some early pentium] were
entered by hand and custom settings where sometimes used....these
varied from the default settings printed on the HD casing....a modern
bios will detect only the default geometry settings.....depeneding on
the new machine you may have no way of changing the settings from
default even if you know what the old settings were......
hope this helps
relloman

 

[Michael Hawes]

to

"old" just means "not new"...if I recall correctly, it's a dell, probably
pentium 2 or 3...


I'm not sure...this is all over the phone, and she's extremely
techo-naive...sounds like before *any* of the things you list
happen...certain before any "beep"


What's wrong with just unplugging it, properly grounding oneself and the
case, and then taking the drive out?


Thanks for replying to my post.

If the new computer has one hard drive and one optical drive, each on
seperate cables, the safest way is to unplug the data and power cables from
the optical drive and connect the old drive instead. Leave the old drive
loose on something non-conductive. If the new computer has a single C drive
the old drive will show as D and you can copy data across to C (but NOT
programs/applications). When finished, power down and reconnect the optical
drive.

Mike.

 

[sinister]

to
get computer
with

"old" just means "not new"...if I recall correctly, it's a dell, probably
pentium 2 or 3...


I'm not sure...this is all over the phone, and she's extremely
techo-naive...sounds like before *any* of the things you list
happen...certain before any "beep"


What's wrong with just unplugging it, properly grounding oneself and the
case, and then taking the drive out?


Thanks for replying to my post.

if the machine is not posting ie blank screen when you press power on
you will have to do what you outlined above and trust that the drive
geometry settings in the old bios are the same when it is detected by
a newer computers bios...if they are not you are screwed...in older
systems settings for hard disks [386 486 & some early pentium] were
entered by hand and custom settings where sometimes used....these
varied from the default settings printed on the HD casing....a modern
bios will detect only the default geometry settings.....depeneding on
the new machine you may have no way of changing the settings from
default even if you know what the old settings were......
hope this helps

Yes, that's helpful.

Does "screwed" = I won't be able to read the data on the disk, or does
"screwed" = I'll actually mess up the disk? And is there any risk to *my*
machine?

Cheers,

S

 

[Folkert Rienstra]

"rello" (e-mail address removed)> wrote in message news:4096bdb7.1246282@news-server...

"old" just means "not new"...if I recall correctly, it's a dell, probably
pentium 2 or 3...


I'm not sure...this is all over the phone, and she's extremely
techo-naive...sounds like before *any* of the things you list
happen...certain before any "beep"


What's wrong with just unplugging it, properly grounding oneself and the
case, and then taking the drive out?


Thanks for replying to my post.

if the machine is not posting ie blank screen when you press power on
you will have to do what you outlined above and trust that the drive
geometry settings in the old bios are the same when it is detected by
a newer computers bios...if they are not you are screwed...
Nope.

in older systems settings for hard disks [386 486 & some early pentium]
were entered by hand and custom settings where sometimes used....these
varied from the default settings printed on the HD casing....

"if I recall correctly, it's a dell, probably pentium 2 or 3..."

a modern bios will detect only the default geometry settings.....

Obviously, as there is only the default geometry to detect.

depeneding on the new machine you may have no way of changing the
settings from default even if you know what the old settings were......

That's a load of crap.

hope this helps

When does a load of crap ever help?

 

[Folkert Rienstra]

"rello" (e-mail address removed)> wrote in message On Mon, 03 May 2004 19:55:49 GMT, "sinister" (e-mail address removed) wrote:

A friend's computer had a hardware crash; she can't get it to past the POST,
so she bought another computer.

Assuming the old hard drive is still good, what's the recommended way to get
the data off of it? I assume one should stick it into another computer with
one hard drive, but I don't know the exact procedure and the risks involved.

define old computer ..naming the processor at least will help

"old" just means "not new"...if I recall correctly, it's a dell, probably
pentium 2 or 3...

at what point does it stop during post?

I'm not sure...this is all over the phone, and she's extremely
techo-naive...sounds like before *any* of the things you list
happen...certain before any "beep"

after memory check?
after detect ide?
before OS loads?
if you want specific information supply full details of the system in
question......from the info supplied in your initial post i would
suggest that you not touch your friends old computer just yet.....
getting data off a hard drive from an old computer can be a tricky
process......until you know more or you have somone else that
understands the problems involved dont take the drive out of the old
computer....

What's wrong with just unplugging it, properly grounding oneself and the
case, and then taking the drive out?

relloman

Thanks for replying to my post.

if the machine is not posting ie blank screen when you press power on
you will have to do what you outlined above and trust that the drive
geometry settings in the old bios are the same when it is detected by
a newer computers bios...if they are not you are screwed...in older
systems settings for hard disks [386 486 & some early pentium] were
entered by hand and custom settings where sometimes used....these
varied from the default settings printed on the HD casing....a modern
bios will detect only the default geometry settings.....depeneding on
the new machine you may have no way of changing the settings from
default even if you know what the old settings were......
hope this helps

Yes, that's helpful.

Nope, it's not.

 

[sinister]

"rello" (e-mail address removed)> wrote in message

A friend's computer had a hardware crash; she can't get it to past the POST,
so she bought another computer.

Assuming the old hard drive is still good, what's the recommended way to get
the data off of it? I assume one should stick it into another computer with
one hard drive, but I don't know the exact procedure and the risks involved.

define old computer ..naming the processor at least will help

"old" just means "not new"...if I recall correctly, it's a dell, probably
pentium 2 or 3...

at what point does it stop during post?

I'm not sure...this is all over the phone, and she's extremely
techo-naive...sounds like before *any* of the things you list
happen...certain before any "beep"

after memory check?
after detect ide?
before OS loads?
if you want specific information supply full details of the system in
question......from the info supplied in your initial post i would
suggest that you not touch your friends old computer just yet.....
getting data off a hard drive from an old computer can be a tricky
process......until you know more or you have somone else that
understands the problems involved dont take the drive out of the old
computer....

What's wrong with just unplugging it, properly grounding oneself and the
case, and then taking the drive out?

relloman

Thanks for replying to my post.

if the machine is not posting ie blank screen when you press power on
you will have to do what you outlined above and trust that the drive
geometry settings in the old bios are the same when it is detected by
a newer computers bios...if they are not you are screwed...
Nope.

in older systems settings for hard disks [386 486 & some early pentium]
were entered by hand and custom settings where sometimes used....these
varied from the default settings printed on the HD casing....

"if I recall correctly, it's a dell, probably pentium 2 or 3..."

a modern bios will detect only the default geometry settings.....

Obviously, as there is only the default geometry to detect.

depeneding on the new machine you may have no way of changing the
settings from default even if you know what the old settings were......

That's a load of crap.

hope this helps

When does a load of crap ever help?

So what's *your* opinion?

 

[sinister]

If the new computer has one hard drive and one optical drive, each on
seperate cables, the safest way is to unplug the data and power cables from
the optical drive and connect the old drive instead. Leave the old drive
loose on something non-conductive. If the new computer has a single C drive
the old drive will show as D and you can copy data across to C (but NOT
programs/applications). When finished, power down and reconnect the optical
drive.

Thanks for your response.

(1) Do I have to do anything with "master/slave" settings?
(2) Is there any risk to my machine (the "new" one), if the other one has
some kind of short or something?

 

[Arno Wagner]

A friend's computer had a hardware crash; she can't get it to past the POST,
so she bought another computer.

Assuming the old hard drive is still good, what's the recommended way to get
the data off of it? I assume one should stick it into another computer with
one hard drive, but I don't know the exact procedure and the risks involved.

If the data is valuable, ask somebody with specific experience
to do it. There is some risk of doing damage if you do not
know how to do this. If the data is not valuable, it is a
great opportunity to learn and experiment.

Best way is to do this IMO is with knoppix (->google) since
it mounts everything read-only and thereby minimises the
risk of accidental damage.

Arno

 

[Folkert Rienstra]

55:49 GMT, "sinister" (e-mail address removed) wrote:

A friend's computer had a hardware crash; she can't get it to past the POST,
so she bought another computer.

Assuming the old hard drive is still good, what's the recommended way to get
the data off of it? I assume one should stick it into another computer with
one hard drive, but I don't know the exact procedure and the risks involved.

define old computer ..naming the processor at least will help

"old" just means "not new"...if I recall correctly, it's a dell, probably
pentium 2 or 3...

at what point does it stop during post?

I'm not sure...this is all over the phone, and she's extremely
techo-naive...sounds like before *any* of the things you list
happen...certain before any "beep"

after memory check?
after detect ide?
before OS loads?
if you want specific information supply full details of the system in
question......from the info supplied in your initial post i would
suggest that you not touch your friends old computer just yet.....
getting data off a hard drive from an old computer can be a tricky
process......until you know more or you have somone else that
understands the problems involved dont take the drive out of the old
computer....

What's wrong with just unplugging it, properly grounding oneself and the
case, and then taking the drive out?

relloman

Thanks for replying to my post.


if the machine is not posting ie blank screen when you press power on
you will have to do what you outlined above and trust that the drive
geometry settings in the old bios are the same when it is detected by
a newer computers bios...if they are not you are screwed...
Nope.

in older systems settings for hard disks [386 486 & some early pentium]
were entered by hand and custom settings where sometimes used....these
varied from the default settings printed on the HD casing....

"if I recall correctly, it's a dell, probably pentium 2 or 3..."

a modern bios will detect only the default geometry settings.....

Obviously, as there is only the default geometry to detect.

depeneding on the new machine you may have no way of changing the
settings from default even if you know what the old settings were......

That's a load of crap.

hope this helps

When does a load of crap ever help?

So what's *your* opinion?

That one should best stay away from sinister people who can't even
manage such a simple task as to setup their newsreader properly.
And so should your friend if you value your friendship.

 

[Gary L.]

Thanks for your response.

(1) Do I have to do anything with "master/slave" settings?

No. That is the advantage of simply hooking it up to where the CD
drive is attached; no settings have to be changed.

(2) Is there any risk to my machine (the "new" one), if the other one has
some kind of short or something?

It's easy to test whether the problem with the old computer was a
problem with the hard drive. Simply unplug the hard drive (which you
will do anyway). If the old computer will POST, then the problem was
the hard drive. If it doesn't POST, then the problem is likely to be
elsewhere. Assuming the latter is the case, there is little risk to
the "new" computer simply from hooking up the drive and copying the
data.
- -
Gary L.
Reply to the newsgroup only

 

[sinister]

No. That is the advantage of simply hooking it up to where the CD
drive is attached; no settings have to be changed.


It's easy to test whether the problem with the old computer was a
problem with the hard drive. Simply unplug the hard drive (which you
will do anyway). If the old computer will POST, then the problem was
the hard drive. If it doesn't POST, then the problem is likely to be
elsewhere. Assuming the latter is the case, there is little risk to
the "new" computer simply from hooking up the drive and copying the
data.

Great. Thanks.

 

[sinister]

"rello" (e-mail address removed)> wrote in message On Mon, 03 May 2004 19:55:49 GMT, "sinister"

A friend's computer had a hardware crash; she can't get it to

past
the POST,

so she bought another computer.

Assuming the old hard drive is still good, what's the

recommended
way to get

the data off of it? I assume one should stick it into another computer with
one hard drive, but I don't know the exact procedure and the

risks
involved.

define old computer ..naming the processor at least will help

"old" just means "not new"...if I recall correctly, it's a dell, probably
pentium 2 or 3...

at what point does it stop during post?

I'm not sure...this is all over the phone, and she's extremely
techo-naive...sounds like before *any* of the things you list
happen...certain before any "beep"

after memory check?
after detect ide?
before OS loads?
if you want specific information supply full details of the

system
in

question......from the info supplied in your initial post i would
suggest that you not touch your friends old computer just yet.....
getting data off a hard drive from an old computer can be a tricky
process......until you know more or you have somone else that
understands the problems involved dont take the drive out of the old
computer....

What's wrong with just unplugging it, properly grounding oneself

and
the

case, and then taking the drive out?

relloman

Thanks for replying to my post.


if the machine is not posting ie blank screen when you press power on
you will have to do what you outlined above and trust that the drive
geometry settings in the old bios are the same when it is detected by
a newer computers bios...if they are not you are screwed...

Nope.

in older systems settings for hard disks [386 486 & some early pentium]
were entered by hand and custom settings where sometimes used....these
varied from the default settings printed on the HD casing....

"if I recall correctly, it's a dell, probably pentium 2 or 3..."

a modern bios will detect only the default geometry settings.....

Obviously, as there is only the default geometry to detect.

depeneding on the new machine you may have no way of changing the
settings from default even if you know what the old settings were......

That's a load of crap.

hope this helps

When does a load of crap ever help?

So what's *your* opinion?

That one should best stay away from sinister people who can't even
manage such a simple task as to setup their newsreader properly.
And so should your friend if you value your friendship.

Whose newsreader isn't set up correctly?