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Connecting laptop HDD to PC?

DarkWarriorDarkWarrior __BANNED USERS regular
edited March 2008 in Moe's Stupid Technology Tavern
Is this possible? I was asked to fix a laptop for a friend only to find out the real issue is that the internal HDD seems to be dead/dying. Windows tries to start and just fails and restarts and the BIOS Self test fails instantly whether using the quick or intensive tests so it seems to be beyond anything I can do with it in the laptop.

Basically I'm wondering if I can connect it to a PC in any way to try and salvage any data if possible (I have getdataback). It seems to be an IDE drive but the available connections in the PC are too large for it. I also can't seem to find a power source for it unless that comes through the IDE-like connections.

Any advice is welcome, thanks in advance for reading.

DarkWarrior on

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    Satan.Satan. __BANNED USERS regular
    edited March 2008
    Hit up Newegg.com and grab an external enclosure for a 2.5" HDD. Should allow you to do what you want with it.

    Satan. on
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
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    ZxerolZxerol for the smaller pieces, my shovel wouldn't do so i took off my boot and used my shoeRegistered User regular
    edited March 2008
    If the the laptop drive is parallel ATA, you'll need a USB enclosure or some special ribbon cable to mate the interfaces between the drive to your PC. If it's serial ATA then you can actually just plug it straight into your desktop -- SATA interfaces for 2.5" and 3.5/5.25" full-size drives are identical.

    Zxerol on
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    Satan.Satan. __BANNED USERS regular
    edited March 2008
    Well, this
    It seems to be an IDE drive but the available connections in the PC are too large for it.

    seems to indicate that it's not a SATA drive.

    Satan. on
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
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    ZxerolZxerol for the smaller pieces, my shovel wouldn't do so i took off my boot and used my shoeRegistered User regular
    edited March 2008
    Satan. wrote: »
    Well, this
    It seems to be an IDE drive but the available connections in the PC are too large for it.

    seems to indicate that it's not a SATA drive.

    Shh! You're pointing out my idiocy.

    Zxerol on
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    DarkWarriorDarkWarrior __BANNED USERS regular
    edited March 2008
    So its a "buy something on top" situation. Ok, thanks for the help guys.

    DarkWarrior on
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    DratatooDratatoo Registered User regular
    edited March 2008
    If the the laptop drive is parallel ATA, you'll need a USB enclosure or some special ribbon cable to mate the interfaces between the drive to your PC.

    Be careful. The special ribbon cable also routes the power to the small HD too. In most cases you its possible to make the mistake and turn the connector 180°. In the worst case this would fry internal components (HD, or mainboard) Try to get the description of the HD and inform yourself regarding the location of the pins for the power supply. (left or right)

    Dratatoo on
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