Old Laptop HDD - Transfer Data

Hey guys,

My old laptop computer was recently destroyed, however the hard drive presumably still works. I was wondering what would be the best way to get this information off the hard drive and onto my new laptop. It is a Western Digital 500gb SATA drive with Windows 7 + all my data on it.

Any help is very appreciated!

camaren

 

There are many ways to get the data to your new system.

Do you want to continue using the old HDD? Or will you just get your data and junk it?

To continue using it, consider an external enclosure. I recommend Vantec.

See:
Welcome to Vantec ? Leading Brand of Storage, Thermal, and Mobile Accessories! - PRODUCTS


To simply get your data off the drive, consider an 'adaptor'.

See:
Bytecc USB 2.0 to IDE/SATA Adapter at Memory Express Computers


Which one is better for you?

Depends if you need to rapidly connect/disconnect drives often (then second link is recommended) or if you want to spend the same amount of money for use as a backup medium.

Good luck.

 

tilleroftheearth - thanks so much for the quick reply! Looks like I'm going to be going with the USB 2.0 to IDE/Sata adapter. I had a quick question however. I found it cheaper on eBay / some other hardware sites, however it didn't say if they included the power adapter. Is this an item which requires an AC adapter?

Thank you very much for your time

camaren

 

From my experience, it does require the AC adaptor, but ymmv.

Glad to have helped (a little).

 

if you don't want to spend money on an adaptor and have some pc / friend with a pc near, maybe plug it in there quickly for the data exchange?

 

The adapters require a power brick but the external drive bays do NOT require an adapter if your USB ports give out enough power, because the USB enclosures get powered off USB.

Meritline has a cheap one that comes with the USB cable for $4 with free shipping by using coupon code MLCK5D3W1JNL1 during checkout. Note that they ship these from China, so it will take a couple weeks. If you need one quicker, Newegg has a bunch starting from $10 shipped. Just make sure it comes with the USB cable, or you already have one (typically uses a mini USB, not micro USB) because it would suck to get it in, only to be missing the cable.

EDIT: This Vantec from Newegg looks really nice for $10 with free shipping. It is currently on sale from original $20 price. It comes with a mini screwdriver to help put it together, plus a soft carrying/storage bag. The big bonus is that it comes with a USB Y cable. This really helps if your USB ports are unable to provide enough power. This often happens with 7200RPM drive upon spinup. With the Y cable, the second part of the cable just has power pins, basically adding more juice for your drive.