Member Avatar for Tzwingman

I have a 6+ yr old HP Pavilion that has been giving me problems off & on for a year or so. The latest problem was with the power supply and that finally died last night. Unfortunately, I have not copied the My Documents folder to CD in the last month. I have some Word, Excel, and photos on the hard drive that I would like to retrieve before scrapping the breast for good. I’m buying a brand new system and would like to be able to have these files/documents from my old system.

What is easiest, cheapest, fastest, etc. way to get this data retrieve from my hard drive and copied to a CD so I can load the data on my new system?

Thanks!!!

Tom

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Brief summary and practical plan for : the cheapest, most reliable route is to treat the old drive as a secondary disk and copy the files off it before scrapping the PC. That follows the helpful direction from and the power-note from . The notes below expand into a simple, safe workflow, common gotchas, and verification tips so the My Documents Word/Excel/photos are preserved intact.

Recommended workflow (safe, no-OS changes):

  1. Power off and unplug the Pavilion, discharge static by touching the metal case, and remove the drive from its bay (note how cables are attached).
  2. Identify the drive form factor and connector (laptop 2.5" vs desktop 3.5", and serial vs older parallel interface) so the right adapter/dock/enclosure is selected.
  3. Use a USB-to-drive adapter or small docking station to attach the drive to the new system (this is often faster and more flexible than a single-purpose enclosure). Let the new system mount the drive as a secondary volume and copy the folders. On Windows XP the usual path is C:\Documents and Settings{username}\My Documents; on Vista/7+ it is C:\Users{username}\Documents.
  4. Verify copies by opening a representative set of files, then burn to CD/DVD or copy to an external USB drive for archive.

Troubleshooting and cautions:
• If the drive fails to spin or makes clicking/chattering noises, stop applying power — continued use can make a mechanical failure worse and professional recovery may be required.
• If the partition is not recognized, create a disk image first and work from the image to avoid stressing the drive (imaging utilities handle this).
• Encrypted files (Windows EFS) will not decrypt without the original user keys; those keys live in the user profile.

Cost note and verification:
An inexpensive adapter/dock is usually far cheaper than paid recovery services and provides immediate access. Always verify burned discs and keep at least one additional copy on removable media until the new system is fully configured.

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Member Avatar for chrisbliss18

Pavilions come in laptop and desktop setups. Which kind is your's?

In either case, the fastest and easiest solution is to remove the harddrive and put it in an external harddrive enclosure that you can hook up to another machine's USB or Firewire port. The cheapest solution (free?) would be to add the drive to another machine and copying the files directly from drive to drive.

Member Avatar for Tzwingman

Sorry....it's a desktop!

Thanks!

Member Avatar for Tzwingman

Unfortunately, I do not have another system available. I'm thinking about getting a laptop as my next system.

Is an external harddrive enclosure just what it sounds like...a "case" that I would use to house the hard drive? Do these external enclosures have connection that hook up to my hard drive and then I'd use a USB cable to connect the enclosure to my new machine? I've never used one of those so that's why the "lame" questions. Thanks!

Member Avatar for goldeagle2005

Yes. These enclosures have the same interface cables (40 pin data and 4 pin power) as a regular hard drive. The other end is typically USB or Firewire. They also have a jack to connect an AC Adaptor(USB can only supply 5V DC while the hard disk needs 12V DC in addition to the 5V DC).

Member Avatar for Tzwingman

I was doing some surfing on Newegg.com and found some there. They don't look too expensive or too hard to use. I think it will be a lot cheaper if I buy one of these instead of taking somewhere and have them retrieve the data. I received one quote for $35 per hour...2-3 hours to retrieve the data.

Thanks!

Member Avatar for chrisbliss18

Don't use data retrieval services. That's definately too expensive and quite unneccessary considering that the drive works.

I've purchased two different enclosures off of NewEgg and have been very pleased with both of them. My recommendation would be to get an aluminum enclosure. The drive will get hot, so the metal will help disperse the heat.

Member Avatar for Tzwingman

That's a great idea (going with metal). I think I'll order a unit from Newegg, I have great results doing business with them in the past. Thanks for your help!

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