Member Avatar for mattyd

Recently my girlfriend's laptop "died", that is, it may be only the monitor but in any case, it is no longer functional.

My question is this: We would like to recover all data from the laptop hard drive without having to take the laptop to a shop to have it done.

We got her a brand new computer and would like to transfer data from the laptop disk to the new machine's disk. How do we do that?

I read that it could be done by attaching USB cables between both machines; this did not work - The new computer did not detect the old laptop drive.

Any help or a nudge in the right direction would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance.

Matty

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Practical, step-by-step guidance to recover files from a dead laptop drive — expands on points made by and and addresses the Dell connector issue from . The usual, least‑risk route is to remove the 2.5" laptop drive and attach it to the working PC with an appropriate USB adapter, enclosure, or dock. Drives are normally either SATA or older PATA/IDE (the latter uses a single wide 44‑pin style connector); some Dell laptops use a molded adapter that can usually be removed to reveal the standard connector.

Safe, practical procedure:

  1. Power down, remove AC and main battery, and ground against static. Remove the drive following the laptop service steps (small Phillips screws or an access panel).
  2. Identify the connector: SATA = separate thin data + power contacts; PATA/IDE = one wide row of pins. If a plastic bayonet adapter is present, look for clips or small screws and gently lift it off rather than forcing the PCB.
  3. Use the right tool: a USB‑to‑SATA cable or 2.5" SATA enclosure for SATA drives; a USB‑to‑IDE adapter or multi‑protocol enclosure for PATA. Note: 3.5" desktop drives require an external power brick — do not rely on USB power alone.
  4. Connect to the host PC and do not initialize or format the disk. Check Disk Management (Windows) or Disk Utility (macOS) or lsblk/dmesg (Linux) and copy files immediately if the volume mounts.

When cloning or recovering from a failing disk, image first and work from the image. On Linux, ddrescue is a reliable tool; example usage:

sudo apt-get install gddrescue
sudo ddrescue -f -n /dev/sdX /path/to/image.img /path/to/logfile.log

Avoid repeated power cycles if the drive clicks or fails to spin — that indicates mechanical failure and a professional cleanroom recovery is the safer option. Encrypted volumes (BitLocker, FileVault) require the recovery key or password before any files are usable. After recovery, establish a regular backup plan to prevent repeats.

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Member Avatar for dimsums

Get a USB Enclosure and put the dead laptop hard drive in it then plug that into a working computer.

Member Avatar for mattyd

Thanks for all the replies! :)

I am assuming there is a specific size needed to use with a laptop hard drive?

*I am more of a software guy and don't know so much about hardware.

Thanks, again, all.

Member Avatar for caperjack

sorry ,i meant to add that the 2.5inch
was the size of a laptop hard drive

Edited by caperjack because: n/a
Member Avatar for amarkiii

I also have a question about using an enclosure to recover data on a Dell XPS laptop hard drive. I asked this question on another board and they gave me a link to a specific enclosure on New Egg.

It turns out that it was the wrong enclosure. The laptop from Dell is circa 2005, and the hard drive connector end is different from the usual 44 ( I assume that is the number ) pin connector. Instead it can best be described as a plastic extension that is the width of the whole connector area with metal prongs on each side that would require a slotted connector receptacle to fit.

To quote another poster "There is a pin adapter on most hard drives for laptops...
"Dell uses a molded plastic adapter with more of a bayonette look.."

The hard drive is am IDE / ATA model.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Member Avatar for caperjack

hi,the one you bought must be for a SATA hard drive , you need this one if you drive is a ide hard drive after you remove the dell adapter for the laptop .
http://www.amazon.com/External-Enclosure-Case-Blue-Laptop/dp/B000FNBYKW


this one is 2 sided and with with laptop and larger desktop ide drives ,not an enclosure just a cable
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1399171&CatId=3770

Edited by caperjack because: n/a
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