Transfer data,from broken PC
 

When I was preparing to transfer my data from an old PC to my new one, using Laplink, the power supply on the old one blew.
I have tried connecting the hard drive of the old to the new using an USB - IDE/SATA adaptor but no luck. The new PC only recognises the adaptor, not the HDD
Is there any software that might help?

Did you follow the instructions in the IDE/SATA adapter to the letter? specifically with respect to setting the jumpers on the IDE drive?

Do you know for a fact that the adapter works? I'd avoid further experimentation with the old drive until you know in case the old drive is on its last legs due to the power supply mishap.

Is the only source of power the USB cable? Might not provide enough current.

Tried the jumpers in all positions.
The power comes frm a separate transformer.
Will have to hunt for another HDD and see if that works

If the PSU has fried itself it is POSSIBLE that a higher voltage spike has gone down one of the wires powering the hard disk and that has possiibly fried the drive.

Happened to a friend of mine, the PSU committed hari-kiri and sent down a spike which was so big one of the chips on the drive went "pop", audibly, before there was a sudden rush to turn off the PC due to smoke.

Thanks Hellsbrink that was what i was thinking, The bang and smoke seemed to come from he top, where the drive was situated :ugh:
Not so much worried about progs, but all addresses etc. was there. Of course i had a back up - on the same drive.:uhoh:

Hi

It's frustrating. Have you tried using a Linux Live CD to boot in to and transfer the data to a removable medium?

If you download the second item here:
Download | Ubuntu

and burn it to a cd/dvd rom and run it. That should help.

I added a new drive and Windows did not automatically recognise it. Had to go into 'my computer' or 'control panel' to add it.

On other occasions the discs were recognised but not mounted (or some such phrase) and I had to allocate a drive number to get them working. Once done through the OS and another using a partition management program.

Sorry I can't give specifics, old age.

It's only a backup if it is on another physical device... Otherwise it's simply a copy... ;)

Back to basics
 

Lon,

1: Does your old PC have a burner or USB slot?
2: If it does, transfer your data (Pics/Video/documents) to that media.
3: Load to new PC.
4: If you have programmes (Autoroute, for example) simply reload from original media.
5: Yes, it takes time, but you will be happy.

Caddy
 

There's a pretty simply solution that will continue to benefit you sir. buy yourself a USB caddy for your old hard drive.

Cheap Laptops, Computers and Cheap LCD TVs | Ebuyer.com

Here, depending on the interface (IDE or SATA), simply buy the right product, when it comes wire it in (it's as easy as plugging in the power and data cables into the HDD caddies interface), power it up, plug the now enclosed HDD's USB wire into the computer and BAM! new external hard drive.

External, but not portable, HDD caddies/enclosures are notorious for being bulky and can be a burden for a laptop user, still it makes a great backup device once you have recovered your files from it and formatted it.

Hope this helps!
Ex :O