Create an external drive from a hard driveHard drive crash

Davjen457

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Hard drive crash enquiry

My hard drive recently crashed on my desktop running XP and due to the discontinuation of support for XP, I decided to upgrade with a new motherboard, memory, hard drive etc., now running Win 8.1, which has been working fine so far. My problem is that there is data and pictures on the old hard drive which I would like to recover. Can someone advise whether it would be practical to re-install the failed drive along side my new HD in my desktop and reboot as normal and then try and access the failed drive like an external drive? I have already tried booting from the failed drive alone which did not get past the BIOS stage before switching off. Any suggestions would be helpful.​
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro 64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Intel i5-4670
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD3H
    Memory
    8Gb
    Hard Drives
    3 TB WD NAS drive
    PSU
    Corsair RM550
    Case
    AOpen
    Keyboard
    Microsoft
    Mouse
    Microsoft
    Browser
    BT
    Antivirus
    NIS
IIf the drive is Sata I or II then you can get a USB 2.0 Docking Station for around $20. Plug it in the USB port and slide the drive in. See if you can read it. If it doesn't work the dock is still handy to have.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.0 x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Toshiba Satelite C55D-A Laptop
    CPU
    AMD EI 1200
    Memory
    4 gb DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    Raedon 340 MB dedicated Ram
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Built in
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768
    Hard Drives
    640 GB (spinner) Sata II
    Keyboard
    Built in
    Mouse
    Touch pad
You could hook it up internally as a slave. If it hasn't failed mechanically or become corrupted it should be viewable in Windows explorer.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Education 64 Bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus
    CPU
    AMD Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition Deneb 3.7GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS M4N68T-M V2 µATX Motherboard
    Memory
    8GB 4GBx2 Kingston PC10600 DDR3 1333 Memory
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA Geforce GT640 2 Gig DDR3 PCIe
    Sound Card
    VIA VT1708s High Definition Audio 8-channel Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    22" LG E2242 1080p and 2 19" I-INC AG191D
    Screen Resolution
    1280x1024 - 1920x1080 - 1280x1024
    Hard Drives
    Crucial MX100 256 GB SSD and 500 GB WD Blue SATA
    PSU
    Thermaltake TR 620
    Case
    Power Up Black ATX Mid-Tower Case
    Cooling
    Stock heatsink fan
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wireless K350 Wave
    Mouse
    Logitech M570 Trackball and T650 TouchPad
    Internet Speed
    80 Mbps Down 30 Mbps Up
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    HP DVD1040e Lightscribe - External USB2
IF you can't simply read from the drive, then it's time to try some data recovery apps.

Based on my experience at doing this successfully, my suggestions are the following:
1) Download and install the trial version of RecoverMyFiles from Runtime Software in MS Windows.
2) Right-click the RecoverMyFiles shortcut and select "Run as Administrator"
3) Select the option to Recover a Drive
4) You will get a list of drive, scroll down to find the one for your USB stick or memory card
5) Select Automatic Driver recovery, press Start button
6) It will run for a while but when done, will show a directory tree in the left pane. Do NOT interrupt it.
7) When done, browse the folders in the directory tree -- and be SURE to check the filesizes of the files you want to recover. If the filesize is zero, the file is trashed and you will NOT be able to recover it.

If the files look OK, you will need to contact Runtime Software to purchase a license for the recovery. You won't have to reinstall the app; instead, they will email you an activation code which you can use to turn on the recovery feature.

According to their website, the "standard" version of the app is $70 USD. They also have a Pro version for $99 dollars, but if you go to the website below, you can compare the features and (at least for me) the extra cost wasn't worth it:

Purchase Recover My Files data recovery software

Your data ... your money ... your choice.
 

My Computer

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