Temporary hookup of a 2nd hard drive to recover data

[highpockets]

Is it practical to hook up an old hard drive to my Gateway computer,
not permanently, but just to 'read' what is on that older hard drive?

I have successfully used my Gateway 300S Micro Tower for a few months.
We purchased the Micro Tower after our five-year-old AST Advantage
failed, apparently due to a motherboard problem. The Micro Tower was
cheaper because there are not additional connector cables or space
within the chassis for items such as a second hard drive.

Many old files and some software from the AST computer could be
recovered from backups - in a roundabout way - by a friend copying
floppies and burning onto CD's(since this Gateway has no floppy
drive.)

QUESTION: Can I gain access to additional files on the old broken
computer's hard drive, by using just the limited number of data ribbon
cables in the Micro Tower?

When I check inside the old AST computer, and in the Gateway Micro
Tower, it looks like the type of data ribbon cable that is in the old
AST computer -- an IDE connector - - is the same type of data ribbon
cable that's connected to the Gateway CD-RW. (Whereas the cable to
the Gateway hard drive is a different type of ribbon cable; plus I
would want to transfer data from the Maxtor HD .... TO .... the
permanent Gateway HD.

So can I temporaily disconnect the CD-RW in the Gateway, attach those
power and ribbon connections on the Maxtor HD, and access what is on
that hard drive? Then after "looking" and downloading various files
from the old Maxtor HD, I would disconnect it and reconnect the CD-RW.

Would it be better to just take the old hard drive to a computer store
and pay for a download of various directories?

Possibly I'm enough of a novice, that I might botch things and somehow
reformat/overwrite or otherwise screw up what I wish to recover from
the Maxtor hard drive. Are there web sites which explain how to
momentarily connect up a hard drive so as to effectively read files
from that drive? I assume that paying somebody to recover data off the
HD is doing just that, but I don't know whether it is tricky or
straightforward.

Thanks for any feedback.
highpockets

 

[Rod Speed]

Is it practical to hook up an old hard drive to my Gateway computer,
not permanently, but just to 'read' what is on that older hard drive?
Yep.

I have successfully used my Gateway 300S Micro Tower for a few months.
We purchased the Micro Tower after our five-year-old AST Advantage
failed, apparently due to a motherboard problem. The Micro Tower was
cheaper because there are not additional connector cables or space
within the chassis for items such as a second hard drive.

Many old files and some software from the AST computer
could be recovered from backups - in a roundabout way
- by a friend copying floppies and burning onto CD's
(since this Gateway has no floppy drive.)

QUESTION: Can I gain access to additional files on
the old broken computer's hard drive, by using just the
limited number of data ribbon cables in the Micro Tower?

Yes, you should be able to connect it in place of the
cdrom drive temporarily while you get the files off it.

When I check inside the old AST computer, and in the Gateway
Micro Tower, it looks like the type of data ribbon cable that is in
the old AST computer -- an IDE connector - - is the same type
of data ribbon cable that's connected to the Gateway CD-RW.
Correct.

(Whereas the cable to the Gateway hard
drive is a different type of ribbon cable;

Likely just more wires. The connectors are actually the same.

plus I would want to transfer data from the Maxtor
HD .... TO .... the permanent Gateway HD.

Yep, thats why its usually best to temporarily
replace the cdrw with the old hard drive.

So can I temporaily disconnect the CD-RW in the Gateway,
attach those power and ribbon connections on the Maxtor
HD, and access what is on that hard drive?

Yes. You just need to ensure that the old hard drive
is jumpered the same way the cdrw is jumpered.

Then after "looking" and downloading various files from the
old Maxtor HD, I would disconnect it and reconnect the CD-RW.
Yep.

Would it be better to just take the old hard drive to a computer
store and pay for a download of various directories?

Thats a bit safer if you dont know what
you are doing, but will obviously cost more.

Possibly I'm enough of a novice, that I might botch things
and somehow reformat/overwrite or otherwise screw up
what I wish to recover from the Maxtor hard drive.

Yes, its always possible to bugger something up if you dont know what you are doing.

Are there web sites which explain how to momentarily connect
up a hard drive so as to effectively read files from that drive?
Probably.

I assume that paying somebody to recover
data off the HD is doing just that,

Thats usually only when the HD has died.

but I don't know whether it is tricky or straightforward.

Its pretty straightforward to do what you want to do.
But some people are such klutzes that they can make
a complete hash of something that simple. Even just
by dropping the old hard drive etc.

Only you can really say how bad you are on that sort of thing.

 

[Barry OGrady]

Is it practical to hook up an old hard drive to my Gateway computer,
not permanently, but just to 'read' what is on that older hard drive?
Yes.

I have successfully used my Gateway 300S Micro Tower for a few months.
We purchased the Micro Tower after our five-year-old AST Advantage
failed, apparently due to a motherboard problem. The Micro Tower was
cheaper because there are not additional connector cables or space
within the chassis for items such as a second hard drive.

Many old files and some software from the AST computer could be
recovered from backups - in a roundabout way - by a friend copying
floppies and burning onto CD's(since this Gateway has no floppy
drive.)

No floppy drive? Take it back and demand they fit one.
Floppy disks are still supplied with drivers for some new devices, such as my
cf card reader.

QUESTION: Can I gain access to additional files on the old broken
computer's hard drive, by using just the limited number of data ribbon
cables in the Micro Tower?

When I check inside the old AST computer, and in the Gateway Micro
Tower, it looks like the type of data ribbon cable that is in the old
AST computer -- an IDE connector - - is the same type of data ribbon
cable that's connected to the Gateway CD-RW. (Whereas the cable to
the Gateway hard drive is a different type of ribbon cable; plus I
would want to transfer data from the Maxtor HD .... TO .... the
permanent Gateway HD.

So can I temporaily disconnect the CD-RW in the Gateway, attach those
power and ribbon connections on the Maxtor HD, and access what is on
that hard drive? Then after "looking" and downloading various files
from the old Maxtor HD, I would disconnect it and reconnect the CD-RW.
Yes.

Would it be better to just take the old hard drive to a computer store
and pay for a download of various directories?

Possibly I'm enough of a novice, that I might botch things and somehow
reformat/overwrite or otherwise screw up what I wish to recover from
the Maxtor hard drive. Are there web sites which explain how to
momentarily connect up a hard drive so as to effectively read files
from that drive? I assume that paying somebody to recover data off the
HD is doing just that, but I don't know whether it is tricky or
straightforward.

Very straight forward. The old drive will appear as another drive letter. Just
use any copy program.

Thanks for any feedback.
highpockets

-Barry
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