Previously boss said:
Hi folks,
Rain water destroyed my HP 6820s. Bought new one (same model with
faster CPU). Can I safely move HDD from damaged laptop to new one? If
HDD is damaged also (50% sure it is) can it damage my new laptop?
Thanks for all answers and have a great weekend!
Mark
Don't just move it over, it coyld short-circuit the new laptop
(the water itsel cannot, too high resistance, but it can cause
power-electronics to malfunction with a similar effect), and it
could still hold water and contaminate the new laptop.
Take care that water damage to the disk may be not easily visible.
In addition, the disk could have damage which does not make
it immediately non-functional, but will kill it soon.
Here is what I recommend:
1. Dry out the disk carefully. Do not heat it up over 40C or so
for that! A warm (not hot), dry place and a few days of
patience should serve.
2. Get an external USB adapter with its own PSU for the drive.
Here is an example:
http://www.acryan.com/index.php?option=com_acryan_product&product_item=200&parent_id=13&Itemid=79
3. Test the drive with the adapter not connected to a PC. If
it gets hot or starts to smoke, congatulations, you own
an expensive paperweight!
Note: A short-circuit can kill the adapter or the PSU,
but that is relatively unlikely if you switch it off
fast on the first smoke-signs. Even if it does kill
the adapter, it is worth far less than a new laptop.
4. Repeat 3. connected to a PC. With luck, you can now pull files
off the drive or make a complete image.
In any case, discard the disk or use it for experiments only
after you have all the data you want.
And a DICLAIMER: If you need the data on the disk, do not
mess with it, but give it to a professional data recovery
outfit stating what has happened to it.
Arno
