Laptop HDD to pc HDD

[scaryeire36]

hi

i wanted to ask is it as simple as taking your old laptop HDD and using the correct cables, plug it using usb to my PC and thats it? i updated my older laptop and when i restarted the screen never came on again , even when changing monitors. unfortunately the best laptop i had was no more , through a legitimate Intel update i had screwed either the GPU or something id have to troubleshoot. problem was as i said. there was completely no screen to help absolutely no output to any type of monitor and i used a plasma, LCD and a CRT. this wouldn't normally be a prob but i have some photos of my son which i will never get back once this HDD is gone. i got a lend of a case for a 2.5 HDD and put it together. i plugged the usb in and the light on the HDD end came on but unfortunately it didn't trigger anything on the computer side it just sat there with the light on to let me know that there was power going to the device. my question is, is the HDD ready for the bin? or am i missing something. its not showing up anywhere as a mass storage or anything, it simply doesn't show up on the host computer. has anyone come across anything like this before or is there any answer anyone would care to share?

any input greatly appreciated

 

[SchizTech]

If you power off the desktop, connect the laptop drive to a SATA cable and power cable and restart the PC, it should appear as a drive in Explorer, provided there's no problem with either the drive or the filesystem.

Make sure the drive is supported on something and not touching metal (standard precaution...)

 

[scaryeire36]

just worst case scenario say there is a prob with the drive, isn't it possible using the cables we spoke of to get some of the files back? if the file sytem is corrupt can i fix that without loosing everything on the drive.

 

[SchizTech]

It depends on how bad the damage is really. If the drive is good but won't appear in explorer due to filesystem corruption you would have to use data recovery software which can do a deep scan on the drive to recover data.

 

[scaryeire36]

but its not showing up anywhere. i have 3.5 drive in its case with a mini b to plug into the drive part and normal usb to plug into the PC. when i do it the lights go on on the drive, but no recognition from the PC stating its found the hdd or some type of mass storage, but nothing. its like it doesn't exist. even if the drive is somehow damaged and i dont think it was what programs would make your pc recognise that a hdd has been plugged in, i even tried booting from it from the bios but it wasnt there either

 

[SchizTech]

Do you see it in the Device Manager or Disk Management console? If it's not showing up in the BIOS that's a bad sign. Was this connected by SATA or USB when you looked in the BIOS? IF something connected on SATA isn't there in the BIOS it's likely a faulty drive.

As an extreme resort you might try to replace the controller board on that hard drive, though you need to make sure it's the EXACT same board. Otherwise, send it out to a professional recovery lab (which can be expensive).

 

[scaryeire36]

it was originally a hdd in a dell laptop, iv since taken it out and put it into a proper case and cable interface that clips onto the pins of the hdd and gives u the mini b usb port, so plug in there and into the pc and it shows power is going to the device. iv tried it on the laptop and my pc to no avail. i have hdd recovery tools but iv yet to discover a mass storage device or usb hdd. i find this strange im pretty knowledgeable on computers but i cant understand how i cant access the hdd, even through usb, which in previous cases, iv just plugged and played with usb external hdd's without to much config. as i said the only damage the hdd could have encountered was the update i received straight from Intel because once i installed these updates and restarted as instructed, that was the end of that. u could hear the hdd spinning up to a point and it recognized cds but had a flashing number lock which wouldn't stop. i tried to bridge the gap with the heat sync and the surface of the graphics card chip(built on)with a copper 2 cent coin, (previously it had worked a treat when done correctly. id noticed a gap of roughly a 2 cent coin between the heat sync and the chip, before a rubber pad took the coins place but when i replaced that with the coin it cooled a lot easier and worked better but not on this one, whatever them updates did my hdd was un accesible from that point on

 

[scaryeire36]

a replacement controller board for the HDD?? sounds good, any idea how much one o them would cost? and how do i find out how bad the damage is if i cant access the drive. im buying a Product Image
NEW USB 2.0 to 2.5" 3.5" IDE SATA HDD Hard Drive Converter Adapter Cable + AC Power Adapter and a Product Image
AcomData SHK DODSU223 Sharkoon QuickPort Duo USB/eSATA - Retail to achieve my goals on getting into these hard drives for work. as for software i hav a lot of 3 party tools, can you recommend any yourself>?
BTW both them items are here http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/12XVO6F5DEVJB/ref=topnav_lists_1 take a look and tell me what you think

 

[scaryeire36]

i have some pictures of what im using is there no photo upload in the posts?

 

[SchizTech]

I want to be clear, if you haven't tried to connect the laptop hard drive directly over SATA (without a USB go-between) you have to try this first. You should be able to open the case, get a spare SATA cable and hook up the laptop drive.

 

[scaryeire36]

ok im with u, i haven't done that iv just gone straight ahead without the cable i need and just tried to use the adapter from an encase 3.5 hard drive and replaced it with my own just using the parts i need i have a couple of pictures that would show u exactly where i am, but is there a way to upload them or do u want to pm me ur addy so i can send u thse pics

 

[SchizTech]

Use a free image host and put up the link here

 

[scaryeire36]

photo uploader

 

[scaryeire36]

http://postimage.org/gallery/19xsx1u2/

 

[SchizTech]

When you plug in that USB cable do you feel the drive spin up (you should be able to pick it up and feel it vibrate as the disks spin up)?

 

[scaryeire36]

at the start it makes what i can only compare to about to start up but doesnt if you know what i mean, iv enclosed 6 photos to give you a better idea, thanks for the image idea btw, simply overlooked me lol.
im taking it not spinning up as a prob no read, no boot. i did password protect the drive but cant put in the password as i have absolutely no gui to work with command line or anything.

 

[scaryeire36]

I want to be clear, if you haven't tried to connect the laptop hard drive directly over SATA (without a USB go-between) you have to try this first. You should be able to open the case, get a spare SATA cable and hook up the laptop drive.

ok i understand u, i need to start with the sata cable, ill get my hands on one of them asap. what this spot. oh and thanks very much for the input and putting mee in the right direction

peace, n no im not a hippy lol.

http://postimage.org/gallery/19xsx1u2/