• Hardware

  • Retrieving Data From My Laptop's HDD

Hello everyone,

I am currently using my Linux machine because my 3 years old HP Pavilion dv9000 laptop got screwed today. The graphics card got toasted, hence it cannot boot anymore. The screen just starts fading into "electric" bright colors and freezes. Anyway, I REALLY need the data on my hard disk! There are a few projects for clients that I terribly need, otherwise I'll get into deep trouble :S So, is there a way I could hook-up the hard disk of my laptop, go inside it and copy the files I need to my other machine or something?
I'm not a computer expert but I think you can remove the HDD from your laptop and put it in another computer and then you can download the files you want into a USb and place back the HDD that's for the good computer, but like I said I'm not a computer expert.
gamer4life wroteI'm not a computer expert but I think you can remove the HDD from your laptop and put it in another computer and then you can download the files you want into a USb and place back the HDD that's for the good computer, but like I said I'm not a computer expert.
Well that's what I was thinking of, but I'm not sure it's possible. There might be some issues with drivers and this kinda stuff... but hopefully it's possible, I'll wait for confirmation from someone more experienced with hardware than I am...
Who do you think is a computer expert in this forum? Do you think jadberro knows?
yeah I already asked him to check out the thread on msn... Flakk is good with hardware as well...
If the HDD in the laptop is the same one that is used in desktops then it'll 100% work, and try googling it to have an answer.
not getting a response from you on MSN, here is what i have to say :) copied from the msn chat .
get an external enclosure
usb external enclosure
se3ra shi 10$
bitshil il HDD
bit7otto fiya
w bitshiko bi 7ayalla PC tene
w btis7ab illi baddak yeh
jadberro wrotenot getting a response from you on MSN, here is what i have to say :) copied from the msn chat .
get an external enclosure
usb external enclosure
se3ra shi 10$
bitshil il HDD
bit7otto fiya
w bitshiko bi 7ayalla PC tene
w btis7ab illi baddak yeh
Actually I think I already have an external enclosure... But I do not know how to remove the HDD from the laptop... or even where it's located! Shall I take it to the maintenance shop or try and do it myself?
you can try and do it yourself , if you post a picture of its underside, ill show you what screws and hatch to open :)
Before attempting such a delicate maneuver try to boot on a Linux Live CD. Ubuntu would do the trick. You'd be able to retrieve data in no time.

If this doesn't work, maybe there are other ways to do it too, I'll look into it. Just don't rush into opening your laptop, you could damage your HDD.
rahmu wroteBefore attempting such a delicate maneuver try to boot on a Linux Live CD. Ubuntu would do the trick. You'd be able to retrieve data in no time.

If this doesn't work, maybe there are other ways to do it too, I'll look into it. Just don't rush into opening your laptop, you could damage your HDD.
I already tried doing that and it didn't work... The screen isn't rendering anything... Just some bright shade of white/silver with darker spots that kinda fade...
By the way, is there any way I could fix the problem rather than throwing away the laptop? I really do not want to lose it...
Take it to a specialized repair shop. Don't waste yourself.

If it's a relatively new laptop (less than 4 years old), then the hard disk is most likely SATA, it will work on any SATA enclosure. Careful with the drive itself though, it doesnt like shock.
You should be able to disassemble your laptop (with instructions found online), and enclose the HD in an external USB box, then plug that into another computer and retrieve your data.
Before doing that, check if you can plug in an external VGA and get a display on your laptop. Maybe it's your LCD that is gone.
Disclaimer: Do at your own risk!
I decided to stay on the safe side and took the laptop to the repair shop. Tomorrow I will find out what's wrong with it and hopefully it can be fixed. I bought a new desktop pc by the way. Loving this 20" LCD LED monitor! :)
ok unfortunately my guess was right and it turned out that the graphics card is damaged. I asked the guy if it can be repaired, he said it's risky and doesn't always work. What do you guys think about this? Is my laptop really dead? :/