File backup

snazzybagels · 12-11-2008, 02:45 PM

My old pc got the blue screen of death. I have to reinstall my OS and all my stuff's gonna get deleted :(

Is there any way to get my old files to my Mac? I heard I could buy an external hard drive, but how would I get my files on it if my pc doesn't start XP at all?

sinclair_tm · 12-11-2008, 09:29 PM

Well, 1st off, you can run the XP installer and have it repair your XP install, that will not delete files outside of the Windows folder. Otherwise, to make use of the Mac, you have to pull the hard drive out of the Windows PC and put it in an empty hard drive enclosure, connect that to the Mac, and then copy the files off of the hard drive.

snazzybagels · 12-12-2008, 12:26 AM

This might be a totally dumb question, but what exactly is a hard drive ENCLOSURE?

sinclair_tm · 12-12-2008, 10:38 AM

It turns your hard drive is to a portable drive. Here is a link to a list of some on newegg. You will need to find out if your hard drive is an IDE drive or a SATA drive before you buy the enclosure. But once you pull the hard drive out of the computer and put it in one of these cases, you will then be able to connect it to any other computer with USB or Firewire.

12-11-2008, 02:45 PM	#1 (permalink)
snazzybagels Registered User Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Chicago Posts: 6 OS: Windows XP/ Mac OSX	File backup My old pc got the blue screen of death. I have to reinstall my OS and all my stuff's gonna get deleted :( Is there any way to get my old files to my Mac? I heard I could buy an external hard drive, but how would I get my files on it if my pc doesn't start XP at all?

12-12-2008, 12:26 AM	#3 (permalink)
snazzybagels Registered User Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Chicago Posts: 6 OS: Windows XP/ Mac OSX	Re: File backup This might be a totally dumb question, but what exactly is a hard drive ENCLOSURE?