Dropped laptop (not just the usual question)

Gitte · 10-20-2009, 05:10 PM

Hi there, I'm new to the forum, and am somewhat technical, at least software-wise. I know some "dropped laptop" questions have been covered before, but not specifically this. My husband dropped his Dell 6400 and the screen is toast (black and white blobs). However, the battery is okay (laptop starts up) and I believe it is booting (sounds normal when I do this). I would like to confirm whether the hard drive is okay and would potentially like to recover some data. I have a Dell 1501 and am wondering whether I would mess up my own computer if for testing purposes I replaced my own hard drive with his (assuming it physically fits)? I'd like to be able to get some data off his laptop before I dissasemble it and offer the various parts for sale.

Thanks so much!

**grimx133** · 10-21-2009, 02:42 AM

Generally you can't take a hard drive out of a computer and have it boot to the OS in
another. Sometimes it will work, if the drivers, specially chipset, are the same, or
very close. Worth a try. If it's a sata drive it can be connected to the sata ports
of a desktop and read, as long as it's in working condition. IDE laptop hard drives need
a 2.5" to 3.5" adapter to connect to a desktop motherboard.
Try it in yours first, if no go, then connect to a desktop. If it is connected as a
secondary drive, you may get a warning that you don't have permission to access.
In that case you would have to take ownership, details in this MS kb article.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308421

edit - if you don't have a desktop available, you can also use a usb
adapter to read the hard drive via usb on your laptop. I use something
similar to this one, on occasion. Works for both sata and ide drives in
both 2.5 and 3.5 inch sizes. Mine is made by bytecc, just not this exact
model. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16812156102

Gitte · 10-21-2009, 01:11 PM

Thanks so much for your response. I neglected to mention that both of these computers (the dropped one and my intact one) are Dell laptops. I don't have a desktop available, or any external monitor. The dropped one runs XP and the other runs Vista. Just really wondering whether there's a down-side to removing my own hard-drive (Vista machine) and replacing it with his (XP), i.e. would I potentially corrupt any of my own system or data?

**simpswr** · 10-21-2009, 01:44 PM

If you try to boot from the drive, the operating system will likely be corrupted. You could use an external enclosure to attach the drive via USB to salvage the data. You will need to determine if the drive is SATA or IDE

10-20-2009, 05:10 PM	#1 (permalink)
Gitte Registered User Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 2 OS: XP	Dropped laptop (not just the usual question) Hi there, I'm new to the forum, and am somewhat technical, at least software-wise. I know some "dropped laptop" questions have been covered before, but not specifically this. My husband dropped his Dell 6400 and the screen is toast (black and white blobs). However, the battery is okay (laptop starts up) and I believe it is booting (sounds normal when I do this). I would like to confirm whether the hard drive is okay and would potentially like to recover some data. I have a Dell 1501 and am wondering whether I would mess up my own computer if for testing purposes I replaced my own hard drive with his (assuming it physically fits)? I'd like to be able to get some data off his laptop before I dissasemble it and offer the various parts for sale. Thanks so much!

10-21-2009, 02:42 AM	#2 (permalink)
grimx133 Mentor Hardware Team Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Canada eh Posts: 3,168 OS: xp mce sp2, xp pro sp2, windows 7 beta My System	Re: Dropped laptop (not just the usual question) Generally you can't take a hard drive out of a computer and have it boot to the OS in another. Sometimes it will work, if the drivers, specially chipset, are the same, or very close. Worth a try. If it's a sata drive it can be connected to the sata ports of a desktop and read, as long as it's in working condition. IDE laptop hard drives need a 2.5" to 3.5" adapter to connect to a desktop motherboard. Try it in yours first, if no go, then connect to a desktop. If it is connected as a secondary drive, you may get a warning that you don't have permission to access. In that case you would have to take ownership, details in this MS kb article. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308421 edit - if you don't have a desktop available, you can also use a usb adapter to read the hard drive via usb on your laptop. I use something similar to this one, on occasion. Works for both sata and ide drives in both 2.5 and 3.5 inch sizes. Mine is made by bytecc, just not this exact model. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16812156102 __________________ Last edited by grimx133; 10-21-2009 at 02:53 AM.

10-21-2009, 01:11 PM	#3 (permalink)
Gitte Registered User Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 2 OS: XP	Re: Dropped laptop (not just the usual question) Thanks so much for your response. I neglected to mention that both of these computers (the dropped one and my intact one) are Dell laptops. I don't have a desktop available, or any external monitor. The dropped one runs XP and the other runs Vista. Just really wondering whether there's a down-side to removing my own hard-drive (Vista machine) and replacing it with his (XP), i.e. would I potentially corrupt any of my own system or data?

10-21-2009, 01:44 PM	#4 (permalink)
simpswr Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: May 2007 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 12,323 OS: XP, Vista, Win 7	Re: Dropped laptop (not just the usual question) If you try to boot from the drive, the operating system will likely be corrupted. You could use an external enclosure to attach the drive via USB to salvage the data. You will need to determine if the drive is SATA or IDE __________________ Rich MemTest86 \| BenchTest \| Virus/Trojan/Spyware Help How to post a Screen Shot \| PC running slow?