Dragnskull
Retired Staff
So that virus got to your OS before you got to my posts huh? Well before the burial service of that fried OS, you might want to get some stuff off of it.
Following my guide, you should be able to get that data off instantly, without any hassle. Once done, just re-install the operating system again, and do the exact same process to get the data back onto your computer.
Items needed:
-Screw driver
-2 computers (Your dead one, and a working one)
-IDE/Sata harddrives (both computers must match)
-a bit of time
First, make sure the power is all turned off, flip the I/O switch to the O (Located on the back of the computer, on the power supply) to ensure no electricity is going through. Remove the side panel off of the burned out computer. Carefully take the hard drive out. This may be held in with clips or screws. dont be shy with it, its durable, but i recommend not touching the bottom (not touching the board on the harddrive)
While taking the drive out, keep your arm(s) resting on the metal frame of the computer, this will ground you and protect your computer from ESD (Electro static discharge) which could fry anything in your computers hardware. you don't want that.
Once the hard drive is removed, carefully set it on the computer case (clean the case before you set it down, duh.) and go to your working computer.
There are 2 options with hard drives, IDE, and SATA. IDE is a large ribbon cable about 3 inches long, SATA is a much smaller connection, an inch in width at most, it looks like a little plug instead of a wide connector.
Once you have determined if this is a IDE or SATA cable, go to the working computer (do not bring the hard drive yet)
Repeat the process of of opening the working computer, do not remove the hard drive unless you have to (i.e. The IDE cable is cramed inside and you have to take the hard drive out to access it, if its a SATA hard drive as well you shouldnt have to touch it.)
Go back to the broken computer, take the hard drive and bring it to the next computer (i suggest keeping the computers next to each other, as walking across carpet can cause you to build up static, and that leads to ESD, which we have already discussed, you don't want.)
If it is an IDE drive, locate the jumpers on it. These are little pins normally on one of the edges (front or back, normally back) of the harddrive, Look at the label of the hard drive for a diagram. Set the jumpers to "SLAVE" on the broken hard drive.
IDE: after setting the hard drive to SLAVE, Connect it to the ribbon cable, there should be a second connector not in use inbetween where the motherboard and the main hard drive connect (This is called your master hard drive btw).
SATA: Take the cable running from your broken hard drive, and simply connect it to the motherboard (Your motherboard might not have SATA if its an older model, in which case you will have to find another computer or purchase a IDE to SATA adapter)
Once it is plugged in, Boot up the PC, i normally dont close the computer case until im completely done, less work that way, just make sure you have the hard drives in a safe location if they are hanging out anywhere.
Once the computer is booted up completely, go to Start > My computer, you should now see a new Drive for your computer
Ex:
on a normal prebuilt computer you will see the following:
A: (This is your Floopy disk drive)
C: (This is your primary hard drive)
D: (This is your CD drive)
Now, you should have a new drive, that is
E: (This is the hard drive you just installed)
Now, the letter may change, depending on the number of drives you have, or what you assign to it, but look for a new drive. if your not sure which one it is, shut down the PC, take the SLAVED hard drive out, reboot the pc, and check it again, write down what is there, then re-install it. Or else you could just go digging inside each one until you recognize the items inside it.
Simply go into your newly installed hard drive, locate all the files/folders you want to keep, Highlight them, Copy them, and paste them into the original hard drive (the one thats always been in that computer)
now reverse the process, uninstalling the slaved hard drive, setting its jumpers back to the original settings (if applicable), installing it back into the bruned out computer, closing everything back up, and then you can proceed to install the operating system.
Once done, its up to you how you want to bring the saved data back onto your now working computer. DVD, CD, Flash drive, or you can do the install again.
If you complete this successfully (and you should. it's not rocket science) then pat yourself on the back. You just saved yourself 100 - 1600 dollars from Geeksquad.
Following my guide, you should be able to get that data off instantly, without any hassle. Once done, just re-install the operating system again, and do the exact same process to get the data back onto your computer.
Items needed:
-Screw driver
-2 computers (Your dead one, and a working one)
-IDE/Sata harddrives (both computers must match)
-a bit of time
First, make sure the power is all turned off, flip the I/O switch to the O (Located on the back of the computer, on the power supply) to ensure no electricity is going through. Remove the side panel off of the burned out computer. Carefully take the hard drive out. This may be held in with clips or screws. dont be shy with it, its durable, but i recommend not touching the bottom (not touching the board on the harddrive)
While taking the drive out, keep your arm(s) resting on the metal frame of the computer, this will ground you and protect your computer from ESD (Electro static discharge) which could fry anything in your computers hardware. you don't want that.
Once the hard drive is removed, carefully set it on the computer case (clean the case before you set it down, duh.) and go to your working computer.
There are 2 options with hard drives, IDE, and SATA. IDE is a large ribbon cable about 3 inches long, SATA is a much smaller connection, an inch in width at most, it looks like a little plug instead of a wide connector.
Once you have determined if this is a IDE or SATA cable, go to the working computer (do not bring the hard drive yet)
Repeat the process of of opening the working computer, do not remove the hard drive unless you have to (i.e. The IDE cable is cramed inside and you have to take the hard drive out to access it, if its a SATA hard drive as well you shouldnt have to touch it.)
Go back to the broken computer, take the hard drive and bring it to the next computer (i suggest keeping the computers next to each other, as walking across carpet can cause you to build up static, and that leads to ESD, which we have already discussed, you don't want.)
If it is an IDE drive, locate the jumpers on it. These are little pins normally on one of the edges (front or back, normally back) of the harddrive, Look at the label of the hard drive for a diagram. Set the jumpers to "SLAVE" on the broken hard drive.
IDE: after setting the hard drive to SLAVE, Connect it to the ribbon cable, there should be a second connector not in use inbetween where the motherboard and the main hard drive connect (This is called your master hard drive btw).
SATA: Take the cable running from your broken hard drive, and simply connect it to the motherboard (Your motherboard might not have SATA if its an older model, in which case you will have to find another computer or purchase a IDE to SATA adapter)
Once it is plugged in, Boot up the PC, i normally dont close the computer case until im completely done, less work that way, just make sure you have the hard drives in a safe location if they are hanging out anywhere.
Once the computer is booted up completely, go to Start > My computer, you should now see a new Drive for your computer
Ex:
on a normal prebuilt computer you will see the following:
A: (This is your Floopy disk drive)
C: (This is your primary hard drive)
D: (This is your CD drive)
Now, you should have a new drive, that is
E: (This is the hard drive you just installed)
Now, the letter may change, depending on the number of drives you have, or what you assign to it, but look for a new drive. if your not sure which one it is, shut down the PC, take the SLAVED hard drive out, reboot the pc, and check it again, write down what is there, then re-install it. Or else you could just go digging inside each one until you recognize the items inside it.
Simply go into your newly installed hard drive, locate all the files/folders you want to keep, Highlight them, Copy them, and paste them into the original hard drive (the one thats always been in that computer)
now reverse the process, uninstalling the slaved hard drive, setting its jumpers back to the original settings (if applicable), installing it back into the bruned out computer, closing everything back up, and then you can proceed to install the operating system.
Once done, its up to you how you want to bring the saved data back onto your now working computer. DVD, CD, Flash drive, or you can do the install again.
If you complete this successfully (and you should. it's not rocket science) then pat yourself on the back. You just saved yourself 100 - 1600 dollars from Geeksquad.
