Dr. Blip's PC-Doctor Forum

General Category => Ask Our Experts => Topic started by: Old_Venezuelan on May 20, 2023, 07:47:43 am

Title: Help with Internal - now External - Hard Drive
Post by: Old_Venezuelan on May 20, 2023, 07:47:43 am

My 13-year-old Windows XP laptop just died. Something burned - and smoked - after I plugged in an USB thumb-drive. I took out its internal HITACHI hard drive (see the specs in the attached photo PDF file), to place it in one of those external portable USB hard-drive cases I just purchased, and it in fit with no problems, into the mentioned case; however, when I plugged it into my Windows 10 HP Laptop, it did not recognize it. I assumed it was because the Hitachi was setup with Windows XP, and my HP Laptop is a Windows 10 machine; so, I took it and connected it to another Windows XP system I have, and it gave me a I/O Device error message.

Please, I need several files located inside this internal HITACHI hard drive.

Please, advise... and keep in mind I AM NOT computer savvy..!

Thanks;

Title: Re: Help with Internal - now External - Hard Drive
Post by: eric on May 22, 2023, 05:55:15 am

I'm sorry to hear about your troubles with an older computer dying and the need to recover data!

Generally speaking, there's a few things to consider:

• The hard drive is setup to boot with the target system's configuration. Trying to boot with another machine is not guaranteed to work. For example, the Windows XP installation was likely targeting a 32-bit environment whereas your more modern system is more likely to be 64-bit. Other hardware can also cause similar issues trying to change systems your OS drive is booting on.
• If your old system burned, it's possible your hard drive suffered some damage. Otherwise, assuming your drive is still usable from another machine, you should be able to plug it in and view the file system contents. One thing to keep in mind, though, is any drive encryption or other security related software could cause the drive's contents to not be immediately available.

Finally, if you're struggling to access the drive contents and aren't tech savvy, we would advise you to consult with a professional. You can use the Service Center Technician Locator (https://www.pcdservicecenter.com/locator (https://www.pcdservicecenter.com/locator)) to try and find a local technician that can assist with data recovery.