Accessing Files From A Laptop

Cyclone · 15 Nov 2018 at 19:00

Hello peeps,

One of my neighbours has a loptop that won't boot up, and she has a cv and photos etc on the drive that she needs.

Could I take the hard drive out, connect it to my pc as a slave, then copy the stuff she wants??

In my head I think it will work, but I want to make sure 100% before I put a smile on her face

Thanks.

Rannoch · 15 Nov 2018 at 19:02

Yes, and recommend she does backups from now on

Cyclone · 15 Nov 2018 at 19:18

Brilliant, thanks Vargas. And I will

Rannoch · 15 Nov 2018 at 19:23

Easiest way is a cheap usb enclosure. Assuming the hard disk is operational.

Cyclone · 15 Nov 2018 at 20:12

I have a usb external hub for 2.5 & 3.5 drives. I just hope it fits in it. From what she said the laptop wont boot beyond the first few lines of bios, so Im guessing the drive is ok. If not Ill be back on here

bledd · 16 Nov 2018 at 09:33

Either that or pop LinuxMint on a USB stick, boot from that and copy the files off (if it's not royally screwed)

Cyclone · 16 Nov 2018 at 15:01

Thanks bledd, Ill give that a go if the above doesnt work. Im still waiting for her to get back to me.

AHarvey · 18 Nov 2018 at 02:01

yeah, I'd probably go with the USB Linux distro. Create her a OneDrive account online, backup files to that and photos to a google account.

That way it's all online and can be accessed easily enough when you fix the install.

Hades · 19 Nov 2018 at 11:41

I'd recommend booting from a USB Linux distro and disconnecting your own drive first. If her drive can be read then you run the risk of any malware on there infecting yours.

Cyclone · 19 Nov 2018 at 17:04

She is going to take the laptop somewhere to be fixed, if it can't then she will take me up on my offer. Thanks for the help guys.