How to Backup Data From a Broken Computer to Another

Basically, what I am going to explain is how to add a second hard drive to a new computer. This is the only way (that I can think of) to back up data from a computer that won't turn on or boot up, to a different computer. If you can get the broken computer to boot up to Windows, I suggest searching Download.com for a data back-up utility. There are several out there that are free.

Before I get started, make sure the hard drive from the broken computer is not damaged. The best way to tell if it is damaged is to go through the following process, and if your computer does not recognize the new drive when you finish, then your data is most likely unrecoverable.

BEFORE TOUCHING ANYTHING INSIDE YOUR COMPUTER (ESPECIALLY THE HARD DRIVES) MAKE SURE YOU TOUCH A DOORKNOB, OR SOMETHING METAL THAT IS NOT ATTACHED TO THE COMPUTER!!

Doing this will discharge any static electricity that you may have built up. If static electricity is discharged onto any computer component, it may ruin it.

ALSO, MAKE SURE THE COMPUTER IS TURNED OFF AND UNPLUGGED FROM THE WALL BEFORE STARTING.

If, for some off chance, this process causes any data loss, neither myself, nor eHow.com is responsible. If everything is done properly, you won't have any problems.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• A working hard drive from the broken computer (see pictures if you do not know what a hard drive looks like).
• An open bay on the new computer (see pictures if needed).
• IDE cable (not necessarily needed - see directions)
• Pair of tweezers

1. 
   A typical hard drive. Your's should look similar.

   Turn off your computer and unplug the power cord. If you are taking a drive out of a broken computer, open up the computer and locate the hard drive. Unplug the cords from the back of the drive (there should be a thick gray or blue cord, and another plug with several wires going to it); unscrew the 2 or 4 screws that are holding it in, and remove the drive. Most hard drives will have 2 screws on one side and 2 screws on the other side.

2. 
   Diagram of a typical hard drive.

   Locate the jumper pins on the back of the hard drive that you are installing. These are located on the back of the drive (see diagram). There should be a very small plastic piece that is going over 2 of the pins. Move that plastic piece to the "slave" setting (most hard drives will have a sticker on the top with a picture on where the jumper should be placed for each setting. If there is no sticker refer to your hard drive owners manual or the manufacturer's web site). To take the jumper out, you may need a pair of tweezers (or long finger nails).

3. 
   Inside of a typical computer. Your computer may look different.

   Open up the computer that you are going to install the drive in. Most computers will have 4 screws on the back of the computer. These screws are usually located on the far left and far right back side of the computer. If you do not see anything, just look for anything that may be holding the casing on.

4. 
   Diagram of where to look for an open bay.

   Locate an open bay. Generally, there is one either directly above your existing hard drive, or directly below. Slide the new hard drive into the bay and secure it with screws. If you do not have any screws, you can leave it unattached (NOT RECOMMENDED). If you leave it unattached, make sure it is not resting on a bare surface (in other words, it is "suspended" above anything that is below it). I would not recommend moving your computer around too much if you choose not to attach the drive.

5. 
   Picture of what an available power cord looks like.

   Plug an available power cord into the back of the new hard drive (see picture).

6. 
   Diagram of what a motherboard looks like, as well as an IDE cable.

   Plug in the IDE cable. The IDE cable is the thick gray cable that attaches the hard drive to the motherboard (the "brains" of the computer). If you look at the cable that is attached to the existing hard drive, you should see a second connector about half way down the cable, if you have one, plug it into the back of the new drive. If you do not see this, or if it is attached to a different drive (most common is the CD/DVD drive), then you will need to purchase one, or use one from a broken computer. If you need to attach a new cable, you will need to plug it into the drive and the mother board. Most computers will have 2 available spots for IDE cables (one for the main hard drive and one for the secondary hard drive. IDE cables will only fit in the plug one way, so if you are having problems getting it to fit, turn the cord 180 degrees. There is a little notch on the top of the cord, and that notch has to line up properly with the plug. Don't worry about plugging it into the wrong spot on the mother board, there is only one size plug that this cable will fit in. See the diagram if needed.

7. Reattach the casing for your computer and reattach any components that you unplugged (including the power cord).

8. Turn on your computer and let Windows load.

9. 
   If you were successful you will see 2 hard drives in My Computer.

   After Windows loads, open My Computer (located on the desktop). If you see the new drive listed next to you main drive (the C drive) then everything was done properly. If you do not see the drive listed, there are several things that could be causing this:
   **The cables plugged into the drive are not secure.
   **The hard drive is bad.
   **The jumper settings are not set correctly (see step 2). If this is the case, make sure your main drive is set to the "master" setting and the second drive is set to the "slave" setting.
   **The hard drive is not installed. Wait about 5 minutes and check again. Most the time, Windows will need to install the new hardware. If you see a yellow bubble pop up in the lower right hand corner of the screen that says "new hardware is being installed," wait until you get a message that says "your new hardware is installed and ready to use." If you do not get this message after about 10 minutes, try running Windows Update from the Start menu.
   **The hard drive is too large for the computer to recognize. You may need to flash the BIOS (look up how to do this on Google). Flashing the BIOS is a very advanced process (it is not hard, but if it isn't done right, you will turn your computer into a very large paperweight). DO NOT DO THIS IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING!!
   **The hard drive may need to be formatted (usually this only needs to be done on brand new drives). Formatting a hard drive erases everything that is on that drive, and restructures the format of the free space. To format the drive, and the the hard drive IS recognized by Windows, do the following: 1) Open My Computer; 2) right click on the new hard drive; 3) click on "format"; 4) click start. FORMATTING ERASES EVERYTHING OFF THE HARD DRIVE!!

10. 
    After right clicking the drive, then clicking "properties" you will see this dialog box, after you select the "tools" tab at the top.

    If your computer recognized the hard drive, you can open it in My Computer and transfer your files back and forth from your main hard drive to your second hard dive. You can also delete folders you no longer need (If you do not plan to use this drive in a different computer later on, it is safe to delete the "Windows" folder - make sure you have the secondary hard drive open, and not your main drive!) If you delete and move numerous files, I high recommend defragmenting your new drive. To do this, open My Computer; right click on the secondary drive; click on properties; click on the "tools" tab; click defragment, and start the defragmentation process. This will take between 10 minutes and 5 hours (depends on the number of files you have on that drive). This will significantly improve the speed at which your computer accesses the data on the drive (if your main drive is running slow, feel free to defragment that drive as well. Just make sure you close anything that is open, and don't plan on using your computer until it is finished).

Tips & Warnings

• Most of the time, you will not be able to run old programs off the old hard drive (if you have some installed). The reason for this is because when a program is installed, it add an entry into the Windows registry. The registry tells Windows various information about the program (such as: where Windows can find the program, text that is displayed in the title bar, e.t.c). If the registry does not have this information, Windows, generally, can not run the application. Since the programs on that hard drive were installed on a different computer, it will not have any information in the registry. If you reinstall the program, it should work fine (you can always have it reinstall onto the new hard drive if you don't want to use up space on the existing hard drive. This should only affect games, tools, utilities, and similar programs. You should still be able to access your documents, pictures, music, and other saved files.
• Generally, the worst thing that will happen is that your computer will not recognize the hard drive. If you mess with the jumper settings on your main drive, make sure you know where they were set at before you take it out (in case you need to put it back where it was).
• Chances are, you will not lose any data if you follow everything I tell you in this article, and you handle the hard drive with care.
• Do NOT walk around with the hard drive (if you can help it). Static electricity can seriously ruin your drive.
• Do NOT unplug anything inside your computer while it is turned on or plugged into the wall. If you have any problems/questions, please email me.

[ryanc184]

on 11/17/2008 you should be able to, however your best bet is to reformat it. The drivers that are installed on the drive may not work correctly with your new computer (such as your display, internet, etc.) I'd say to just give it a try, and if it doesn't work, then I would reformat it.

[kippy]

on 9/8/2008 can you take a harddrive that has windows and your program on it and put it in another computer as the master driver with out having to formating it

[ryanc184]

on 4/9/2008 If smoke was coming out of the drive, it is probably shot. You may want to take it to a computer repair store and see if maybe they can tell you if it is ruined or not.

[christmas]

on 3/25/2008 I was trying to do the same thing. But then since my new pc does not have any cable that will fit my old hard disk, and someone told me that I can hook up the hard disk to the DVD-rom cables. I did that. And a second after I turned on my pc, white smoke came out of the hard disk and I smelled something burning. I turned off my pc and disconnected the hard disk. But then I think the hard disk is ruined. Do you think I can still retrieve data from the hard disk?