Dell GX520 "Hard Drive"

Hi Bo,

I'm not sure why you think your GX520 does not have a hard drive, but I'd suggest taking it out and simply connecting it to a spare SATA port in your GX620 to retrieve files.

My GX520 has a "System Board", which is shown on page 123 of the users manual, see;

ftp://ftp.dell.com/Manuals/all-products/esuprt_desktop/esuprt_optiplex_desktop/optiplex-gx520_user%27s%20guide_en-us.pdf.

There is NO hard drive as such.

I apologize, I just found the hard drive!  Since I am new at this, where would I find a SATA port on my GX620?

In all seriousness, I am really new at working on computers, and i don't want to hurt this thing any more than it is.  Can you give me some very clear instructions on how to hook up this hard drive (from my GX520) to my GX620 so that that I can run a program like "RecoverMyFiles" on it?

What form factor is your GX620?

In all seriousness, I am really new at working on computers, and i don't want to hurt this thing any more than it is.  Can you give me some very clear instructions on how to hook up this hard drive (from my GX520) to my GX620 so that that I can run a program like "RecoverMyFiles" on it?

Bo Dillingham

To find out which 'Desktop' model you have, use the physical dimensions listed in the GX620 specifications in the link I posted.

Bev.

Both of my computers look like the "Desktop" pictured in the manual.  If there is some mark or number to distinguish a "Small Desktop", I did not see it.  Is there any mark or number, etc. that I could provide?

By the way, I REALLY appreciate your help!!!!

Both the GX520 and the GX620 are 4 5/8 x 15 3/4 x 14.  These measurements were taken by me with a tape, as I could not find dimensions in the 221 page document in the link.  My computer is rather slow, and I gave up looking for "Dimensions" after an extended period of time, and the "Find" function on my screen did not find "Dimensions' either.  However, both computers look exactly like the picture of the "Desktop Computer" on the first page.

Bo Dillingham

Is the  hard drive in the GX520, SATA, or IDE?

You seem to have the GX620 'desktop' version [page 106], it's dimensions can be found on page 145 of the owners manual.

 http://ftp.dell.com/Manuals/all-products/esuprt_desktop/esuprt_optiplex_desktop/optiplex-gx620_user%27s%20guide_en-us.pdf

 Height 11.4 cm (4.5 inches)
Width 39.9 cm (15.7 inches)
Depth 35.3 cm (13.9 inches)

As you will see from the manual, the desktop version does not support a second hard drive.

One of the easier methods recovering the files and folders from a failed system is to remove the hard drive and use a USB adaptor similar to this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16812156102

Then connect the hard drive to working computer and see if you can transfer the files and folders.

Note: Only data files and folders can be transfered, any applications, utilities and programs, need to be reinstalled from their CD's, or downloaded from the publisher's website.
  
Bev.

In all seriousness, I am really new at working on computers, and i don't want to hurt this thing any more than it is.  Can you give me some very clear instructions on how to hook up this hard drive (from my GX520) to my GX620 so that that I can run a program like "RecoverMyFiles" on it?

I suggest installing it in an external enclosure, like this Rosewill, (of which I have several). You might be able to clone it with Acronis TrueImage, but that would require both the software and a second hard drive.

Bo Dillingham

No additional parts are required, the only proviso, is when any IDE drive is used, the drive's jumpers need to be set at the 'Master' setting.

SATA drives don't have jumpers.

Bev.

Bev,

Thank you so much!!

As you can tell, I'm quite inexperienced with this stuff so I'm not positive about the unit you mentioned.  In the description it says that it doesn't have a case, which is fine with me.  Before your post, I was looking around the internet for an "External drive case" and the few I looked at had heights of about 1/2 to 3/4 inch, and my GX520 hard drive is over an inch thick.  If you think that this product is what I need, could you also tell me if I need to buy any of the additional plugs or adapters that are advertised with it?

Again, thank you very much,

Bo

Before your post, I was looking around the internet for an "External drive case" and the few I looked at had heights of about 1/2 to 3/4 inch, and my GX520 hard drive is over an inch thick.

Those may be 2.5-inch format. You want a 3.5-inch format, like the one I linked to in my previous post.