Computer dead - how to get data from hard drive to a new laptop

Buy an external USB 2.0 drive case, mount the drive in it, and attach it to the notebook.

I dont think buy a usb2.0 drive casing will beacuse to the best of my knowledge a usb2.0 drive casing an ide interposer card which is specific for slim line mobile hard drives online.Although there are certain desktops which use the slimeline mode , the dimension 4600c does not use a modular may slimline hare drives.

The dim 4600c in your case is a standard 40gb hdd which has a power connector at its rear and will need some sort of power provisions to get detected in the laptop, which the usb 2.o drive casing will not supply.

Hence the best way i feel is to remove the hdd from the dim 4660c system, install it as a slave in another desktop system and the back the data through it.

else give it  to data backup companies who will rip the hdd apart, take each disc out one by one and theyw ill back data through each disc using laser data extracting technology, something that was done to recover data from hdds that were burn in 9/11 wtc collapse.but this option will be expensive. hence consider backing up data using a friends desktop computer.

well I think ejn63 is right. My apologies since i didnot know that there are ide to usb2.0 casings avilable for  desktop hdds too.However just 1 think to check. Just see if  the usb port required for this casing a normal usb 2.0 port or a powered usb ports. because some laptops have powered usb ports for high power devices and the powered usb port will be a bit larger in size than a normal usb 2.0 ports. infact it will be twice the size of a normal usb port.anyways ejn63 is the man.

The drive is a standard desktop unit - something like the one below should work just fine.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817145314

Hi,

FYI

In addition to the USB 2 external hard disk enclosures, this device allows any normal IDE device to connect to a USB 2 port, The only IDe devie I could not get to work was my IDE conneced Tape Backup Unit. I didn't think this would work, but had to try to find out. 

Message Edited by ceri sheeran on 01-08-2006 12:15 AM