Studio XPS 435 MT, Boot fail, salvage files?

Question

My Studio XPS 435mt with WIN7 fails to boot-up and, from preliminary research to the problem, it is due to either failure of the hard drive or the motherboard. I would dearly like to recover some files if I can get it booted back up. The PC has been already replaced with a 3670 with WIN10 and I have generated a WIN10 Recovery USB.

If I can use the utilities within the WIN10 recovery USB on the XPS 435mt, I would like to boot up with the recovery USB (F12 during the boot process, I believe) on the old PC. Hopefully I will be able to copy the needed files to another USB drive for transfer to the new 3760.

Does this sound "do-able" or am I misunderstanding something? Thanks in advance.

--JB

Tesla1856 · Accepted Answer

Connect bad drive to new machine via internal interface or USB enclosure/drive-tester. If it still works, you can (barely) retrieve your files. Please, next time ... start doing your backups. :Cool:

JBW2009 · Answer

Thanks Tesla1856 for the fast response.

From what I understand about my new 3760, there is only a provision for one SATA drive, so with my limited understanding, that would eliminate the ability to use an internal interface.

Thank you very much for the suggestion of the USB enclosure/drive-tester. As a retiree on a limited budget, the price of these units seem to be within reason.

Although I did regularly back up my critical files, there were a lot of items that I would be nice to have for posterity.

Thanks again

--JB

Tesla1856 · Answer

Glad to help. Let us know how it goes. If you require further assistance, you can ask in this thread.

JBW2009 · Answer

Tesla1856

In follow-up to your suggestion about "USB enclosure/drive-tester", I was wondering if you had any recommendations for a specific make / model ?

My most recent retired (failed) computer has a SATA drive, but I also have some old (operational) hardware in storage with IDE and Scsi hard drives. I do not know if there is anything worthwhile on the latter hard drives, but it would be interesting to check.

Thanks again for your help.

--JB

Techgee · Answer

I recently went through a selection process for a USB 3.1 SATA 2.5" disk enclosure. Was very pleased with the USB 3.1 Ugreen 2.5" drive enclosure. See my notes here and posts after it.

You'll need to supply enough power to it through USB. The 2 USB 3.1 ports on the front of your Inspiron 3670 would probably be able to do this.

Above applies if you've upgraded to a 2.5" SSD. If on the 435MT's original 3.5" HD, you'd need a different solution.

Techgee · Answer

...you could probably also connect the SATA drive temporarily inside the Inspiron 3670 - it should have sufficient SATA ports available, although you'd probably need to buy a SATA cable. Or, temporarily disconnect the optical drive and use it's cables with the SATA drive.

This should work regardless of drive type - whether a 3.5" spinning HD or 2.5" SSD/HD.

Vic384 · Answer

From what I understand about my new 3760, there is only a provision for one SATA drive, so with my limited understanding, that would eliminate the ability to use an internal interface.

Because of your typo I could not determine what new computer you have. If you really have an Inspiron 3670, then you can have up to four internal SATA drives. All you would need is a SATA cable, perhaps you can you the one from your Studio XPS 435 MT when you remove the hard drive. Extra power connections are usually provided.

JBW2009 · Answer

Yes, I sure mangled the '3760' model designation a couple of times.  For less than 2 weeks, I really have a (refurbished) Inspiron 3670 as my new PC.  As for the number of SATA drives that can be added, between my bad hearing and the accent of the sales person, I guess I just misunderstood the maximum number of hard drives when I asked.   This Dell Community is absolutely great for providing answers, suggestions, and recommendations.  I appreciate all of the comments made in this thread, plus the leads to other related posts.  I am still doing research on the selection of the USB enclosure/drive-tester unit, which seems like the best solution for my circumstance, especially if I can find an inexpensive one that can handle the various hard drive interfaces.  Thanks to all.  --JB

Tesla1856 · Answer

@JBW2009 wrote:

Tesla1856

In follow-up to your suggestion about "USB enclosure/drive-tester", I was wondering if you had any recommendations for a specific make / model ?

I've had mine for a long time, but it (and it's pieces) looks very similar to this one.

Vic384 · Answer

You may want to consider something like this if you don't need an enclosure. This handles both SATA and IDE drives, enclosure usually do not and it comes with a power supply. Not sure you will find anything that will handle SCSI drives.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIAFJ87N02548&Description=sata%20to%20usb&cm_re=sata_to_usb-_-12-329-640-_-Product

JBW2009 · Answer

(conclusion)  After a 'UNITEK USB 3.0 to IDE & SATA Converter External Hard Drive Adapter Kit' arrived a couple of days ago, I was able to hookup the faulty SATA drive and copied enough old files from it before it became unusable.  Several attempts at 'Scan and Repair Disk' seemed to hang up at the same spot after lengthy periods of time... so I am giving up on that HDD (and the old 435mt).  I appreciate the guidance / suggestions given.  Thanks --JB

Tesla1856 · Answer

@JBW2009 wrote: (conclusion)  and copied enough old files from it before it became unusable.    Good work :Yes:

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Studio XPS 435 MT, Boot fail, salvage files?

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