Laptop hard drive failing - help

Channel Hopper

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This drive has just started whining, it was absolutely silent before, apart from the odd clonk from the heads.

How best to hoover the remaining date from it (about 1GB worth of pictures and files)

Its a Dell Latitude with a faulty A drive and no CDR item. I dont want to send data over the net to another PC, and the zip drive I have is not USB compatible.

Suggestions please ?
 

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Unless you have a portable CD writer which connects by firewire or printer port or a zip drive that does similar telepathy would seem your only option. It sounds like the read/write head may have detached from the arm if it is whining, and all it will be doing is damaging sectors all the time it is running. You could do com port to com port with another PC but it will be very slow. Lap link used to do such software but I never personally used it. What O S is the lap top???
 

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Hi CH - if you have another PC you could make up an RJ45 reversal lead so no need for a hub and enable networking between the two then transfer the data to the healthy one quite quickly.



L.
 

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Sorry I thought network connection via RJ 45 was ruled out!! Yes Lancelots option would do even better if you have the port available:cool:
 

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How about abig capacity memory stick?
 

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If the laptop doesn't have a network connection then you can transfer files from USB to USB.

You need a special cable (not just a USB A to USB A cable, wouldn't work and in theory could damage one of the PCs). It's more fiddly than a normal network, so unless you have the cable already I would go with Analoguesat's suggestion of getting/using a USB memory stick.
 

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OK, will get a memory stick. Excellent AnalogueSat, hadnt considered that option

What sizes and prices are they nowadays ?
 

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Channel Hopper said:
What sizes and prices are they nowadays ?

You can get a 1GB one for £42.99 off ebuyer and do it in one go

_http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=74845

or a 128MB for £10.54 here - item number 2070

_http://www.pless.co.uk/customer/search.php?substring=usb
 

rolfw

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I have a 1Gig and i think it was around £55 from redstore.com
 

rolfw

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Crumbs GB, that's cheap, a nice little Dreambox addon. :)

@ CH. You can always borrow mine. :)
 

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Ive just secured a 128MB one from a UK eBayer- £17 including recorded delivery, so it should be here midweek.

Ill just download and upload a few times.

Thanks for all the suggestions, it does seem to make the zip drive redundant and expensive by comparison.
 

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I use an old, small flash drive for storing passwords on.
 

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jimbo said:
I use an old, small flash drive for storing passwords on.
Why is that jimbo? don't tell me your memory's failing O-Ha :-doh!
 

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LOL, trouble is topper, my memory is only about 16mb and there's loads of passwords.:)
 

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jimbo said:
LOL, trouble is topper, my memory is only about 16mb and there's loads of passwords.:)
I only have base memory 640k and that's my lot...... and my wife keeps reminding me I haven't enough RAM :-wow The cheek of it :-doh!
 

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i think you can get a simple IDE cable adaptor that'll take your 2.5" laptop HD drive and plug it into a pucker PC:

erm, like here:

_http://www.komplett.co.uk/k/ki.asp?sku=103373&cks=PRL

£9

-cts
 

Channel Hopper

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Hmm, now you tell me

Actually its probably best if the drive stays where it is until I get data off it. Any move now could cause additional trauma.
 

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I have a nice 1083 Mb Toshiba laptop 2.5 #HDD2731 you can have it free if you can pay shipping from USA.
 

Channel Hopper

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Thanks

The EasyDisk USB2 is doing just fine. Unfortunately Im now looking for another drive for the Dell Latitude (and an operating system / disk).
 
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