How Do I Get Files From an Old Hard Drive?

[@askleonotenboom]

Recovering those old files might be easy.

[@llll3452]

I recently used an external hard drive enclosure to recover my files when the motherboard on my old PC failed. While this was a fairly simple process it was not quite as simple as a direct plug and play like an external hard drive you would purchase. I recall there was some extra step involved where you needed to ‘’Claim permissions” in order to access those files? I then I remember the drive showing up with 2 separate drive letters, one with the data and one with basically nothing? (btw-I was not trying to boot from the drive simply trying to access files) while I did wade my way through this I found it confusing, so if someone out there has a better understanding of exactly what those nuances are and how to properly navigate through them it would be most helpful. Thanks

[@mamajan99]

Thanks! Wish me luck, I'm gonna try! I just hope it's a sata drive and not a Satan!

[@poppadog53]

Thank you for your video. My pc recently overheated and terminally crashed. I am hoping to recover files from its drive to my new pc.

[@IndianKat]

Were you successful in doing it? Did your drive have partitions in it?

[@x1625]

Over a week I transferred video files to a 6TB WD Red cmr drive, " my off site backup for videos and photos", by USB using a Mediasonic Probox "toaster" type External Hard Drive Docking Station. Adding files to the videos folder add deleting a few over several sessions. When the drive was about 85% full one morning I went to open the Videos folder, to finish updating my backup but a windows dialog box said it could not open it because no path to it existed, or something to that effect. I clicked the file a second time, got the same message, then the folder with almost 4Tb of files disappeared before my eyes, leaving the folder with over 500 Gb of photo files intact. The drive still shows 4.31 Tb of space used but only the photo files are accessible. Upon buying a new 8 Tb drive, the technician said a toaster style external dock is unreliable with hard drives over 4 Tb and could of corrupted the data causing the situation. So I should format it and hope to see a full 6 Tb or actually 5.40somthing available if it is not the drive its self that is corrupted. Any suggestions before I format? P.s. the files are not hidden or in the recycle bin, and Crystal Disk Info tells me that my WD red is just fine.

[@irascib1e]

3:40 this was helpful, thanks for the tip

[@RodRyan-tc6cs]

Thank You.

[@IndianKat]

I have old Samsung ST500LM012 HDD in my dead laptop? Would it work SATA USB cable? I had many 3 partitions on my dead laptop. Main data was not on C drive but on D and F drive. Would they show up?

[@Xceny]

Thank you so much for the tips. I just found my computer from 03 and thought it would be fun to get some old goodies off it, but then I remembered that its possibly riddled with viruses. Since this machine is so old, is the threat level fairly low if I were to browse/transfer some specific files over to my current machine?

[@askleonotenboom]

Scan the old drive once connected with security software, and then copy only what you need. I'd expect it to be a relatively safe approach.

[@gmc9753]

2:03. That's a PATA connection there, not SATA. Weren't those being used back in 1800's? :)

[@hectorrivera4347]

Thank you Master

[@cindyjacks4real]

Do i need a certain windows system when using a sabrent.external docking staion ro see your files from a diffrent windows system?

[@askleonotenboom]

I don't believe so.

[@huriyahkun3219]

Thank you sir.

[@Johnny.43]

Thank you very much!!!!!!

[@mariaroysreed6490]

Hello, I have two old hard drives that still have all information on them. I just purchased a hard drive adapter and need to view the files on them, but I am concerned that doing so might harm my newer computer, files, programs, etc. My question is it okay for me to do this, and if so, is there a certain way I should go about it? Thank you!

[@elliottdiedrich3068]

Backing up helps sometimes but it didn't help me. Someone came into my house and stole all of my thumb drives and an external hard drive. I lost a lot of important things.

[@billstclair4676]

I have a 1tb Toshiba over a decade old. It quit working shortly after I purchased and put data on it. It appears it does not spin in it's enclosure or in a new one. I don't believe the disc itself is damaged, it's just that the motor won't spin. Can the disc be put in a DVD player/CD player/laptop DVD/CD player to extract data?

[@askleonotenboom]

The hard disk? No, that's going to require a professional data recovery service.

[@ryanblabla0909]

I am looking for images for legal reasons, the drive I have is spinning and I have folders but I can't find where the images are

[@deawallace3584]

Sir, i have a pc from 2008 that ran on VIsta that I loved but it quit working because Internet Explorer expired. So I heard I could boot it from a flash drive just to use without getting it on the internet? It had tons of pictures I want and a great movie making program

[@askleonotenboom]

You can do that (I think it's mentioned in the video), or you could remove the drive and put it in an external USB enclosure (I'm certain that's mentioned in the video).

[@deawallace3584]

@@askleonotenboom I don't know anything about Linix. What else can I use to boot up from a usb? Anything after Windows 7 exasperates me. I have a Mac Mini that drives me nuts, and Windows 10.

[@askleonotenboom]

@@deawallace3584 This is actually why I generally recommend putting the drive into an external enclosure. That way you end up accessing it via Windows, whichever you're used to. The primary alternative to boot from is a Linux distribution.

[@markmaisey6277]

i have a sky q box and want to transfer recordings to a external hard drive. how ?

[@tomtom-by8rs]

Thank you sir. My computer is a Lenovo laptop. My windows11 Operating System (OS) does not boot up. I have been able to copy most of my data to a thumb drive by using command prompt notepad.exe. But the file that I have NOT been able to find is my 2023 tax return, done on H & R Block installed program. So instead of doing my taxes over, I plan to extract the drive from the machine and use one of the devices to find my tax return (I have already filed for an extension with IRS, and paid the taxes due). Question 1: When I remove the drive, do I need to wear a special bracelet to prevent damage to the drive from static electricity? Question 2: Any idea where I would find my 2023 tax return? I am able to copy the H&R block downloaded program from my computer. But there is no completed tax return with it. Using command prompt notepad.exe, I have searched all over the C drive, but have yet to find it. Thank you for the video, I owe you a beer.

[@TrainMyMynd]

how do you get a file that you accidentally sent to recycle bin, then deleted ? please help

[@JimE6243]

External Drive: That brings up the question(to me). If I'm going to buy a SATA external drive for backup, are there any advantages to buying a drive and an external enclosure separate as opposed to buying one complete? Thanks. JimE

[@askleonotenboom]

Not that I can think of. If I want a new external drive I'll get one already built.

[@JimE6243]

@@askleonotenboom Thanks again for your continuing support! JimE

[@thesadnoise]

Thank 100 for the tips. I'm requested by some family members to recover photos and videos from a old laptop. To mitigate the risk of viruses. How would I approach this? Since I don't personally trust their system to be clean. Thank is you could offer help.

[@thesadnoise]

I hate autocomplete and auto suggest on mobile... I knew I pressed (if) and not (is)

[@askleonotenboom]

If you put the old drive in an external drive enclosure, you can run a security scan on it before yo udo anything else.

[@jaymonroe8050]

I can access the hard drive by connecting it externally, I just can't transfer any of the files to another hard drive, and/or deleted the files. Gives me the message something to the effect that I don't have permission. How can I get "permission" so that I can either move or delete these old files?

[@askleonotenboom]

I'd start you here: askleo.com/how-do-i-gain-access-to-files-windows-says-i-dont-have-permission-to-access/

[@jgarb21]

My Desktop power unit failed. I purchased a SATA cable and attached as an "external" drive on a new computer. when looking at the file structure I could not open the Drive:\User\{Username}. It has a "Continue" to provide the administrative authorization, but on stalls out. The HDD cam from a Windows 10 machine and connecting it to a Windows 11 machine; Does that matter?

[@askleonotenboom]

You might look at the techniques discussed here: askleo.com/permission-to-access-this-folder/

[@jgarb21]

@@askleonotenboom thanks for the reply I was able to change the permissions on the users and all worked out. Now it is just my M.2 SSD drive that states it's not initialized. I'm pretty sure it was a formatted drive when it was in the old system.

[@cindyjacks4real]

Can I use any windows 10 system to move my files using a sabrint 3.0 docking station on any windows 10.system ? Will my precious files appear so I can copy them to an external hard drive?

[@BurritoSupreme_]

I removed a hard drive broom my broken laptop. I turned it into an external hard drive and connected it to my laptop. I see folders in there but when I click on a folder is says it’s empty. K then ran a search for jpg files and found some old pictures. I can’t locate where the photos are stored in the hard drive. How doI find the location of the photos when everything says empty once I click on it? Thanks

[@askleonotenboom]

Even though you're not reporting permission errors, I'd start you with the tools outlined in this article: askleo.com/how-do-i-gain-access-to-files-windows-says-i-dont-have-permission-to-access/

[@raincadeify]

Thank you for talking on my level, lol.

[@glasslinger]

Old? Sata is not old! Old is drives that are PATA and require cylinders and tracks to be entered. They DON'T recognize when plugged in! I have some drives from WIN95 days that have some software source code on them that I REALLY would like to rescue. No luck so far.

[@whothou]

old as in relative to the individual not time ad a whole

[@richardturk7162]

Could you explain that in layman's terms.

[@thoughtfully]

So let me start by saying Lenovo and Windows update have ruined my digital life and I am greatly disappointed. I will never buy another Lenovo and If I can manage to learn linux before I die I will drop Windows like a bad habit. Windows update pushed a bios flash to my PC that I didnt catch, and it failed. On reboot my PC was bricked. Lenovo apparently offers NO support for devices that you pay hundreds of dollars for if they are out of warranty, something that happens relatively quickly. So my pc with its core I7 and its 2 Tb of storage that I love are dead. I thought I would get thru this by buying the same model off ebay and moving all of the component over to the new board. This did not work, because windows update just continued with the update on the second machine! and bricked that one to. So I am done with that beloved device and very angry. I have purchased a new machine and there are two things I need to do. 1. get the data of the 1 TB HDD. 2. prepare my new external 1 TB SSD such that no matter what happens to this computer I can move it to a new machine, plug and play no issues. Any help would be appreciated.

[@IndianKat]

Were you successful in taking off the data from your 1 TB HDD?

[@HiltonBenchley]

I have an MFM hard drive and its PC no longer works. There's a file on it that I want.