can it retrieve data even if the hard drive is already dead?
1495673
If the Drive is not "Spinning" when the power is connected I don't think you will be able to retrieve anything. I used this device to pull data off a very old Laptop that would no longer BOOT up. I pulled the drive and was able get the drive to spin and mount.
1495674
If it's already dead. No.It's dead. Your not going to get anything from a dead drive.
364524
If your drive has an mSATA, then it's OK. You can also get a SATA to USB adapter to get the data out.
1678760
It depends on what failed on the HDD. If it is the PCB you can buy another of the same model HDD, making sure the label states it uses the same (or sometimes very close revision of) firmware, then swap the PCB from the working drive to the dead one. If it is the motor or actuator arm that failed and IF it uses only one platter, you can send it off to a data recovery service and they can buy the same drive as mentioned above, remove the platter from the dead HDD and put it in the new one, or if it has multiple platters they can read one platter at a time and reconstruct the data. If it is the platter itself, the data is usually unrecoverable. Based on the basic nature of your question I suspect any recovery is beyond your abilities, that a "dead" HDD will be no more recoverable than you can resurrect a dead person. Sorry to state this but that is why making backups is so important.
807853
If the HD didn't fail this will work with an IDE or SATA drive so you should be able to use it.
218265
This can only if the harddrive itself didn't die. It comes with cables so you do not have to buy any cables. So if you think your Sata cables or something elese went wrong this may be an opition. I used this because my old external harddrive pcb board died but the HDD was fine so I got this put it in and it was good to go. It is the cheapest option I hope it works but if it doesn't then your HDD died.
1680265
No, but you can use windows easy transfer application to backup and restore your data from old hard drive to new one.Hope that answers your question.
938309
Molley, hello: The ability to retrive data from an inoperable hard drive depends on a number of things. The most important factor, in my opinion, is whether you've waited too long to retrieve data; as a result, some or all data files may have become unretrievable. Assuming that you've not waited too long and thereby not compromised data, I recommend that you buy and try the NewerTech universal device. My "external" hard drive (on a Mac platform and OS) had been clicking quietly for a week without engaging; it was unable to back up files as scheduled. I ordered, received, and utilized the NewerTech universal drive adapter. On my first connection and try, the adapter recognized my external hard drive, located all the files on it, and accepted my request to transfer those files to a new external hard drive replacement. I was happily surprised that all files were located and transferred with no loss. There's no guarantee that the NewerTech Universal adapter will be successful. If I were you, I wouldn't wait any longer; neither would I send the drive to a facility that attempts to retrive files because of the cost of doing so; I'd but the NewerTech USB 3.0 Universal device. HTH. Warren
1287707
Hi, The hard disk drive is independent with the OS. It depends on the connection port and the standard of hardware of the computer. The best way for you is to check the old hard disk drive on your computer and buy a new one with the same specifications.
1761416
If this is the case, what happens if the original drive fails? Can you just replace that drive or do you have to reinstall everything?
486261
The short answer is yes. If you're able to "see" the dead laptop HD when you plug into the USB port of the new laptop then it just as simple as transferring from one drive to another on a partitioned HD
1662733
try plugging it back to where it worked well. that's for checking if your hard drive is still good.
2072313
Yes; I have extracted a number of laptop drives from dead laptops and used in this manner. Any drive enclosure made for appropriate drive type will work.
232626
Chance of recovery is very thin. Only chance would be if you have added just a very few files to your computer since the files were trashed. At the time you trash them, the data remains on the hard drive, but the computer is told that that portion of the drive is now available for copying new files. The next time you add or save a file, it gets written on the drive, possibly right over the info that you now hope to recover. Once that happens, the old data is gone forever. If the files are still there, Data Rescue would find them, but the likelihood that they are still there is very low (unless you have not saved any new files in the past few months). Chance of recovery is very thin. Only chance would be if you have added just a very few files to your computer since the files were trashed. At the time you trash them, the data remains on the hard drive, but the computer is told that that portion of the drive is now available for copying new files. The next time you add or save a file, it gets written on the drive, possibly right over the info that you now hope to recover. Once that happens, the old data is gone forever. If the files are still there, Data Rescue would find them, but the likelihood that they are still there is very low... » Read More Chance of recovery is very thin. Only chance would be if you have added just a very few files to your computer since the files were trashed. At the time you trash them, the data remains on the hard drive, but the computer is told that that portion of the drive is now available for copying new files. The next time you add or save a file, it gets written on the drive, possibly right over the info that you now hope to recover. Once that happens, the old data is gone forever. If the files are still there, Data Rescue would find them, but the likelihood that they are still there is very low (unless you have not saved any new files in the past few months). « Show Less
2157632
yes if you want to transfer your old info off of your old hard drive. in my case, my old hard drive was completely broke. so i couldn't transfer any info if i wanted to.
725058
No Power no Data. Drive is dead to the computer without power. Also if you turn another switch on after boot up, computer doesn't see it. you must pick which hard drive you want before bootup.
1599691
As I answer, remember... my hard drive got wiped. Make certain you switch your hard drive to "slave" status if you haven't already. Otherwise, you should be OK.
2068700
That depends on the kind of failure you have on your external drive. If the drive has died, then nothing to do. If the drive works, then you should be able to recover. I rather do that connecting the drive to a PC directly.