# The Slow Switch From 7 to 10



## sremed (Apr 1, 2014)

I had/have an older Dell Inspiron that I bought in 2008 with Windows Vista OS. In 2013 or 2014 I upgraded it Windows 7. A few days ago it did one of those automatic upgrades when I shut it down - no problem. Unfortunately I couldn't get it to boot back up. 

So I went and bought a newer Dell Inspiron with Windows 10, (_I've never used Windows 10_). I also bought a Sabrent 2.5" SATA Hard Drive/SSD to USB 3.0 Adapter .

I took the old hard drive out of the old computer and plugged the Sabrent cable in, then plugged it into the USB port on the new computer. I can hear it beep thru the speaker so the USB port apparently recognizes that something is plugged in - but I can't figure out to access the files. On my old computer whenever I plugged something into the USB a dialog box would pop up giving me the option to click on "View files" That doesn't happen with the new Windows 10 computer. Is there something I have to configure?

Any help is greatly appreciated.


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## Corday (Mar 3, 2010)

The drive should have a letter. Go into the File Explorer>This PC>Select that drive>You can now choose from files, pictures etc.


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## sremed (Apr 1, 2014)

Corday said:


> The drive should have a letter. Go into the File Explorer>This PC>Select that drive>You can now choose from files, pictures etc.


There's not. That was kind of what I was getting at. Under >This PC>Devices and drives (2)>Local Disc (C and DVD RW Drive (E. When I plug the SATA cable in I can hear the beep that indicates it's connected - but nothing changes. It doesn't add another drive


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## Deejay100six (Nov 24, 2007)

You can't move a hard drive from one computer to another and expect the installed operating system to work. A lot of the installation will be specific to that particular computer and, afaik, would not work in another.

You would have to reinstall the O/S.


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## tristar (Aug 12, 2008)

Disconnect the device, restart your PC, connect the device to a different USB port, once this is done, go to Start--> Run --> diskmgmt.msc and it will display all the Disks on your computer, maximize that window and tell us how many devices do you see there.

If you see your device in that list and with partitions, provide us a screenshot of what you see there and we'll tell you to which ones you need to assign a drive letter to see them.


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## sremed (Apr 1, 2014)

tristar said:


> Disconnect the device, restart your PC, connect the device to a different USB port, once this is done, go to Start--> Run --> diskmgmt.msc and it will display all the Disks on your computer, maximize that window and tell us how many devices do you see there.
> 
> If you see your device in that list and with partitions, provide us a screenshot of what you see there and we'll tell you to which ones you need to assign a drive letter to see them.


I apologize for sounding like an idiot. I had that last computer for 9 years. I knew where everything was and had a lot of programs I used that I don't have on this one yet. I know absolutely nothing about Windows 10 so every mouse click seems to turn into a 30 minute educational experience. I had Windows Office on the old machine. I'm hoping (if I ever get access to that HD) that there's a way to transfer that to this machine. The guy who installed Windows 7 four years ago also installed MS Office 2007. They were legitimate licensed versions - he was a Microsoft tech - but I have no idea where he is now or how to get a hold of him. He was dating one of my wife's cousin back then, but that was 4 years ago. 

I keep seeing things online about powering up the old hard drive with cables and contraptions that plug into a standard wall outlet? I'm starting to wonder if that $6.99 cable I bought is what I actually needed? I have a Toshiba external hard drive and that shows up when I plug it in. 

Anyway, I took a picture of the screen with my camera and saved that. I have no idea how to even save a screen shot on the new computer yet. Here's what showed up.


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## tristar (Aug 12, 2008)

No worries  When it comes to computers, you never know what happens next, don't beat yourself up, we're here to walk you through it...

Disk 1 is available and detected, although looks like there are some issues with the Disk.

*Don't initialize it at this point, since the disk was working.*

You have ample space on your primary disk so run any of the disk imaging utilities and grab a full disk image of the old disk and store it on your primary disk. Clonezilla (bootable version), EaseUS todo backup or Acronis disk image.

Download and run any of the following utilities, TestDisk (if you're comfortable with CLI) or EaseUS partition recovery, it's a free utility and can be run from Windows.

What we're trying to do is fix a corrupt partition (most likely the issue), do not try to recover individual files at this time, grab a disk image and then use TestDisk or Partition recovery to identify and fix corrupt partitions.


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## joeten (Dec 4, 2008)

You can pick up info on win 10 fairly easily https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=47716 is just one of many things you might have a look at.


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## tristar (Aug 12, 2008)

To answer the additional queries you had, can we install Off 2007 on Win 10, Yes, but there are compatibility issues and Microsoft does not recommend it.

on how to grab a screen shot in Windows 10, Click the Start in the search box type SNIP and it will show a snipping tool, you can use this to screen shot or use the print screen key on your keyboard and open Paint and save it.

The snip option is a lot quicker imo.


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## sremed (Apr 1, 2014)

tristar said:


> No worries  When it comes to computers, you never know what happens next, don't beat yourself up, we're here to walk you through it...
> 
> Disk 1 is available and detected, although looks like there are some issues with the Disk.
> 
> ...


Ok. I'm not that computer savvy so you have to talk to me in cartoons. I vaguely remember some of these terms from doing similar actions years (_if not decades_) ago. When you say "grab a disk image and then use TestDisk or Partition recovery to identify and fix corrupt partitions." Is there step-by-step instructions you can send a link to? How do I "grab" a disk image. I have no idea so I appreciate you giving me options on different programs, unfortunately I have no clue what the differences are or what the advantages or disadvantages of one vs another are, so having options just confuses things. What is the most Fool Proof? "Fool Proof" is usually the best option for me. 

You said, "Download and run any of the following utilities, TestDisk (if you're comfortable with CLI) or EaseUS partition recovery, it's a free utility and can be run from Windows." I'm assuming I would download and run these AFTER I "grab the image"? You said, "grab a disk image and then use TestDisk or Partition recovery to identify and fix corrupt partitions." I probably missed something simple, but I'm not sure exactly what "grabbing an image" entails or how to go about it. 

Sorry for being so difficult. I've probably done all this at one time or another over the years. I just don't do it all the time and my memory sucks.


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## sremed (Apr 1, 2014)

Here's the results of the scan. Not sure what to do from here.


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## spunk.funk (May 13, 2010)

Unfortunately EaseUs and most other Recovery software are not _Free_. The _"Free"_: version allows you to scan your drive, but it will only recover *2GB*'s of Data for free. You would have to pay to recover all of the files. Here is a guide to how to use the software https://www.easeus.com/tutorial/drw-free-user-guide.html
So, where you are at now, put a check in the box in the partitions you want to recover, then designate _another_ drive of the same size or larger to restore your files to. You cannot restore to the same drive you are trying to recover. 
The only totally free software is TestDisk. You still need another drive of the same size or larger to restore to.


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## sremed (Apr 1, 2014)

tristar said:


> To answer the additional queries you had, can we install Off 2007 on Win 10, Yes, but there are compatibility issues and Microsoft does not recommend it.
> 
> on how to grab a screen shot in Windows 10, Click the Start in the search box type SNIP and it will show a snipping tool, you can use this to screen shot or use the print screen key on your keyboard and open Paint and save it.
> 
> The snip option is a lot quicker imo.


Yeah, I bought a subscription to Office 365. I figured sense I have to relearn and get up-to-date on Windows I might as well throw Office in the mix and be confused on all of it at the same time.


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## spunk.funk (May 13, 2010)

Not much has changed with MS Office since 2007. So if you are familiar with any of these later version, you will not get lost. 
As for Windows 10 many people like to install the free Classic Shell. This gives the same *Start* Button, *All Programs* list and menus as Windows 7 if you don't like the Tiles interface. This is the first thing I install when upgrading or installing Windows 8 or 10.


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## sremed (Apr 1, 2014)

spunk.funk said:


> Unfortunately EaseUs and most other Recovery software are not _Free_. The _"Free"_: version allows you to scan your drive, but it will only recover *2GB*'s of Data for free. You would have to pay to recover all of the files. Here is a guide to how to use the software https://www.easeus.com/tutorial/drw-free-user-guide.html
> So, where you are at now, put a check in the box in the partitions you want to recover, then designate _another_ drive of the same size or larger to restore your files to. You cannot restore to the same drive you are trying to recover.
> The only totally free software is TestDisk. You still need another drive of the same size or larger to restore to.


Yeah. I didn't realize it wasn't free. It said $69.99 to recover. I chose that instead of TestDisc because Tristar said, "(if you're comfortable with CLI)." I don't even know what that means. But I'll give that one a try.


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## sremed (Apr 1, 2014)

spunk.funk said:


> ... The only totally free software is TestDisk. You still need another drive of the same size or larger to restore to.


I'm trying to recover the files from my old hard drive onto my new computer. Isn't that "another drive"? I'm not sure what I'm missing.


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## sremed (Apr 1, 2014)

I downloaded it twice (7.1 version)


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## spunk.funk (May 13, 2010)

You cannot restore to the drive you are recovering from because you will overwrite the files you are trying to recover in the process, which will corrupt the data you are trying to recover. You need another drive of the same size or larger to restore your files to that is not the drive you are recovering from. 
You also cannot install the recovery program to the drive you are trying to recover. 
https://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk_Download
https://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk_Step_By_Step


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## tristar (Aug 12, 2008)

Sorry for the delayed response, The reason it's asking you to purchase is because yoou're using the Data Recovery software, I had mentioned in my post to download the *Partition recovery software* because the data recovery has cost, although the partition recovery will fix the partition.
CLI - Command line Interface such as DOS.

And you are right, you should be able to back them on to your main Drive which has 1 TB storage.

Since you've started with TestDisk let's continue from there:
I'm guessing you're directly running the Zip file from temp.

Save the Testdisk zip file on your desktop, then you need to 'extract' it to a folder on the Desktop and Then run TestDisk, please let us know how this goes.

On a separate note, with O365 license, we should be able to get your office downloaded and installed.


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## sremed (Apr 1, 2014)

tristar said:


> Sorry for the delayed response, The reason it's asking you to purchase is because yoou're using the Data Recovery software, I had mentioned in my post to download the *Partition recovery software* because the data recovery has cost, although the partition recovery will fix the partition.
> CLI - Command line Interface such as DOS.
> 
> And you are right, you should be able to back them on to your main Drive which has 1 TB storage.
> ...


It won't let me download it again. Windows keeps detecting a virus and cancelling the download.


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## sremed (Apr 1, 2014)

tristar said:


> ... On a separate note, with O365 license, we should be able to get your office downloaded and installed.


I had Office 2007 installed on my old computer and my wife has Office 2013 on her laptop, so I bought the Office 365 subscription for 5 computers. It takes me out of my comfort zone - nothing is familiar, but I'll get used to it soon enough. Getting my old Office 2007 recovered isn't that important now. 

One thing I wanted to add: This computer I just bought is not brand new: it's previously owned. When I did the deep scan with that EaseUS program before I noticed a lot of stuff written in Spanish. I don't speak Spanish and I bought my old computer new, so there wouldn't be any Spanish stuff in any of my files. I'm guessing it was pulling up files from whoever owned this computer before me. 

I don't know if that makes things more difficult or not. I have no interest in cluttering up my computer with a bunch of Spanish files from the previous owners. I just want to get my files off the old hard drive.


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## spunk.funk (May 13, 2010)

Whatever program you use to recover your lost files, it should give you a list and you can pick and chose which files you want to restore. All you are really going to be concerned about is the User files under _your _user name to restore to your new computer. If there is another user name, you don't have to restore that.


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## sremed (Apr 1, 2014)

tristar said:


> Sorry for the delayed response, The reason it's asking you to purchase is because yoou're using the Data Recovery software, I had mentioned in my post to download the *Partition recovery software* because the data recovery has cost, although the partition recovery will fix the partition.
> CLI - Command line Interface such as DOS.
> 
> And you are right, you should be able to back them on to your main Drive which has 1 TB storage.
> ...


I got the 7.0 version to download without any trojans. I don't know what to do with it now that it's downloaded. I've tried clicking around on a few things just to see if I could maybe figure something out... but I have no idea what I'm doing so still hoping for a little guidance. 

I don't mind spending a _reasonable_ amount to get these files recovered. But I suppose "_reasonable_" is a subjective term. I'm not sure where that line is between getting these files back vs cost.


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## tristar (Aug 12, 2008)

Just to help you differentiate, we're not trying to recover files, we're trying to fix a corrupt partition, that will help us see all the files in the same explorer view.

Are you facing issues with TestDisk ?


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## tristar (Aug 12, 2008)

Please ensure that you're downloading and installing TestDisk from known good sources and there are times when a legitimate application gets identified as a threat due to the level of operations performed by them.

I've never faced issues with TestDisk in the past, if you've downloaded the file from the link suggested by spunk, then you might have to add it as an exclusion or temporarily disable Defender to perform these actions and then immediately enable it once you're done.


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## spunk.funk (May 13, 2010)

Post *#18 *has two links for *TestDisk* with step by step instructions.


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## sremed (Apr 1, 2014)

tristar said:


> Just to help you differentiate, we're not trying to recover files, we're trying to fix a corrupt partition, that will help us see all the files in the same explorer view.


That's fine. Hopefully that's just a distinction without a difference. My reason for coming here to ask for help was to _hopefully_ find someone who could help guide me through the steps needed to "recover" files from my old HD. 


tristar said:


> Are you facing issues with TestDisk ?


No. I _was_ having difficulty getting it to download yesterday morning, but I finally got it downloaded on my desktop. 

I don't know if it's possible to get the old files off my hard drive or not. As I felt compelled to keep pointing out - I'm not a computer tech. Then it suddenly occurred to me that maybe I misunderstood the title of this site. I assumed "tech support" meant _technical _support for people who are not technically minded or trained. Then it occurred to me that "tech support" could mean support for technicians who are trained and knowledgeable in the field. I've already apologized a couple of times for not being computer savvy thinking that would explain why I came here to ask for help. If I misread the the meaning of the title then apologizing for not being a computer tech doesn't explain why I'm here - it just makes me sound like an idiot. 

Either way, if anyone on here knows where I can go to get help for my issue I would greatly appreciate the help. Thanks


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## spunk.funk (May 13, 2010)

We are here to help you. We will give you specific suggestions of software to help you with your issue. We assume that you can follow our direction and are not afraid to get into your computer. If this is all too much, then you probably should take it to a professional in your area. But if want to fix it on your own, you need to tell us what steps you have taken and where you are stuck, so we can help you further. We will make suggestions if you hit a road block. If you need guidance with a software program, tell us what you have tried and what you don't understand and we will help you.


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## sremed (Apr 1, 2014)

spunk.funk said:


> We are here to help you. We will give you specific suggestions of software to help you with your issue. We assume that you can follow our direction and are not afraid to get into your computer. If this is all too much, then you probably should take it to a professional in your area. But if want to fix it on your own, you need to tell us what steps you have taken and where you are stuck, so we can help you further. We will make suggestions if you hit a road block. If you need guidance with a software program, tell us what you have tried and what you don't understand and we will help you.


I have no problem doing this myself, digging into my computer or following directions. While I'm not a computer tech, I'm not a complete imbecile either. I have TestDisk downloaded and I was waiting to hear what I'm supposed to do from there. If the next step is for me to figure it out on my own then no problem. I'll quit waiting and wasting your time.


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## spunk.funk (May 13, 2010)

The links in *post #18* give you_ step by step_ instructions. Follow them, if you get stuck, post back. We could write out the same instructions for you, but it's already written out on those web pages.


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## sremed (Apr 1, 2014)

spunk.funk said:


> The links in *post #18* give you_ step by step_ instructions. Follow them, if you get stuck, post back. We could write out the same instructions for you, but it's already written out on those web pages.


No problem, thanks.


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## sremed (Apr 1, 2014)

tristar said:


> Please ensure that you're downloading and installing TestDisk from known good sources and there are times when a legitimate application gets identified as a threat due to the level of operations performed by them.
> 
> I've never faced issues with TestDisk in the past, if you've downloaded the file from the link suggested by spunk, then you might have to add it as an exclusion or temporarily disable Defender to perform these actions and then immediately enable it once you're done.


Tristar, if you're still available to help. I downloaded TestDisk and ran it. I'll post screen shots below. But before I keep wasting your time, (_and mine_), and at the risk of sounding like a broken record, I'm not a computer tech. That doesn't mean I'm a complete imbecile. It means I don't know what partitions, and NTFS's, and FAT32's, and boot sectors, and all that other industry specific jargon means. 

I *THINK* the issue with my computer isn't rocket science. I don't *KNOW* that for a fact because I'm not a computer tech - but I *THINK* it's not a major deal. My old computer was fine. It updated and after the update Windows wouldn't boot. The computer still fired up, it still attempted to boot, everything looked and sounded normal, no smoke, no sparks, no sizzling sounds. It just wouldn't bring up Windows. 

So as a non computer tech layman that tells me the update probably corrupted something in the software. It doesn't seem like a situation that requires millions of dollars worth of high tech equipment and a team of the most brilliant nuclear physicists and IT nerds on the planet to resolve - but again, I'm not a computer tech so I could be wrong. 

So at this point I have a few options: (1) Enroll in computer school for the next two years and get a degree as a tech so I can fix it myself. That's not likely. (2) Pay someone who did go to school 3 or 4 times more than what the information on the HD is worth to me, with no guarantee that they'll be able to recover it anyway (_apparently_), or (3) Find some good-hearted computer techs who went to school and are willing to volunteer their time to help non computer techs fix simple issues. In this day and age of "me-first" option 3 seems unlikely, but lo and behold there was this website shining like a beacon in the dark . . . beckoning me to come in, all are welcome. 

I downloaded the program, (TestDisk). I made an honest attempt to try and follow the instructions, but again . . . I'm not a computer tech. Instructing me to NTFS a partition and FAT32 a boot sector might as well be written in Chinese. 

So without further ado - here's what I've done so far in living color. 








This screen opened up by default on "Create" so that's what I clicked. 








I clicked "Proceed" with the option that's highlighted. The other option looked like it would just scan the C: drive on my new computer, which wouldn't do any good - so I clicked the other option. 








By default this screen opened up with the "EFI GPT" option highlighted. I read "Mac" in the description so I clicked it up to the "Intel" option and hit "Enter." 








"Analyze" seemed like the safest option here. I didn't want to change disk geometry, write anything, modify anything or delete anything - so I clicked analyze. 








It came up here. I clicked on quick search and another screen came up with the option for "Deep Search" so I clicked that. I apparently forgot to get a screen shot of that screen. 








It took quite a while to scan and eventually this screen came up. At this point I decided I was in deep enough and had no earthly clue *** I was doing, so I thought I'd give you boys another try. 

The stuff on my old hard drive is important only for convenience sake. There's nothing earth shatteringly or life alteringly irreplaceable. If I can't get my files of here I'll try something else - eventually I'll run across something that'll work. It would be awesome to be able to recover them - but not if I have to pay, and especially since I have to pay so much with no guarantees. I just have a lot better things I'd rather spend my money on. I appreciate any and all help you have given me so far. It's free - you don't have to help - I understand and appreciate that. 
If you can offer any layman's terms insight based on the screen shots I posted I appreciate it. I don't know if they show anything or not. I have no idea what I'm actually trying to do, and at the risk of sounding like an ingrate, (_which I am not_), explaining it to me in technical industry specific terminology is meaningless. I don't know what NFTC's and FAT32's or partitions are. But I'm thinking I should be able to get to my files without having a Ph.D in computer science - maybe. 

Sorry for the rant - it's late - I'm tired. Been a screwed up week.


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## tristar (Aug 12, 2008)

My apologies if my information was not more precise, you don't have to be a technician to get support from here, we assist any folks who are willing to get their hands dirty while doing it. I didn't want to write a huge post with tons of instructions that would in turn complicate what you're trying to achieve.

Here's what we're trying to do:
Think of your hard drive as a Phone book index, what has happened is that initial index which tells us where we need to go for a particular phone number is corrupt. So as far as I know all phone numbers are intact, but with a bad index, we're not able to fetch the particular phone numbers (your files).

What TestDisk or EaseUS Partition recovery does, is fixes the index so you don't have to individually search for the files, it will fix the index so all your files remain in the same Directry structure/sort of restores the original index.

I don't think TestDisk is able to see the drive so let's switch, please download *EaseUS Partition recovery* from here : 
http://download.easeus.com/free/partition_recovery.exe

- Please install this application
- Next check if you see 2 Disks there, if you're seeing only one disk, then please do not proceed.
- If you see 2 disks, choose the correct disk from the list and then follow the steps provided here :

https://www.easeus.com/resource/partition-recovery.htm

Please let us know how this works out.


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## sremed (Apr 1, 2014)

tristar said:


> I don't think TestDisk is able to see the drive so let's switch, please download *EaseUS Partition recovery* from here :
> http://download.easeus.com/free/partition_recovery.exe
> 
> - Please install this application
> ...












This is probably not needed but this is the new computer (black) the old computer (silver) the old hard drive on top connected into a front USB. The blue light on the SATA cable indicates that it is connected and I assume working.


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## tristar (Aug 12, 2008)

Ok, looks like the second disk is not being detected by the Tool, any chance you know the make, model and capacity of the Hard Drive ? It would be printed on a label on the Hard drive.


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## sremed (Apr 1, 2014)

tristar said:


> Ok, looks like the second disk is not being detected by the Tool, any chance you know the make, model and capacity of the Hard Drive ? It would be printed on a label on the Hard drive.












This is the SATA cable









This is how it is hooked up


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## tristar (Aug 12, 2008)

Thanks much for posting this image, I should have done a little more due diligence with the link you posted on your first post, that cable will most likely not be able to power up your Desktop Hard drive. since it does not have the power juice to power up the hard drive, Desktop hard drives 3.5 inch, require the SATA Power cable to be connected as well.

At this point in time, this might not be right cable for you to connect to the computer, any chance you can borrow a external 3.5 inch hard drive Caddy/case from any friends, or since you have the old tower, you need to open that old tower connect it to a Wall outlet separately and then pull a SATA Power cable from that and connect it to this hard drive.

OR, if you're comfortable opening the new Tower, you can connect the Hard drive inside the new tower as a secondary hard drive, but to ensure nothing breaks in the new tower, I'm suggesting you to connect it to the old tower.

Please perform these steps after both towers are powered down, power both towers back up only after you're sure the connections are secure.


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## sremed (Apr 1, 2014)

tristar said:


> Thanks much for posting this image, I should have done a little more due diligence with the link you posted on your first post, that cable will most likely not be able to power up your Desktop Hard drive. since it does not have the power juice to power up the hard drive, Desktop hard drives 3.5 inch, require the SATA Power cable to be connected as well...


Yeah, I remember when I first started looking into what I needed to get this done some of the resources I looked at mentioned powering the hard drive and some didn't. When I went to the computer store there were all kinds of cables, docks, enclosures and kits. This cable was $6.99. I asked the salesman what the difference was between this one and one next to it for $49 and he said, "The price - they both do the same thing." He also assured me this one would do what I explained I was trying to do. I had no choice but go along with what he said. He works at a computer store - I like tater tots. To answer your other question; I don't have any friends who would even know what a SATA cable is let alone have one I could borrow. 

The picture below shows the HD without the cable plugged in. It seems to me the stuff I saw where powering up a hard drive was mentioned used that port to the far right that I have circled. I could be wrong. When I plugged this cable in I noticed it overlaps and covers up half of that port, so I assumed the power, (_if power was needed_) was provided via the USB cable thru that connection. I have a Toshiba external HD that I back up files on, (_though not as often as I should it turns out_). I just plug it into a USB port, a little blue indicator light comes on and all the files pop up on the screen. When I plug this SATA cable into a USB port a little blue indicator light also comes on. I just wrongly assumed things were similar. 

Anyway, I'm rambling. 









I'm more comfortable opening up my old computer and powering the hard drive up there. That pc is scrap metal anyway. I'm confused about where I plug what in to power up the hard drive, and then what do I plug into the new computer once it's powered up? Do I need to buy a different cable? If so can you suggest which one I need? 

Thanks again


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## sremed (Apr 1, 2014)

tristar said:


> ... or since you have the old tower, you need to open that old tower connect it to a Wall outlet separately and then pull a SATA Power cable from that and connect it to this hard drive.
> 
> OR, if you're comfortable opening the new Tower, you can connect the Hard drive inside the new tower as a secondary hard drive, but to ensure nothing breaks in the new tower, I'm suggesting you to connect it to the old tower.
> 
> Please perform these steps after both towers are powered down, power both towers back up only after you're sure the connections are secure.


This is the old tower with the old hard drive back in. 









There's two cables hooked to it: one goes to the power supply and the smaller blue one goes to the board. The cable that comes from the power supply has two connectors on it (_I assume for hooking up a secondary hard drive_). 
This is the new tower: 









The cable that comes from the power supply only has one connector so I can't plug the old hard drive in there. 

I have both towers hooked back up the way they were originally. Now I just need to know what kind of cable to buy to hook the old hard drive up to the new computer? 

Do I need a cable like that blue one only longer to reach the other pc?
If so, do I just plug it in next to that smaller blue cable in the new pc?

I didn't look when I had the new tower open to see if there is another port to plug that blue cable into. I'll check later. 

Will this work if there is a port?


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## tristar (Aug 12, 2008)

Thanks for the detailed information:

The port circled by you in the first picture is a shunt for jumpers, to tweak the hard drive spin up spin down and other HDD activities.

1) If there is no available SATA Data cable port (like the port where the blue one connects to on the actual Motherboard on the new tower, getting a SATA Cable is moot)

Don't go out an buy one if you don't because it's not a good investment for a one-time activity, you're better off getting a dock.

Instead try step 2,

2) Buy a external USB3.0 (2.0 also works) *powered* enclosure/Dock/Cable for a 3.5 inch SATA Desktop Hard drive, I'd recommend a Dock since it can be used anytime in the future. What you need to lookout for is a Cable/enclosure/dock which has it's own power source.

Since you posted a Walmart link, I'm putting up a link of what I found in Walmart, 

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Wavlink-USB-3-0-to-SATA-External-Hard-Drive-Docking-Station-Tool-Free-for-2-5-3-5-Inch-SATA-I-II-III-HDD-SSD-Support-8TB-and-UASP-Black/889391130 

or an enclosure https://www.walmart.com/ip/HDE-3-5-Inch-SATA-Hard-Drive-Case-USB-2-0-Powered-External-Aluminum-Enclosure-Silver-Finish/684086011 

or cable

https://www.amazon.com/Sabrent-5-25-INCH-Converter-Activity-USB-DSC9/dp/B00DQJME7Y/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1515743488&sr=8-4&keywords=sata+3.5+hard+drive+cable

This is only to give you an idea of what kind of device you need to buy, basically one which comes with it's own external power source, and in no way am I recommending this specific product.

Personal suggestion would be to go with a Dock since it has long term usage, to make thing easier, I'd suggest you carry the Hard drive with you and have them test the hard drive in the Dock to make sure it works (We'll also be sure that the HDD is readable or not) and then bring it back home, most likely your hard drive will work off the bat without having to do any further troubleshooting.


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## spunk.funk (May 13, 2010)

If you buy a Dock, USB Adapter, be sure that they have an external power adapter incldued. 
You don't need to buy another SATA (Blue) cable. You can pull the cable you were using on your old computer off and use it to attach this drive to your new computer. There should be a few SATA ports on the motherboard to plug the Blue SATA Data cable into, and the other end to the drive. The other cable is for Power. The adapter you bought is fine, but it is dependent on power form the USB port and not external power. So, it probably isn't getting enough power thru the USB port to be recognized. Try plugging it into the back USB ports, not in the front as those have less power. 
What I would do would be to open the case on your new computer, lie it on it's side. Follow the SATA Data cable from the drive to the motherboard. You should see more then one SATA port. I would plug the SATA Data cable from the old computer into the back of the old drive and into the new computers motherboard. Then Follow the power plug from the new drive in the new computer. The *P*ower *S*upply* U*nit should have more then one SATA power plugs. Choose one and plug it into the back of the old drive. Now lay the drive on the side of the case with the circuit board facing up and not touching any metal. You may want to lie a piece of cardboard between the drive and the case just to be sure. Turn the computer on and put your ear to the old drive. You should hear it spin up. If so, it should be recognized by the computer. 
On the new computer, Press the *Win *Key+*X *and choose *Disk Management.* In the Lower Pane, Do you see the drive here? If so, does it say it is healthy? Or does the file system say *Unallocated Space*. or the Disk # (ie) *Disk1, Disk2* etc. Say the drive is *Not Initialized*? If it is the former, it should show in (File) Explorer and you should be able to access your files. If it is one of the two later ones, then you can use *TestDisk* or* Easeus* to Recover you files. I have had the best luck with GetDataBack. You will need _350GB_ of Free space on another drive to recover the whole drive.


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## sremed (Apr 1, 2014)

tristar said:


> Thanks for the detailed information:
> 
> The port circled by you in the first picture is a shunt for jumpers, to tweak the hard drive spin up spin down and other HDD activities.
> 
> ...


Thanks tristar. I ordered this yesterday:










It's only $2.20. If that doesn't work I'll try the dock route. I called Geek Squad and they said $99 to recover the data. 

At this point my new computer is up and running and I'm trying to get used to Windows 10 and Office 2016 and shake old habits. I run into occasional situations where I wish I had a file from my old HDD, but so far nothing that has caused me to want to grab my wallet and fork out $100 for it. 

I greatly appreciate all the help so far and when that cable gets here I'll most likely be back with more stupid questions. But for the most part my interest in tinkering with computers fizzled out back in the 90's. It was fun when it was still relatively new. Then technology skyrocketed and, for me, took the fun out of it. Now it's a tool; a necessary evil. Buying a new computer is every bit as exciting as buying a new washing machine. I try to constantly remind myself that we need technology to make life simpler and easier. :thumb:


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## tristar (Aug 12, 2008)

Happy to help ! Please do see if you find a SATA port on the motherboard, if there is an additional port the cable will definitely help and maybe we can get all your data back and intact. So don't lose hope just yet 

Happy weekend !


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## sremed (Apr 1, 2014)

tristar said:


> Happy to help ! Please do see if you find a SATA port on the motherboard, if there is an additional port the cable will definitely help and maybe we can get all your data back and intact. So don't lose hope just yet
> 
> Happy weekend !


You too. I didn't look real close when I had it open to see if there was another SATA port. I read that it's possible to add a second hard drive to this machine but it has to be a 2.5". It said something about stealing the power connector from optics or Y cable or something, (_I don't remember_). By then I already had this one put back together with everything plugged back in and I was too lazy to open it up again. I went on the assumption that if it's possible to add a second HDD, then there must be another SATA port somewhere??? And like I said, the cable was only $2.20. It was an add-on item, but that gave me an excuse to order other stuff I needed. :grin:

Enjoy your weekend


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## sremed (Apr 1, 2014)

tristar said:


> Happy to help ! Please do see if you find a SATA port on the motherboard, if there is an additional port the cable will definitely help and maybe we can get all your data back and intact. So don't lose hope just yet


Got the cable and plugged it in. I ran the EaseUS again and here are the screen shots: 





































When I clicked on "proceed" I got that message that says, "Some existing partitions will be overwritten..." 
I wasn't sure what that meant but decided I don't want to overwrite anything I find out exactly what it is asking me to do here.


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## Corday (Mar 3, 2010)

Since it' a Dell, this will explain Partition "D". https://helpdeskgeek.com/help-desk/hdg-explains-what-is-the-system-reserved-partition/


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## spunk.funk (May 13, 2010)

Since you are not going to be booting from this drive, you do not need to recover the _D:\System Reserved Partition_, so uncheck that. All you should be concerned with is the existing *NTFS partition F:* you may also, try to restore the* Lost FAT32* partition. The next step will ask where do you want to save the files, and you need to choose another drive of the same size or larger not the drive you are trying to recover.


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## sremed (Apr 1, 2014)

I hooked up the 36" SATA cable I bought and it found the old HDD. I ran the EaseUS program up to the point I showed above in the screen shot. I didn't when I got the message that it was going to overwrite or delete I decided to stop until I got more info. 

Since then I've tried to run it, (_and TestDisk_) a couple times and for whatever reason the old HDD isn't showing up anymore. So I guess I'm back to square one for now. I tried deleting and re downloading both of those programs as well as downloading the Get-Data-Back program tristar mentioned. Nothing seems to recognize that second HDD now. I unplugged the SATA cable from inside my new computer and restarted it. 

I'll mess with it some more later when I have time. Any suggestions at this point are welcome.


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## spunk.funk (May 13, 2010)

It's not the program that is failing, it's the HDD. Plug the SATA power plug and the SATA data cable into the back of the drive the data cable to the motherboard. Start the computer and boot into Setup (Bios) on the Main page, under *System Information*, it will list all of the drives on your computer. If it doesn't list the second HDD, it has failed. If it won't show in the Bios, it won't show anywhere else either.


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## tristar (Aug 12, 2008)

Sorry, the Flu kicked in and knocked me down a couple of days. Get Data back was recommended by Spunk, I've never used this program before.
As Spunk mentioned the system reserved partition is not required, and the FAT32 is most likely the Dell Restore partition which is also not required.

Like Spunk mentioned, the NTFS is the only one we're concerned with right now.

EaseUS Todo Backup Free - Install this program on your main computer (I think we tried this), once done, completely power down both towers. Startup the old tower, give it a few minutes and then start up the new tower, let us know if you see the drives.

If you do, run the EaseUS Todo Backup software and backup the entire Disk image and store the backup image file on your new computer Hard drive.

Once this is done, then use the Partition version and follow the same steps and proceed to overwrite.


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## sremed (Apr 1, 2014)

tristar said:


> Sorry, the Flu kicked in and knocked me down a couple of days. Get Data back was recommended by Spunk, I've never used this program before.
> As Spunk mentioned the system reserved partition is not required, and the FAT32 is most likely the Dell Restore partition which is also not required.
> 
> Like Spunk mentioned, the NTFS is the only one we're concerned with right now.
> ...


At the risk of sounding ungrateful, I'll try it later. I had both computers open on my desk here with the cable going between them for a couple days. Got tired of looking at it and to be honest, bored with messing around with it. I put both towers back together before I lost the screws and now the old tower is shoved on the top shelf of a closet. If and when I ever feel like messing around with it again I'll drag it out and give it a try. 

For now, thanks for all your help. Hope you feel better.


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## spunk.funk (May 13, 2010)

You don't have to open two computers? You can remove the HDD from the old computer and attach it internally to the newer computer. Lay the desktop on it's side and lie the HDD on a piece of cardboard circuit side up, and plug the Power Cable from the new computer in and the data cable to the drive and motherboard of the newer computer. Start the new computer up and the now secondary drive should show up in (My) Computer. If not, go to Disk Management. If it shows there, then you can use Easeus, GetDataBack or TestDisk to recover your files. You will still need another drive of the same size or larger to restore your files to. 
There is no hurry, whenever you feel like messing with it, we are here to help you.


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## sremed (Apr 1, 2014)

spunk.funk said:


> You don't have to open two computers? You can remove the HDD from the old computer and attach it internally to the newer computer. Lay the desktop on it's side and lie the HDD on a piece of cardboard circuit side up, and plug the Power Cable from the new computer in and the data cable to the drive and motherboard of the newer computer. Start the new computer up and the now secondary drive should show up in (My) Computer. If not, go to Disk Management. If it shows there, then you can use Easeus, GetDataBack or TestDisk to recover your files. You will still need another drive of the same size or larger to restore your files to.
> There is no hurry, whenever you feel like messing with it, we are here to help you.


Not that I want to go thru all this again, but the cable that comes from the power supply to the HDD on the new computer only has one connection, (plugged into the HDD that's in there). Maybe there's another power connection in there somewhere else, I don't know. It's cramped in there and hard to see stuff or trace cables without disassembling half of the tower, (which I wasn't interested in doing). So the other option was to keep the HDD plugged into the old tower and use that power supply - and then buy a 36" SATA cable to reach over to the new computer. But we've already been over all that. The 36" SATA cable worked . . . once, and then I couldn't get it to read the second drive . . . again. You responded to say that indicated it wasn't a software issue but that the hard drive had actually failed. I have no idea. I figured it was worth a shot. I unplugged the cable, put the covers back on and stuck the old pc in the closet. 

I appreciate the suggestions. Maybe someday I'll get the urge to mess around with it again. For now there's nothing on there I can't live without and I'm tired of dealing with it. 

Thanks


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## spunk.funk (May 13, 2010)

I knew you got a cable but I missed that it is 36". That could diminish the signal strength enough to not let the computer recognize it. 
I know you are done with this, but even slimline Dell Inspiron's have more then one power plug, in fact you can borrow one from the CD drive temporarily. 
You can also get a USB Adapter with it's own power adapter. You can just use the power adapter part to power the drive and plug a standard SATA cable *3-6' *in length into the motherboard if you don't want to use USB.


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## tristar (Aug 12, 2008)

I can understand, thanks for being patient and trying to get things sorted. If ever you feel adventurous again, do give us a shout.

And during the next sale, see if you can buy a Hard Drive dock, it's going to make things a lot easier and will also help in the future.

Cheers !


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## sremed (Apr 1, 2014)

tristar said:


> I can understand, thanks for being patient and trying to get things sorted. If ever you feel adventurous again, do give us a shout.
> 
> And during the next sale, see if you can buy a Hard Drive dock, it's going to make things a lot easier and will also help in the future.
> 
> Cheers !


I was thinking the same thing about the dock. If I ever get the urge to mess with this again I'll probably just go that route. 

As a musician I got interested in digital audio recording back in the 90's. I spent tens of thousands of dollars turning our closed in finished garage in into a multi-track home recording studio. Then the band got busy and I didn't have as much time to mess around in the studio. A few years later I decided to get back into it but technology had advanced so far by then that all of my equipment, software, and pretty much everything I had learned was forgotten, outdated and/or obsolete. I couldn't just pick up where I left off - I pretty much had to start from square one. Except now there was a thousand times more information to learn and the equipment was a lot more expensive. I decided I wasn't interested in starting over. 

And that's pretty much where I am with computers in general, and why I appreciate sites like this. I've done my share of tinkering with these things over the years - but it's never been something I did consistently, So when I do have to do something like this it's like I just crawled out from under a rock and have never even seen a computer before. 

Thanks for all your help - much appreciated.


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## tristar (Aug 12, 2008)

Cheers, do keep in touch with us


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