Data recovery

[Actor]

I bought a new computer about a year ago. I've been taking my time transferring the data from the old computer to the new one. Financial data and all the family photos and video came first. A few day ago I decided it was time to transfer my handicapping database.

The old computer won't boot. It starts to boot but suddenly the monitor says "loss of signal" or some such message.

In the old days I'd have tried to replace the video card but I'm pretty sure this computer has the video on the motherboard. My new computer is a laptop so I can't transfer to hard drive to the new computer. Any suggestions?

All I want is my handicapping data, then I'll gladly kiss the old thing goodbye.

[Tom]

Can you remove the hard drive and buy a case for it, then plug it in to the new machine by USB?

[Actor]

Can you remove the hard drive and buy a case for it, then plug it in to the new machine by USB?I'll definitely look into that. Thanks!

[DeltaLover]

Try one of these:

https://www.dropbox.com/

https://one.ubuntu.com/

[tupper]

"It's like deja vu all over again..."

Before you buy any hardware or start swapping drives or do anything rash, try burning and booting a live CD/DVD.

If it boots up, then you will easily be able to transfer your files to a USB flash drive. The only cost is the price of a blank CD.

A good, tiny, easy-to-use live CD is Slitaz (http://www.slitaz.org/en/get/). Get the older "stable" version (although they are on the verge of their next stable release).

It is very easy to download, burn and boot a live CD, but if you need help, just ask.

[johnhannibalsmith]

..The old computer won't boot. It starts to boot but suddenly the monitor says "loss of signal" or some such message.

...

I'm no expert by any stretch of the imagination, but this bit caught my eye.

Does it actually not boot, or do you just lose the monitor and the computer remains on?

I only ask because with all of these new monitors I've bought, seems like on one computer that I use every time the video cable gets just a little off-kilter (even had one that just stopped working altogether), on boot up the monitor will turn on and then very quickly decide that there is no signal, tell me as much, and then turn itself off.

Just wondering if this is a boot issue or a video issue. The latter may not necessarily be much of an issue.

[DJofSD]

I'm no expert by any stretch of the imagination, but this bit caught my eye.

Does it actually not boot, or do you just lose the monitor and the computer remains on?

I only ask because with all of these new monitors I've bought, seems like on one computer that I use every time the video cable gets just a little off-kilter (even had one that just stopped working altogether), on boot up the monitor will turn on and then very quickly decide that there is no signal, tell me as much, and then turn itself off.

Just wondering if this is a boot issue or a video issue. The latter may not necessarily be much of an issue.
Good catch.

If there is a VGA port for an external monitor, and, the problem with the laptop is limited to the built in LCD display, then hooking up an external monitor is the quick and easy solution to being able to get that data off the laptop.

[BlueChip@DRF]

It's the monitor. Check the connections, something just probably jarred lose.

[Actor]

Does it actually not boot, or do you just lose the monitor and the computer remains on?

I only ask because with all of these new monitors I've bought, seems like on one computer that I use every time the video cable gets just a little off-kilter (even had one that just stopped working altogether), on boot up the monitor will turn on and then very quickly decide that there is no signal, tell me as much, and then turn itself off.

Just wondering if this is a boot issue or a video issue. The latter may not necessarily be much of an issue.It doesn't boot. This morning I was able to get it to boot in some kind of recovery mode. Looks like DOS. It does not seem to see the pin drive. I'm going to have to buy some CDs.

Good catch.

If there is a VGA port for an external monitor, and, the problem with the laptop is limited to the built in LCD display, then hooking up an external monitor is the quick and easy solution to being able to get that data off the laptop.The laptop is OK. The problem is with the old desktop.

[Longshot6977]

I posted this in another thread 2 months ago about retrieving pics from a hard drive.

Try this inexpensive but nifty device to get your data off the HDD.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/USB-2-0-to-...w-/300945727065

I have a similar one I bought for $9 and it has saved my data several times. It lets you hook up your internal drive as an external drive on another PC to access the data. No enclosure needed. As long as the drive isn't hosed, you will get your data. Just be careful to follow the directions closely. And keep it in your PC repair 'toolbox' as you never know when it will come in handy in the future. Good luck.