My PC Stopped Working

[TravG]

I spilled a cup of coffee on my computer and now it wont even turn on. I was hoping that after a few days it would dry out and fire back up, but no such luck. Since it has been a week I am pretty certain it is dead so I went out and bought a new one.

With practically my whole life on that computer for the last few years, is there anyway to get any files off of it? If I took it to Staples or a computer repair shop, could they get the hard drive out so I could get to some of the files that way? If anyone knows of a way to get some files from a computer which will not even turn on please let me know.

Thanks!

[DaftDog]

Could be that it's your power-supply and/or motherboard that is fried. Your hard-drive could still be okay. I would take it to a trusted techie to sort out if you're not up to it.

I continuously backup my PC's hardrive to an external drive for instances just like yours.

[Progger]

Hey.

Open the case and remove the HDD or SSD...is easy.
Now u can move the old drive to your new system... 2 cables and u are ready.

Start your new system/new drive and move your files, after this format the old drive.
U can try to boot/start your system with the old system/ old drive...but i would not recommend this.


And...at this point u should check the "health" from the old drive... https://crystalmark.info/redirect.ph...kInfoInstaller
This tool give u a feedback about the sectors....if u see "bad" or "warning" u should replace the drive...

[Malikbhai]

Yes, hard drive is extractable. Even if the data on it has been deleted.

Also, a disk can be connected to any PC, if it has the extra slot. Multiple drives per PC is common.

A web server for example, can have half a dozen hard disks attached to it.

[eenzoo]

Its a chance to move to Mac

But how the fellows said, removed the disk and put it into a Hard Drive Enclosure (Amazon) and you can run the disk as a "normal" external disk on a new PC/Mac.

[Malikbhai]

Get a dropbox or box account for cloud storage. This way you'd be protected.

[universal4]

Sending a PM now....

Rick
Universal4

[Strider1973]

I'm very sure that you will be able to recover your data, as the harddisk should still be working. As others suggeted, learn how to copy the data or - as I guess you don't know much about this - just take the old and the new computer to a tech support shop in your town.

This incident should serve as a reminder to regularly backup your data btw.

[TravG]

Thanks to everyone for the comments. That certainly makes me feel better!

I like the idea that a machine can have more than one hard drive. I think I will try that route. I was just hoping to be able to get a few files, if I could have access to the entire drive when I needed it that will save some serious headaches and time.

[Sherlock]

1. extract hdd
2. buy sata-usb cable (cost few usd) and plug the hdd into it

that will be enough most probably

but if your whole life is on the computer and you had no backup, then this was a last warning i guess

[Progger]

1. extract hdd
2. buy sata-usb cable (cost few usd) and plug the hdd into it

that will be enough most probably

I think he is using a 3,5 inch drive...a usb slot would not give enought voltage to run this drive.
2,5 inch would work.


Example...

https://www.amazon.de/CSL-Adapter-Ko...+adapter+strom

[Malikbhai]

I think he is using a 3,5 inch drive...a usb slot would not give enought voltage to run this drive.
2,5 inch would work.


Example...

https://www.amazon.de/CSL-Adapter-Ko...+adapter+strom

Usb 3.0 works fine with 3.5 inch drives.

But, he could be using a SATA; he did mention it was an old computer. Could be a tower casing box.

[Sherlock]

There are also cables with 2xUSB for additional power.

[Former Member 14]

he did mention it was an old computer. Could be a tower casing box.

The OP didn't specifically mention it, but I'm of the opinion it's a laptop. It's not uncommon to hear of people spilling a coffee or what not on their keyboard. Easy fix, a new k/b. But I haven't heard of too many people spilling coffee etc., on to their tower/desktop box.

However, the external backup recommendations are, imo, priceless.
I use an external Maxtor HDD, which I've owned since 2009, and It's still going strong

[Progger]

The OP didn't specifically mention it, but I'm of the opinion it's a laptop. It's not uncommon to hear of people spilling a coffee or what not on their keyboard. Easy fix, a new k/b. But I haven't heard of too many people spilling coffee etc., on to their tower/desktop box.

However, the external backup recommendations are, imo, priceless.
I use an external Maxtor HDD, which I've owned since 2009, and It's still going strong

Hmm Mr.Holmes...can be a laptop,but makes no difference.

[Former Member 14]

Hmm Mr.Holmes...can be a laptop,but makes no difference.

Agreed. But... just me dotting i's and crossing t's

[wonderpunter]

If you are using windows 10 then the hard drive will work in any new computer, also try cleaning the motherboard with a cotton stick and alcohol carefully, let dry and try again,

[Breakout Affiliates]

Its a chance to move to Mac

But how the fellows said, removed the disk and put it into a Hard Drive Enclosure (Amazon) and you can run the disk as a "normal" external disk on a new PC/Mac.

I dont back this decision. Anyways, was this a desktop PC? weird that it died from one cup of coffee, sorry to hear about that.

[universal4]

Whether the OS is windows 10 or not will not matter data can be recovered, and any shop that did not make recommendations upon hearing the story should be possibly avoided.

Putting the hard drive in to a new system, will most likely choke on the license, but that can be fixed easily, usually online the 1st time it happens, or by phone if the online re-activation fails.

Ideally the shop "should" have recommended to allow the drive to be extracted and then copied to another drive or device the owner can access. I keep in stock a few adapter plugs that allow plugging in of laptop IDE drives to a desktop so that I can save data for clients. In the case of SATA drives, no adapter is needed as they can just be plugged in to a desktop computer so data can be extracted and copied to another source.

Travis if you are still stuck, you should still have my number and I can make some recommendations for you if needed....

As for second hard drives, at the bare minimum consider picking up an inexpensive external drive and make regular backups to it frequently...using built in software is ok, but manual copies of site backups, wordpress databases, themes, as well as spreadsheets and tax information is a good additional step to take.

Rick
Universal4