No back up and PC packed up HELP

veruccasalt

Please help! I have never backed up my PC as the DVD writer stopped working ages ago and I never got round to it. My PC has been playing up for a while, and now seems to have died completely.

I have two questions:
is there any way I can get any data off my hard drive? I have loads of photos, letter, kids homework etc, and

I think it may be the power supply unit that has failed. Is it possible to easily replace this part, and is it expensive?

Thanks for any help.

paddyrg

PSU is a fairly easy fix if you've got screwdrivers and a little courage... although *why* did the PSU die, did something else fail, causing it?

If the DVD is dead, the PSU dead, and the hard drive suspect, have you considered spanking a couple of hundred quid on a new machine and then you can try putting the old hard drive into a caddy and connect to it as an external drive to recover files if not physically damaged 9or send it for recovery if it is)?

veruccasalt

Thanks. I am well up for buying a new PC, as my current one must be about 6 years old and its time for a new one for sure. But I would really like to try and retrieve some of my files.

Please can you point me in the direction of instructions on how to connect it as an external drive as I wouldn't have a clue how to do this? Could I do it to a laptop?

Thanks again

Rufus_M

veruccasalt wrote: »

Please help! I have never backed up my PC as the DVD writer stopped working ages ago and I never got round to it. My PC has been playing up for a while, and now seems to have died completely.

It's been "playing up for a while* and you never got round to backing it up!!???

Talk about asking for it!!! :eek:

closed

google 3.5" ide hard disk caddy (assuming an ide/pata drive, not sata), put it in, connect to laptop, all data should be there.

new psu's are less than a tenner, make sure it's an equivalent or higher wattage, 4 screws, one connector, and it's done.

veruccasalt

sorry but I don't know what ide/pata or sata mean. How would \i find out? I have taken the side off from the PC. Will it say on the HDD?

Thanks again for the helpful comments.

tomsolomon

veruccasalt wrote: »

I have two questions:
is there any way I can get any data off my hard drive? I have loads of photos, letter, kids homework etc, and

Depends if the HDD has failed. Might be something else entirely...
If it has failed try Piriform.com
Oh, and back up your DATA next time....

closed

the cables are different, google pata sata or your disk model, and you will find plenty of pictures.

veruccasalt

I can't turn the computer on at all. Nothing, nada, etc.That is what made me asume the PSU has failed. Is this is sensible assumption?

Thanks again.

Rufus_M

closed wrote: »

google 3.5" ide hard disk caddy (assuming an ide/pata drive, not sata), put it in, connect to laptop, all data should be there.

new psu's are less than a tenner, make sure it's an equivalent or higher wattage, 4 screws, one connector, and it's done.

They couldn't even back up their data...
so i would be very surprised if they could do this!

Take it to a local pc shop....
even better take it to two and let them both tell you what they think the problem is and if it can be fixed.

If it can...
Buy a external hard drive (£40 -£45) plug it in to your fixed pc and copy your "stuff" over to it on a regular basis.

laurel7172

Take it to a local computer shop. Ask around for recommendations.

They should be able to build you a new PC with your old hard drive built in as a "slave" or secondary drive, and you'll be able to get your data off.

But ask them about the options.