How to Recover Data from a Broken Laptop’s Hard Drive

When a computer fails due to a software problem instead of a hardware problem, the files are still inaccessible, but are still stored on the hard drive. This article will show you how to recover data from a damaged laptop’s hard drive. You can transfer data to another computer or an external hard drive.

Table of Contents

Turn an old hard drive into an external hard drive (for Windows, Mac, Linux)

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Buy an external hard drive case. This is a supporting accessory that you can put your computer’s hard drive in to use on another computer through the USB port; Basically, this accessory will turn the laptop’s hard drive into an external hard drive. Each computer is installed with a different hard drive; Therefore, you need to check the specifications of the damaged laptop before ordering accessories. For example, if your laptop has a 2.5 SATA hard drive, you need a USB 2.5 SATA hard drive case.

Note, stores often sell hard drive cases, so sometimes you have to order this accessory online.

Tip: Unless you use a SATA hard drive, you need to buy a hard drive case for your laptop’s hard drive ; Only SATA hard drive enclosures are suitable for both desktop and laptop SATA hard drives.

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Borrow or buy a new computer with the same operating system as your old computer. If your old computer uses Windows operating system, you need to borrow or buy a new Windows computer. If your old laptop is a Macbook, borrow or buy a MacOS computer. Make sure the hard drive of the working computer has enough free space to save the files you want to recover from the damaged laptop.

Or, you can attach a second external hard drive to a working computer and use the computer to transfer files from the old hard drive to the new hard drive.
Linux computers can read data from Windows computers (but not vice versa); though, you’re better off using a Windows computer to recover your Windows hard drive, unless you’re familiar with both systems.
Mac computers can read hard drives that are formatted specifically for the Windows NTFS file system, but cannot write or transfer files to NTFS hard drives. Mac hard drives for the HFS file system can only be read by other Mac computers.

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Remove the damaged laptop’s hard drive. Make sure the laptop is disconnected and the battery is no longer working. Find the cover on the bottom of the laptop and remove it. The next thing is to find and carefully remove the hard drive from the inside of the computer. You will probably need to use a screwdriver to open the bottom cover of the laptop and remove the hard drive. Each laptop model will have a different hard drive installation location. Consult the user manual and the manufacturer’s website if you do not know the location of the hard drive.

You need to use special tools to open and/or remove the hard drive of some laptop models. See the sticker on the bottom of the laptop for the exact model number and go online to find out how to remove the hard drive of the laptop you are using. You’ll probably find official manuals and YouTube videos on how to disassemble your computer. In some cases, you will have to take the device to a technical center. ^{[1] X Research Source}

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Insert the old hard drive into the hard drive enclosure. Locate the pins on the hard drive and fit them into the holes in the hard drive enclosure. This operation will vary by product line. Refer to the manual that came with the hard drive case for details.

Note, IDE hard drives have a removable adapter on the surface. You just need to remove this adapter to attach the hard drive to the connection surface of the hard drive case.

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Connect the hard drive case to another computer. The hard drive after being attached to the box will become an external hard drive. You will use a USB cable to connect the hard drive case to the computer.

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Connect a second external hard drive to the working computer (optional). If you want to use a second external hard drive, connect it to your computer with a USB cable. Once the hard drive is connected, you’ll see an icon appear on your Mac desktop or a message appears on your Windows desktop. The computer will also automatically access the hard drive.

If your computer doesn’t automatically display a message regarding external storage, you can open File Explorer on Windows, or Finder on Mac and click on the old hard drive. The File Explorer program has a folder icon with a blue paperclip. This icon displays in the taskbar at the bottom of the screen. The Finder program has a blue and white smiley face icon. This is the icon in the Dock at the bottom of the screen.
If the computer cannot recognize the hard drive on the first connection, try removing the hard drive and reconnecting it.
If the computer can’t read the hard drive, the hard drive is probably damaged (not the computer software). In this case, you need professional support if you want to continue “saving” the hard drive. However, this option can be expensive.

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Transfer old data to another hard drive or computer. You can transfer data to a working computer or a second external hard drive by performing a copy and paste operation, or clicking and dragging. If you have a lot of large files (such as music, movies), the data transfer process may take several hours.

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Close the File Explorer window on Windows or the Finder on Mac. After transferring all the data, you will click the X icon to close the File Explorer or Finder window. The good news is, the faulty computer is still physically intact, so it will probably still work fine if you reinstalled the operating system or replaced the faulty part.

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Right-click the USB icon and select Eject. Now you can disconnect the old hard drive.

Connect the old hard drive to the desktop (for Windows, Linux)

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Buy a laptop hard drive adapter. This allows you to directly attach your laptop’s hard drive to a compatible desktop computer. Every computer has a different hard drive, so you need to check the specifications of the damaged laptop before making a purchase. For example, if your laptop has a 2.5 SATA hard drive, you will need a 2.5 SATA adapter.

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Borrow or buy a new computer with the same operating system as your old computer. If your old computer uses Windows operating system, you need to borrow or buy a new Windows computer. If your old laptop is a Macbook, borrow or buy a MacOS computer. Make sure the hard drive of the working computer has enough free space to save the files you want to recover from the damaged laptop.

Linux computers can read data from Windows computers (but not vice versa); however, you’re better off using a Windows computer to recover your Windows hard drive, unless you know both systems.

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Remove the damaged laptop’s hard drive. First, you need to disconnect the power and remove the battery. Find the place where the hard drive is on the laptop and remove it. Unscrew the screw on the hard drive cover and remove the hard drive. Some hard drives will bounce, others will slide out, etc.

The location of the hard drive on each laptop line is different. Refer to the manual or the manufacturer’s website if you need assistance in locating your laptop’s hard drive.
If your laptop has an IDE hard drive, note that the removable adapter is mounted on the surface of the hard drive. Please remove this adapter so that it can be easily connected in the next step.
You need to use special tools to open and/or remove the hard drive of some laptop models. See the sticker on the bottom of the laptop for the exact model number and go online to find out how to remove the hard drive of the laptop you are using. You’ll probably find official manuals and maybe even YouTube videos showing you how to disassemble your computer. In some cases, you will have to take the device to a technical center. ^{[2] X Research Source}

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Luigi Oppido

Computer Repair Technician & Owner, Pleasure Point Computers

Luigi Oppido is the owner and operator of Pleasure Point Computers in Santa Cruz, CA. He has over 25 years of experience in general computer repair, data recovery, antivirus and upgrade.

Luigi Oppido
Computer Repair Technician & Owner, Pleasure Point Computers

You can transfer a working hard drive from one computer to another. If the damaged laptop’s hard drive is still working, you will remove the hard drive and attach it to another computer with the appropriate operating system. If the hard drive won’t boot, you should try copying the file. If the boot of the hard drive is damaged, you can try to refactor the hard drive.

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Turn off the desktop, disconnect and open the case. You will have to use an adapter to be able to directly attach the old hard drive to the motherboard.

Warning: Touch metal objects or wear an antistatic bracelet while handling components inside the computer. Static electricity can damage your computer. Avoid placing computer components on the carpet.

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Connect the failed hard drive to another computer using a hard drive adapter. The action taken will depend on the type of hard drive and adapter; Therefore, you need to refer to the instruction manual for the adapter.

If you have an IDE hard drive, make it “slave” before connecting to the IDE cord. The configuration is usually noted on the hard drive, and you need to remove the plastic cover that is attached to the latches on the hard drive’s connection surface. Switching to dependent mode helps prevent the laptop’s hard drive from conflicting with the “server” hard drive during startup.

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Change your computer’s settings to recognize the new hard drive. Connect the computer to the power source, boot and open the BIOS. Access Standard CMOS Settings or IDE Config with four settings, including server settings and the “dependencies” section. Let’s switch these four fields to auto-detect.

BIOS settings and menus on each computer may be different.

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Exit BIOS and reboot. Your computer should now automatically recognize the new hard drive.

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Open the new hard drive. If you use Windows, open File Explorer and find the new hard drive. It’s a program with a folder icon with a blue paperclip in the taskbar. On Linux operating systems, the new hard drive shows up in the dev folder.

If the computer can’t read the hard drive, the hard drive is probably damaged (not the computer software). In this case, you need professional support if you want to continue “saving” the hard drive. However, this option can be expensive

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Transfer old data to another hard drive or computer. You can transfer data to a working computer or a second external hard drive by copying and pasting, or clicking and dragging. If you have a lot of large files (such as music, movies), the data transfer process may take several hours.

Access old files with another computer (Mac only)

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Buy a FireWire cable. This type of cable costs about 120,000 VND to 460,000 VND.

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Borrow or buy a Mac. Make sure your Mac has enough space to save the files you want to restore from your old laptop.

Note: You can connect a second external hard drive to another Mac and then transfer files from the old hard drive to the new hard drive.

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Connect the damaged Mac to the working Mac using the FireWire cable. Make sure the working computer is powered off when you do this.

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Start your Mac in Target Disk mode. If you’re using an older version of MacOS, simply open your Mac and press T while it boots. Otherwise, perform the following steps to start a computer with MacOS 10.4 or later in Target Disk mode.

Start the computer in the usual way.
Click the Apple icon in the menu bar at the top of the screen.
Click System Preferences
Click Startup Disk .
Click Target Disk Mode .
Restart the computer to enter Target Disk mode.

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Find and open your damaged computer’s hard drive on your Mac. If the hard drive you want to use doesn’t show up on your computer, there’s probably something wrong with the device’s hardware; that means you need professional help to “save” your computer. However, this option can be expensive.

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Transfer old files. You can transfer data to another Mac or an external hard drive by copying and pasting, or clicking and dragging. If you have a lot of large files (such as music, movies), the data transfer can take up to several hours.

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Close the hard drive’s window when you’re done. The good news is, the faulty computer is still physically intact so it should probably still work fine if you reinstalled the operating system or replaced the faulty part.

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Right-click the hard drive to be processed and select Eject. You can now disconnect from the damaged computer.

Advice

If you suspect your old laptop has a virus problem, scan the old hard drive with anti-virus software before transferring files to another computer.
If you don’t want to install a laptop hard drive in your old laptop, you can always use it as an external hard drive or a secondary hard drive on your desktop.

Warning

On Linux operating system, remember to switch the file system to read-only (read-only) mode before operation. The NTFS file system can only be opened by default in read-only mode without additional support packages.

Things you need

A few small screwdrivers
Compatible computers
Hard drive case (for option 1)
Laptop hard drive adapter (for option 2)
FireWire Cable (for option 3)

Steps