From: Daave on
PA Bear [MS MVP] wrote:
> "Daave" wrote:
>>> Geek Squad tells me the motherboard on my laptop has failed. As a
>>> result, I can't boot it up. How do I get the files transferred out
>>> to another laptop or desktop? Neither of which is new.
>>> Thanks.
>>
>> I'd be wary of anything Geek Squad tells you...
>
> +1
>
> Run, do not walk, away from Geek Squad/Best Buy.

How true!!!


From: Paul on
LVTravel wrote:
>
>
> "Paul" <nospam(a)needed.com> wrote in message
> news:hv4rpe$4m5$1(a)speranza.aioe.org...
>> brubaker325 wrote:
>>> Geek Squad tells me the motherboard on my laptop has failed. As a
>>> result, I can't boot it up. How do I get the files transferred out
>>> to another laptop or desktop? Neither of which is new.
>>> Thanks.
>>
>> When you remove the hard drive, it might have some kind of goofy adapter
>> on the interface pins.
>>
> SNIP
>
> Paul when I first saw the "goofy adapter" I thought, Oh Boy, another one
> of those kinds of posts. When I read further, I was very pleasantly
> surprised at the fullness of the post and how it walked one though
> getting the proper device.
>
> Thanks for the full, complete post, that is the way to help people.
> Great job.
>
>>
>> Paul
>

Someone suggested to me, that some of the adapter devices that snap on
to the back of drives, are to allow flexure of the laptop casing,
without snapping an I/O connector. I don't have pictures of all
of those things. One of them, has what looks like knife blades, and are
hard to describe. I'm not even sure what keeps them on the back
of the drive. It likely isn't held on with screws.

I mention that, because it freaks out some users, when they go to
connect hard drive cabling, only to find they can't plug it in,
because the thing on the back of the drive is "different".

Paul
From: LVTravel on


"Paul" <nospam(a)needed.com> wrote in message
news:hv65el$ip5$1(a)speranza.aioe.org...
> LVTravel wrote:
>>
>>
>> "Paul" <nospam(a)needed.com> wrote in message
>> news:hv4rpe$4m5$1(a)speranza.aioe.org...
>>> brubaker325 wrote:
>>>> Geek Squad tells me the motherboard on my laptop has failed. As a
>>>> result, I can't boot it up. How do I get the files transferred out to
>>>> another laptop or desktop? Neither of which is new.
>>>> Thanks.
>>>
>>> When you remove the hard drive, it might have some kind of goofy adapter
>>> on the interface pins.
>>>
>> SNIP
>>
>> Paul when I first saw the "goofy adapter" I thought, Oh Boy, another one
>> of those kinds of posts. When I read further, I was very pleasantly
>> surprised at the fullness of the post and how it walked one though
>> getting the proper device.
>>
>> Thanks for the full, complete post, that is the way to help people.
>> Great job.
>>
>>>
>>> Paul
>>
>
> Someone suggested to me, that some of the adapter devices that snap on
> to the back of drives, are to allow flexure of the laptop casing,
> without snapping an I/O connector. I don't have pictures of all
> of those things. One of them, has what looks like knife blades, and are
> hard to describe. I'm not even sure what keeps them on the back
> of the drive. It likely isn't held on with screws.
>
> I mention that, because it freaks out some users, when they go to
> connect hard drive cabling, only to find they can't plug it in,
> because the thing on the back of the drive is "different".
>
> Paul


I know what you mean. I had a bad power supply and/or processor board on a
Western Digital USB MyBook. I wanted to use the drive and when I opened up
the case didn't know what type of drive I had as it had a really
non-standard connector applied to the back of a standard SATA 3.5" drive.
Once I pried the unusual connector off the SATA drive works great in my
computer's drive bay.

From: Bruce Chambers on
brubaker325 wrote:
> Geek Squad tells me the motherboard on my laptop has failed. As a result, I
> can't boot it up.


One should always listen very carefully to the Geek Squad, and then do
exactly the opposite of anything they advise; Best Buy is probably one
of the worst possible places to take a computer for service. You might
want to get a second opinion, this one from a professional.


> How do I get the files transferred out to another laptop
> or desktop? Neither of which is new.


The simplest way, assuming you've a network, is to download and create
a live Linux boot CD, and then use it to boot the laptop and transfer
the files to a network share. A second option, as already suggested, is
to remove the hard drive from the laptop and connect to another computer
using a USB enclosure.


--

Bruce Chambers

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