Accessing files from SSD removed from laptop - have SATA/USB cable

DWAMS1

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Jul 27, 2017
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I've removed an SSD from a laptop that just died and I'm trying to access the content. I have a SATA/USB cable set and I'm able to read and write to the drive. But, the file structure is different from what it was in the laptop that died. I'm unable to find my data files, photos, ...

I'm guessing that I had a compression system or some sort on the laptop. (Faulty internal memory on my part.) Any suggestions about how I can access the files? I'm assuming that the Windows licensing restrictions would keep me from just installing the ssd in a similar laptop. Thanks.
 
screen.cap.ssd.dir.jpg


I can open the folders, but they're completely different from what I saw when the SSD was installed in the computer. (Computer is dead from nearby lightning strike.) I'm able to write files to the drive - test.jpg for example.

I noticed that the 256mb SSD drive shows as 1.17 gb in Windows Explorer.

It was three or four years ago when I installed the drive and I'm guessing there's a compression or encoding system involved that I'm not remembering. Any insights? I'd like to be able to recover some of the content and then re-use the drive in a new laptop.

Thanks very much for your help.

 
I looked at the disk manager and sorted out the problem. There was a conflict with the drive letter assignment between the SSD and a previously assigned but currently unused external HDD. So, the main partition wasn't showing up in Windows Explorer or other software. I reassigned the drive letter, and other than some permissions issues, all is working.

Thanks very much for your assistance and the disk manager suggestion. I should have thought of that, but did not.