[SOLVED] Best way to transfer from old drives

[floundering]

I have two old internal drives that I would like to transfer to a big external drive. I also have a WD external drive that died (shocking, eh?).

1. Can I buy specialty cords and migrate the old internal drives using USB and something like Easeus? Or does it require special equipment and I should just pay to have someone else do it?
2. Can the data on the WD be saved by someone with expertise? It powers, but just makes a clicking sound and my computer never recognizes it. Clicking = death, correct?

I am always grateful for the assistance I receive on this site.

 

[USAFRet]

Assuming they are SATA drive, and they actually work, a dock like this:
https://www.newegg.com/p/35G-008E-00060

Copy/paste, done.

Now...if the drive is actually faulty....clicking noises, that a whole different thing.

 

[Math Geek]

you simply copy and paste everything to the external from the internal drives and wait for it to finish. no need for anything special to be involved.

the external is a separate matter. i see failed external drives all the time and usually i end up taking it out of the case and connected it internally. they are just desktop drives inside an internal case. often this works as the problem can be the controller inside the external going bad and not the drive itself. the clicking though points at the drive itself as possible problem.

but if it does not work when connected internally, then it is usually dead. pros can recover the data but it is expensive and not worth it unless the data is truly do-or-die for a business

 

[floundering]

Assuming they are SATA drive, and they actually work, a dock like this:
https://www.newegg.com/p/35G-008E-00060

Copy/paste, done.

Now...if the drive is actually faulty....clicking noises, that a whole different thing.

That will be perfect for the SATA drive. The other is a "Seagate Barracuda 40 pin ATA IV."

Assuming they are SATA drive, and they actually work, a dock like this:
https://www.newegg.com/p/35G-008E-00060

Copy/paste, done.

Now...if the drive is actually faulty....clicking noises, that a whole different thing.

you simply copy and paste everything to the external from the internal drives and wait for it to finish. no need for anything special to be involved.

the external is a separate matter. i see failed external drives all the time and usually i end up taking it out of the case and connected it internally. they are just desktop drives inside an internal case. often this works as the problem can be the controller inside the external going bad and not the drive itself. the clicking though points at the drive itself as possible problem.

but if it does not work when connected internally, then it is usually dead. pros can recover the data but it is expensive and not worth it unless the data is truly do-or-die for a business

The old internal drives are just sitting on my desk

Assuming they are SATA drive, and they actually work, a dock like this:
https://www.newegg.com/p/35G-008E-00060

Copy/paste, done.

Now...if the drive is actually faulty....clicking noises, that a whole different thing.

I have no reason the believe the old internal drives are faulty. I transferred the data to the new desktops seemingly without a problem. I just didn't trust the MS preloaded transfer manager software so I saved them instead of destroying them. And I was right. Today I discovered that two files with hundreds of scanned documents are not on the current desktop. They are one of these two drives. I will find someone to loan me their SATA docking station. But the other is a 40 pin Seagate "Barracuda ATA IV." I don't see docking stations for those so I assume it has to be re-installed and then the data transferred to an external?

 

[USAFRet]

But the other is a 40 pin Seagate "Barracuda ATA IV." I don't see docking stations for those so I assume it has to be re-installed and then the data transferred to an external?

This dock should work:
https://www.newegg.com/p/0BD-007X-00020

There are multiple others.
https://www.newegg.com/p/pl?d=sata+ide+usb+dock

 

[Math Geek]

a dock works fine if you don't want to plug it back into the mobo internally. saves opening the case but adds the cost of the dock. both work

 

[floundering]

Assuming they are SATA drive, and they actually work, a dock like this:
https://www.newegg.com/p/35G-008E-00060

Copy/paste, done.

Now...if the drive is actually faulty....clicking noises, that a whole different thing.

I have no reason the believe the old internal drives are faulty. I transferred the data to the new desktops seemingly without a problem. I just didn't trust the MS preloaded transfer manager software so I saved them instead of destroying them. And I was right. Today I discovered that two files with hundreds of scanned documents are not on the current desktop. They are one of these two drives. I will find someone to loan me their SATA docking station. But the other is a 40 pin Seagate "Barracuda ATA IV." I don't see docking stations for those so I assume it has to be re-installed and then the data transferred to an external?

 

[USAFRet]

Whatever 'transfer manager software' is irrelevant.

The Seagate 40 pin is one of these:
https://www.seagate.com/support/disc/manuals/ata/100129212b.pdf

That second dock I linked WILL work with that.
IDE == ATA.

There are some docking stations that have a bay for each type drive...SATA and IDE.