[SOLVED] Can an old internal HD be used as an external HD with some sort of enclosure

[toha409]

Hello
I have an older windows 10 dell desktop
the computer boots up but the keyboard and mouse are dead so I have no way of accessing anything.
is it possible to remove the internal hard drive and place it in some sort of an external enclosure that would allow me to plug it in like an external USB hard drive thus allowing me to access my files.

thanks

 

[USAFRet]

Hello
I have an older windows 10 dell desktop
the computer boots up but the keyboard and mouse are dead so I have no way of accessing anything.
is it possible to remove the internal hard drive and place it in some sort of an external enclosure that would allow me to plug it in like an external USB hard drive thus allowing me to access my files.

thanks

As long as you're not trying to boot from it, no problem.

There are dozens of external drive enclosures. Generally connected via USB, and plugged into the wall for power.

Now...since this is from a different PC, you WILL run into permissions issues.
Look into TakeOwnership.

 

[jay32267]

It's possible.....but on that machine....if your KB and mouse are dead you still have the same issue.

If you are using another machine....then sure....but in this case....you could also just add the drive via a SATA cable.

 

[USAFRet]

the computer boots up but the keyboard and mouse are dead so I have no way of accessing anything.

Why don't they work?

 

[toha409]

Hello
I have an older Dell desktop running windows 10
upon boot up a brief message displays saying “ keyboard failure“
the computer will boot up to the home screen just fine but the keyboard and mouse are completely inactive, so I have no way of accessing any of my files.
I tried swapping out to other USB ports along with multiple restarts but there is absolutely no activity from the keyboard or mouse.
I tried the obvious swapping out a different keyboard and mouse but nothing.

is there anything that can be done or can I assume this is some sort of catastrophic failure ?
I was wondering if it’s possible to salvage the hard drive and put it in some sort of an external enclosure so at least I can access its contents?

thank you for your help

 

[toha409]

As long as you're not trying to boot from it, no problem.

There are dozens of external drive enclosures. Generally connected via USB, and plugged into the wall for power.

Now...since this is from a different PC, you WILL run into permissions issues.
Look into TakeOwnership.

As long as you're not trying to boot from it, no problem.

There are dozens of external drive enclosures. Generally connected via USB, and plugged into the wall for power.

Now...since this is from a different PC, you WILL run into permissions issues.
Look into TakeOwnership.

i Have a new desktop so I was just looking to remove the old hard drive put it into an enclosure and use it as a simple plug and play.
how complicated will these take ownership issues be?

also the hard drive that will be put into the enclosure was the main hard drive for the old computer with the Windows 10 operating system on it. can I assume so long as you do not try to boot from the drive it should just be straight forward plug and play?

 

[TerryLaze]

can I assume so long as you do not try to boot from the drive it should just be straight forward plug and play?

If you just want the drive and don't care about any files you can just format the old drive and there should be no issues.
If you want the old drives it depends on how locked down you had you old windows, you might have access without doing anything otherwise just post your problem here or search on the net.

 

[toha409]

If you just want the drive and don't care about any files you can just format the old drive and there should be no issues.
If you want the old drives it depends on how locked down you had you old windows, you might have access without doing anything otherwise just post your problem here or search on the net.

I will need to copy some files from the old drive to my new computer, that’s what is most important.