Hard Drive issues

[varddsy]

Hi Guys,

I am a bit of a newbie to the laptop game and I have a question that is probably very simple to answer.

Are laptop HDDs similar to desktop HDDs in that they can be removed from one laptop and placed in another to retrieve data.

On of the company laptops blew up and the user has not backed up for months (of course) and they desperatley need.

Is there a better method to accomplish this

Any help that anyone can give will be greatly appreciated

Thanks

varddsy

[Ioman]

Laptop hard drives are smaller than desktop hard drives and use an IDE cable with fewer pins I believe. Provided you can open the laptop case up, I do not see why you should not be able to transfer that data to either a desktop computer or another laptop using the correct adapters and cables.

[ECA]

There is an adaptor, Not sure where...
But it can be installed on a desktop or tower.

[jfila]

I've used a 2.5" to 3.5" adapter 100s of times and it works great. I've seen it in my local CompUSA store but I bought mine at Compgeeks.com.

http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=294956&pfp=cat3

This is your best bet. I suggest a removeable hard drive bay too - it just makes it easier to install and remove if it ever happens again.

[jfila]

OH I just noticed you are in OZ - you should be able to find one online.

[ECA]

JF,
Give him a link....ok?
Iwould be very helpful

[jfila]

Well since I live in the US I gave a link to a US site. I don't live in Austrailia and have no idea what stores or online shops he has access to. I do know however that he has access to the internet and he found DT so he's able to navigate through the net. With that in mind, I'm sure he can do a web search and find it himself.