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Connecting a PC to Laptop old school way?

Discussion in 'Technology' started by TexasF355F1, Aug 31, 2010.

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  1. TexasF355F1

    TexasF355F1 Seven Time F1 World Champ
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    #1 TexasF355F1, Aug 31, 2010
    I'm not as up on my computer knowledge as I once was and am a bit lost. Is it possible for me to connect my PC to my laptop using the standard pin connections?

    The issue is my PC's video card is kaput. I broke the tabs in a mishap a few years ago and it's been sitting in the closet ever since. I'm hoping I can simply have the PC's harddrive read on my laptop so I can simply drag over what I may need before I destroy the harddrive.

    I'm trying to avoid having to buy a new video card.

    Thanks.
     
  2. Jedi

    Jedi Moderator
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    #2 Jedi, Aug 31, 2010
    That won't work. But easy enough to do what you need to do - it'll cost a
    little but hey - this is Ferrari chat, right? :)

    Take it to a computer repair place and have the drive removed. Or just
    do it yourself - most laptops it's behind a little cover in the bottom an
    just unplugs (DO IT GENTLY so as not to bend the pins!!) Then locate
    an external drive case for laptop hard drives - should be around $30 - $40
    bux at a computer store.

    That will give a USB connection to the drive to plug into your computer
    and then you can drag everything out that you need.

    Done it a couple times myself and it's really quite easy.

    Jedi
     
  3. becker

    becker Formula Junior

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    #3 becker, Aug 31, 2010
    Several options if your PC had network turned on, just plug the two with a network RJ45
    cable if you don't have network hub (5 box for a cheapo one) one wire will do but you have to flip a couple of pins. If you had remote access turned on you could just login into the PC

    Most USB HD drives have an internal regular drive with a USB interface if you have one open it up and swap the drives and there u r

    Depends on what u have to go

    Cheers

    Becker
     
  4. CrusaderTBC

    CrusaderTBC Karting

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    #4 CrusaderTBC, Aug 31, 2010
  5. TexasF355F1

    TexasF355F1 Seven Time F1 World Champ
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    #5 TexasF355F1, Sep 1, 2010
    lol, I think I got you a little backwards Jedi. My laptop is the working computer, the PC is broken. But, yes I can pull the harddrive out myself (I built this PC back in '02 with my uncle, hd is WesternDig).

    I'm assuming they have the same external drive cases for a regular harddrives?

    Unfortunately I think the network/remote access is turned off on the computer. I'll give it a try though.

    I'll look into that as well.

    Thank you all for the quick reply. Much appreciated. Too bad I won't be able to get to this until next week at the earliest. lol
     
  6. MaxPower

    MaxPower Two Time F1 World Champ

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    #6 MaxPower, Sep 1, 2010
    what about access once both machines are connected to the same router ... ???

    each should pop up on the "network" ... as local ...
     
  7. TexasF355F1

    TexasF355F1 Seven Time F1 World Champ
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    #7 TexasF355F1, Sep 2, 2010
    I'm having cable installed Friday, so I may attempt that. But I don't think the PC is setup properly from what I remember.

    Thanks!
     
  8. MaxPower

    MaxPower Two Time F1 World Champ

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    #8 MaxPower, Sep 2, 2010
    even with "sharing" enabled, i find it quite difficult - not impossible - to connect two machines ... sometimes, it just refuses to connect ...

    altho if u use macs, it's a no brainer ... it's really that easy ...
     
  9. Etcetera

    Etcetera Two Time F1 World Champ
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    #9 Etcetera, Sep 2, 2010
    It's easy on any OS unless the owner has issues with understanding easy things.

    Beyond that, good luck networking two previously unconfigured devices if one of those devices is blind.
     
  10. Etcetera

    Etcetera Two Time F1 World Champ
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    #10 Etcetera, Sep 2, 2010
    That won't work. The only way to get your data off that desktop is to repair the video card and network the two computers, or purchase an external usb drive enclosure for the drive that's currently in the desktop.

    If you go the external enclosure route, determine what interface the drive in the desktop uses to prior to obtaining it. There are two types of interfaces; IDE (PATA) and SATA. You will need a 3.5 inch external usb enclosure that supports one or the other. There are models that support them both, too.

    Pic of drives: (SATA on top, IDE on bottom). http://archive.64bits.se/guider/pcbyggarskola/sata.jpg

    Note: IDE and PATA are the same thing.
     
  11. MaxPower

    MaxPower Two Time F1 World Champ

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    #11 MaxPower, Sep 5, 2010
    i would imagine there'd be folk out there who could just pull the hdd out of the pc & hook it up to another computer to backup the data on it ...

    can't be THAT difficult ... can it?
     

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