Data recovery from a failing hard drive

My laptop's motherboard just gave up on me, so I'm trying to figure out how to grab the data from the hard drive—assuming the drive itself is still healthy. The laptop is a Dell Latitude, and the specs say the drive is SATA-300, though I'm not entirely sure what that implies. Any idea roughly what it would cost to get this data recovered?

Kenneth Reyes said:My motherboard just kicked the bucket on my laptop, so I'm trying to figure out how to grab the data off the drive—assuming the drive itself isn't toast. It's a Dell Latitude, and the specs say SATA-300, which sounds like gibberish to me... Any idea roughly what it'd cost to get someone to rescue my files?

Getting someone to pull stuff off a working drive usually runs you about fifty bucks.
But honestly, if you've got a little patience, you can totally DIY this.

Here’s a video on how to tear down the laptop:


Once you actually get to the drive, all you need is a SATA-to-USB adapter:
http://www.h2-shop.com/TRN-C176-AL?u...m_medium=click

Plug it in, and you're golden. Just save your stuff.

...or honestly, just do it for free. Head over to a buddy's place who’s got a desktop set up, plug your drive right in, and just drag and drop whatever you need from your disk onto theirs.

It’s honestly not that big of a deal $17, since you really just need some basic tools and maybe 5-10 minutes to pop off that front keyboard panel. And hey, if the hardware is still solid, maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to grab a docking station for it and just use it like a portable setup.

Thanks! It’ll be either that cable or the tray, then. What does that tray actually look like, and what's the specific English term for it so I can track it down online?

Just search for "hard drive enclosure" on eBay and you'll find plenty. Here's a link to one: http://www.ebay.com/itm/USB-2-0-2-5-HD-Hard-Drive-Disk-SATA-External-Enclosure-Case-Cover-Box-for-PC-/331925921429?hash=item4d48539e95:g😈CQAAOSwaB5XnwM q

You can grab one for like two or three bucks plus shipping, though I guess you could always spend more if you're feeling fancy.