Data transfer question. Help me please!

[citedon]

My old computer recently died. It is a motherboard problem and it seems impossible to boot. I will soon be ordering a new computer. What is the best and easiest way to transfer data from my old hard drive? My old computer uses Windows XP. I don't think there are any problems with the hard drive. It is an IDE. My new computer will be Vista and probably SATA or ADA, or something that will surely not be IDE. I haven't ordered a computer yet, so I have no idea what kind of connections it will have. Is there any way to transfer info from an old computer that will not boot? Do new motherboards normally have an IDE connector even if it is using SATA, ADA, etc.? If that is the case, then I imagine that I can simply hook up the old hard drive and make transfers. Will the fact that the OS my old hard drive is XP and the new computer is Vista cause me problems?

 

[mdwh]

AFAIK, new motherboards still have the old IDE connectors (they are usually now called "PATA", as opposed to "SATA"), so obviously make sure that your new computer has them.

Note that most motherboards these days only have one IDE connector, allowing only 2 devices (as opposed to 4 devices which it used to be). Ideally everything in your new computer should be on SATA anyway, but if there's already two PATA devices for some reason, you'll just have to temporarily disconnect one of them.

 

[Cutlass]

The new motherboard will have the old connector, because it's still the same connector that your DVD drive will have. So install the old HDD in the new PC.

Second alternative is to get an external USB HDD enclosure and place the old HDD in that. After you have transfered your files you can reformat it and use it for a backup.

 

[citedon]

Thanks for the info. It was very helpful.