Getting Files From an Old Computer

[alfred russel]

I have an old computer sitting in my closet - probably around 2001.

All my old stuff from college is on the computer, with contact information, etc. I wanted to access this stuff.

However, I'm not sure how. The computer will turn on, but the old monitor is gone. It has a 9 pin VGA to receive a monitor, so I got a 9 pin to 15 pin converter and tried hooking it up to my current monitor, but no luck (it is conceivable I damaged the converter, as I had to rip off the connectors so that it would fit).

I was planning on just moving the documents I wanted to a flash drive once I get the computer to turn on with a monitor, but I don't even need to do that if there is another way to get on the hard drive.

Any ideas?

[Tonitrus]

Could yank out the HDD, buy a cheap HDD external enclosure/docking station and turn it into an external USB drive.  If you just need the files.

[DontSayBanana]

If you're going desktop to desktop, you don't even need that much.  Just add the old drive in as a slave and copy- only way you'd need an adapter is if your newer computer doesn't have IDE or if the old drive's a funky form factor (not likely in a 2001 PC).

My migration priorities for backing up customer's PCs:
1- slave old drive, direct copy.
2- external enclosure, direct copy.
3- copy piecemeal via USB flash drive from other system (either original or another compatible box, basically option 1 with a third box in the mix).

[alfred russel]

Guys, I am clearly a lot dumber than you think...I had to google what HDD meant.

DSB, is what you are saying is that I can just connect a USB cable from my old computer to my current one and transfer the files?

I was trying to use a USB flash directly from the old computer (is this your option 3?), but without a monitor I can't do that.

[DontSayBanana]

Guys, I am clearly a lot dumber than you think...I had to google what HDD meant.

DSB, is what you are saying is that I can just connect a USB cable from my old computer to my current one and transfer the files?

I was trying to use a USB flash directly from the old computer (is this your option 3?), but without a monitor I can't do that.

Unfortunately not on the USB cable.  USB was just never designed to network computers that way, so you'd need a special USB dongle to copy between the two.  It exists, but you'd have to buy it and probably would never use it again, plus I'm not sure how well it would work without being able to install software on the older computer.

What I was saying was to pop off the case and plug the hard drive directly into the computer the same way as the one that's already in there.  The only potential snag with that is that the 2001 hard drive probably takes an IDE ribbon connector and a power jack, your new one probably takes SATA connectors, and some manufacturers have actually stopped putting IDE connectors on their motherboards.

[alfred russel]

So I remove the hard drive from my current computer, put in the hard drive from my old computer, and then copy the relevant files to a USB flash drive?

Is there an easier way? With that plan I foresee a future of having two computers which I can't get to work at all.

[katmai]

If you have the connectors that work. just add your old hard drive to your new pc. then should be able to copy all files, no need to take out new drive.

[Monoriu]

I would take the computer/hardrive to a shop to extract the data. 

[alfred russel]

If you have the connectors that work. just add your old hard drive to your new pc. then should be able to copy all files, no need to take out new drive.

When I was in college I got a job working at the computer lab. My first day a girl had written a paper and asked me if I knew how to save a document in word processing. I had no idea, but someone once told me that computers have emergency save features when you turn them off. So I turned off her machine, and that was the end of her paper.

I tell you this because you clearly haven't grasped how computer illiterate I am. 

[sbr]

If you have the connectors that work. just add your old hard drive to your new pc. then should be able to copy all files, no need to take out new drive.

When I was in college I got a job working at the computer lab. My first day a girl had written a paper and asked me if I knew how to save a document in word processing. I had no idea, but someone once told me that computers have emergency save features when you turn them off. So I turned off her machine, and that was the end of her paper.

I tell you this because you clearly haven't grasped how computer illiterate I am. 

In that case I would follow the Mono Plan.

[alfred russel]

There might be reasons I don't want to do that...

[Caliga]

I hear you.  I have old porno on lots of spare HDDs floating around my place.

[Barrister]

I very much doubt that the computer shop would care about regular porn.

If AR's HDD has child porn on it however...

[alfred russel]

Good grief.

[Monoriu]

There might be reasons I don't want to do that...

There are ways around that, I think. All they need to do is connect your HDD to a working computer and monitor.  You can offer to...assist on the spot.  Once you see the HDD on screen, you do the copying to a USB drive yourself.