laptop to desktop compatability

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dwd

New member
I want to recover some files and programs from a dead Presario 1692 laptop. (I believe the motherboard is at fault.)
It has an MK6411MAT (HDD2143).
I'm thinking that there are more working desktops out there than laptops that are compatible.

The pins are just a little too close together for an old desktop I have. What brands/vintages would connect to this drive?
 
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dwd

New member
Jared said:
That's just a standard PATA 2.5" connection. It's the same in virtually every old laptop. Your cables for the desktop are just sized for the 3.5" size drives. You can buy a size adapter: https://www.amazon.com/SinLoon-Adapter-Laptop-Desktop-Converter/dp/B07ZGHZJMM/

Or you can just buy a USB adapter and be done with it: https://www.amazon.com/AGPtek-Drive-Adapter-Converter-External/dp/B00BIE996S
Click to expand...

I was hoping some of the compact desktops would have borrowed from the laptops. I suppose they just went to edge connectors instead.
 
Jared

Jared

Administrator
Staff member
I'm sure there are some AIOs that were equipped with a 2.5" drive, but I've never bothered to keep track of them. That'd be something you'd have to ask on a PC repair forum. Here, we all do data recovery and would never bother to buy a whole computer to just read one drive.

I've got three adapters for literally everything.
 
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dwd

New member
Jared said:
I'm sure there are some AIOs that were equipped with a 2.5" drive, but I've never bothered to keep track of them. That'd be something you'd have to ask on a PC repair forum. Here, we all do data recovery and would never bother to buy a whole computer to just read one drive.

I've got three adapters for literally everything.
Click to expand...
Hopefully the drive is OK and it will be that simple. Thanks for the tip/link to the laptop-desktop adapter. Good price!
 
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dwd

New member
Got my USB adapter. Plugged into an XP laptop and a Win7 laptop. In both cases it found, installed driver, and declared "mass storage device is ready to use". The XP even showed the brand and model description before installing driver. (I did a proper unmount before switching to Win7 machine.)

But in both cases the drive didn't show up on the list in Explorer. I even tried to open from Word, but not on the list.

Do I need to use my Linux CD to get around security?
 
Jared

Jared

Administrator
Staff member
First off, you don't need any drivers for those adapters. It's been a standard driver for mass storage for a couple of decades now, so Windows natively works with it.

What OS was the original computer using? Was any encryption employed? Are you sure your current OS is configured to automatically assign drive letters?

There are any one of a hundred reasons you might not be seeing it, but we can't divinely obtain this knowledge from thin air. Perhaps snap a screenshot of the Disk Management section of Computer Management so we can see what it shows the drive as.
 
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dwd

New member
Below are screen shots. This is from my Window 7 laptop. The OS on the USB drive is Windows 98.
Both laptops automatically assign drive letters to USB flash drives. Typically F: and G: for that slot.
image_2022-01-04_170415.pngimage_2022-01-04_170948.png
 
pclab

pclab

Moderator
Go to HDD manager and try to add a letter to it.
Or try to use a recovery software, like DMDE to see if the files are there or not.
 
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dwd

New member
I tried clicking on Volume under the Volumes TAB, but I get no options even though it is highlighted when I cursor over it. I was thinking of running CHKDSK in the cmd prompt. Tough to do without a drive letter assignment. Is there another way to point to the drive with CHKDSK?

I'll probably need DMDE or similar. Any warnings/tips about using the freeware version?
 
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