Really could use help with drives and pricing

[Tony]

Last Sunday night I loaded up Starfield and my computer crapped out. I backup with an external HD occasionally but not often enough. I just ordered a new PC which is Windows 11 with a 1TB SSD. My old computer was windows 10 with a 500gb SSD and 1 1 or 2 TB HDD. I had all my important stuff on the D: drive which was the HDD. And I have really, really important stiff I need to retrieve.

I asked this same thing on reddit with no reply, and I could really use any and all help and advice. The power stopped working on my old PC. Not the power supply since the green light on the power on the back of the PC lit up when plugged in, but hitting the power button did nothing.

I'm guessing since I was ignored on reddit, getting the files myself would be beyond me. I called Geek Squad and they changed the price from $50 to $150 to retrieve 2MB of files while I was talking to them. I only need 2 MBs. I back up with an external HD occasionally, the last time in October. All my work stuff is saved automatically online. Only my personal stuff isn't. $50 seems reasonable for less than 2 MBs. Geek Squad tripling the price out of nowhere pissed me off. If I call a small shop, what is a reasonable price for what I am trying to do and get?

Also, I'd rather not leave my PC there and get the drives loaded and the file I need loaded onto my external HD while I'm there so there isn't any funny business. Is this normal to want or to request or will I sound like a paranoid prick?

Thank you very much.

 

[bjon045]

Have you tried just plugging in your old HDD in your new PC?

 

[Stingray]

Assuming the HDD is SATA, buy a SATA-to-USB adapter than plug the old HDD into your new computer as if it was a USB external drive. Random example: https://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-SATA-USB-Cable-USB3S2SAT3CB/dp/B00HJZJI84
(Or you could also just plug it into an internal SATA port and SATA power cable on the new computer, if that's an option)

The HDD is most likely formatted with NTFS, and the internal user ID's (UUIDs) used by Windows won't match up on your old computer and the new, so you may run into permission errors when trying to access the files you want after hooking it up to the new computer. If so, you need to "take ownership" of all the files on the drive and then adjust the permissions to give yourself full control. If that ends up being the case, and you can't figure it out, then I could post more info.

 

[Arkadia7]

Don't ever ever, I repeat, ever go to Geek Squad, as you saw, its a total rip-off, and they don't even know what they are doing. I'm no expert, (looks like you already got help from replies above) but if you want to recover the drive and need help with it, go on your local yelp website, and do a search for computer repair shops, and then read the reviews of the top 3 highest rated ones. I found an awesome local computer shop that way (and I had gone to other shops that sucked before) and I only will go to this particular local computer shop now. (whenever I need computer help) Ok, so they charge $200 for an upfront fee, but there is a thing called "you get what you pay for", and I believe in that.

I have been to this shop several times and every time they fixed my computer to perfect condition, and they most recently installed stuff to my new laptop, and even took $75 off the fee because they said it was simple to do. (again, "you get what you pay for" except if you go to Geek squad - then you will not only get ripped off but have horrible amateurish work, that will mess up your computer with substandard work - and not get anything close to what you paid for, lol)

 

[Tony]

Have you tried just plugging in your old HDD in your new PC?

Assuming the HDD is SATA, buy a SATA-to-USB adapter than plug the old HDD into your new computer as if it was a USB external drive. Random example: https://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-SATA-USB-Cable-USB3S2SAT3CB/dp/B00HJZJI84
(Or you could also just plug it into an internal SATA port and SATA power cable on the new computer, if that's an option)

The HDD is most likely formatted with NTFS, and the internal user ID's (UUIDs) used by Windows won't match up on your old computer and the new, so you may run into permission errors when trying to access the files you want after hooking it up to the new computer. If so, you need to "take ownership" of all the files on the drive and then adjust the permissions to give yourself full control. If that ends up being the case, and you can't figure it out, then I could post more info.

Would this work if my C: Drive stuff was extended into D: drive? Like, windows is all on C:, but I wanted more room for games on C: so moved everything I could to D:. My files are under User\Documents in D: (but because I moved it from C. I don't know if this makes sense.

Wouldn't just plugging the drive in reform it? I assumed I'd at least have to keep them both together. I have no idea though. I ordered the cable since its so cheep anyways.

I really, really appreciate the help everyone.

 

[Stingray]

Not sure what you mean by the moving, reforming, having to keep them together etc. What exactly did you do?

You could also get files off your old C: SSD in the same way, assuming it's a SATA SSD. If it's an NVMe SSD, then you'd need an NVMe to USB adapter (which are also available).

 

[bjon045]

Would this work if my C: Drive stuff was extended into D: drive? Like, windows is all on C:, but I wanted more room for games on C: so moved everything I could to D:. My files are under User\Documents in D: (but because I moved it from C. I don't know if this makes sense.

Wouldn't just plugging the drive in reform it? I assumed I'd at least have to keep them both together. I have no idea though. I ordered the cable since its so cheep anyways.

I really, really appreciate the help everyone.

It will just reletter your drive. You won't lose anything i.e. your old D drive will become your E drive (or similar).

 

[Tony]

Not sure what you mean by the moving, reforming, having to keep them together etc. What exactly did you do?

You could also get files off your old C: SSD in the same way, assuming it's a SATA SSD. If it's an NVMe SSD, then you'd need an NVMe to USB adapter (which are also available).

Nothing yet, I was just worried if I plugged in the old drive it would lose all the info or if it was an extension from the old c drive and that drive wasn't included it wouldn't be able to access the info. Bjon045 said it wouldn't. The cable arrives Monday. I can't wait for this all to be behind me. Thank you all very much.

 

[Stingray]

Nothing yet, I was just worried if I plugged in the old drive it would lose all the info or if it was an extension from the old c drive and that drive wasn't included it wouldn't be able to access the info. Bjon045 said it wouldn't. The cable arrives Monday. I can't wait for this all to be behind me. Thank you all very much.

One thing to be aware of... The adapter I linked earlier in the thread doesn't provide supplemental power, so if your HDD is a 3.5", and you ordered that one (or a similar one that doesn't provide its own power), you will likely end up needing one that does. Here's an example of that: https://www.amazon.com/UGREEN-Cable-Adapter-Converter-Support/dp/B00MYU0EAU
Without the supplemental power, the cable will normally only work with SSDs and 2.5" HDDs (the size used in laptops). Sorry, should have warned about that earlier.

 

[Tony]

One thing to be aware of... The adapter I linked earlier in the thread doesn't provide supplemental power, so if your HDD is a 3.5", and you ordered that one (or a similar one that doesn't provide its own power), you will likely end up needing one that does. Here's an example of that: https://www.amazon.com/UGREEN-Cable-Adapter-Converter-Support/dp/B00MYU0EAU
Without the supplemental power, the cable will normally only work with SSDs and 2.5" HDDs (the size used in laptops). Sorry, should have warned about that earlier.

Thank you for the heads up.