Hey everyone, I recently took apart my parents' old PC in hopes of recovering some precious pictures. The computer hasn't been used in about six months, but when I last checked, the photos were still there. I extracted the hard drive just three days ago, and now I'm worried because it looks damaged. Here's what I noticed: it's covered in heavy dust, has some brown corrosion spots, and the gold contacts are tarnished. I'm really hesitant to plug it into my new computer with a USB-to-SATA cable because I don't want to risk losing the data or damaging my new setup. Any advice?
1 Answer
It’s actually pretty unlikely that plugging in your hard drive will damage your new computer. Just keep in mind that if it’s a 3.5” drive, you might need an external power source along with the SATA to USB adapter; it won’t work just with the adapter alone.
I have a 2017 3.5" HDD and the SATA to USB worked perfectly, so maybe you'll have luck too! Even if it’s an older drive, it might still connect.