Want to do taxes, computer won't boot, is there a Windows 10 temporary OS?

[Jonas Schneider]

Is there a legit way to get Windows 10 temporarily for a few days?

I have an XP laptop that isn't worth fixing, that won't boot.
It has two hard disk drives though (big Dell XPS gaming thing).
It has my taxes on it from last year that I need to suck into Turbotax.

All I want to do is pop in a spare hard drive and boot off that spare hard
drive and then grab the tax records and put them onto USB flash stick.

But I don't have any Windows boot media.

My plan is this:
1. Remove the old XP boot hard drive (which is where the taxes are).
2. Put in a formatted hard drive (temporarily yanked off another laptop).
3. Install Windows 10 temporary (if that exists) on the new hard drive.
4. Boot off of Windows 10 (to test that the computer problem is solved.

Then, I pull out the second hard drive and put the original (bad xp) boot
drive in its place, because the tax records are on that (old boot xp)
drive.

Windows 10 should access that old boot xp drive for long enough for me to
get the taxes off it.

The plan seems sound (to me) but my question is whether or not I can get a
temporary copy of Windows that is legitimate.

Is there a legitimate temporary Windows 10 method that will work for me?

[Paul in Houston TX[_2_]]

Jonas Schneider wrote:
> Is there a legit way to get Windows 10 temporarily for a few days?
>
> I have an XP laptop that isn't worth fixing, that won't boot.
> It has two hard disk drives though (big Dell XPS gaming thing).
> It has my taxes on it from last year that I need to suck into Turbotax.
>
> All I want to do is pop in a spare hard drive and boot off that spare hard
> drive and then grab the tax records and put them onto USB flash stick.
>
> But I don't have any Windows boot media.
>
> My plan is this:
> 1. Remove the old XP boot hard drive (which is where the taxes are).
> 2. Put in a formatted hard drive (temporarily yanked off another laptop).
> 3. Install Windows 10 temporary (if that exists) on the new hard drive.
> 4. Boot off of Windows 10 (to test that the computer problem is solved.
>
> Then, I pull out the second hard drive and put the original (bad xp) boot
> drive in its place, because the tax records are on that (old boot xp)
> drive.
>
> Windows 10 should access that old boot xp drive for long enough for me to
> get the taxes off it.
>
> The plan seems sound (to me) but my question is whether or not I can get a
> temporary copy of Windows that is legitimate.
>
> Is there a legitimate temporary Windows 10 method that will work for me?

How about booting from a Linux live CD or a rescue CD and copy the files to usb?

[Paul[_32_]]

Jonas Schneider wrote:
> Is there a legit way to get Windows 10 temporarily for a few days?
>
> I have an XP laptop that isn't worth fixing, that won't boot.
> It has two hard disk drives though (big Dell XPS gaming thing).
> It has my taxes on it from last year that I need to suck into Turbotax.
>
> All I want to do is pop in a spare hard drive and boot off that spare hard
> drive and then grab the tax records and put them onto USB flash stick.
>
> But I don't have any Windows boot media.
>
> My plan is this:
> 1. Remove the old XP boot hard drive (which is where the taxes are).
> 2. Put in a formatted hard drive (temporarily yanked off another laptop).
> 3. Install Windows 10 temporary (if that exists) on the new hard drive.
> 4. Boot off of Windows 10 (to test that the computer problem is solved.
>
> Then, I pull out the second hard drive and put the original (bad xp) boot
> drive in its place, because the tax records are on that (old boot xp)
> drive.
>
> Windows 10 should access that old boot xp drive for long enough for me to
> get the taxes off it.
>
> The plan seems sound (to me) but my question is whether or not I can get a
> temporary copy of Windows that is legitimate.
>
> Is there a legitimate temporary Windows 10 method that will work for me?

If you install a Windows OS, normally it will run for
30 days without activation. The license key box has a "Skip"
option on some OSes.

The OSes can be "picky" about hardware instruction set. This
means your WinXP era laptop is useless with respect to installing
Win10. The Win10 initial install step will do a CPU instruction
set check, and *reject* the computer. For example, only the
very last version of P4 made (2MB cache), that is the oldest CPU
supported by Win10. Since those are obscure, you could pretend
for the sake of argument, that P4 era computers are useless for
the task. A Core or Core2 CPU might be a comfortable minimum for Win10.

So let's make a table:

Media? Skip Special Comment
License? CPU?

WinXP No Yes NA
Vista No Yes NA (32 or 64)
Win7 (Heidoc) Yes NA (32 or 64)
Win8 No?? Install-Only key ?? (32 or 64) [You would install 8.1 anyway]
Win8.1 (Heidoc) Install-Only key NX,PAE,SSE2,CX16,LAHF,PrefetchW
Win10 Available No (you have no NX,PAE,SSE2,CX16,LAHF,PrefetchW
qualifying OS)

Win8/8.1 Install-only keys (good for 30 days only...). This helps
Windows 8 become a "Skip" license style OS, like it was
as convenient as installing Win7.

Windows 8.0 Pro: XKY4K-2NRWR-8F6P2-448RF-CRYQH
Windows 8.0 Core: FB4WR-32NVD-4RW79-XQFWH-CYQG3

Windows 8.1 Pro: XHQ8N-C3MCJ-RQXB6-WCHYG-C9WKB
Windows 8.1 Core: 334NH-RXG76-64THK-C7CKG-D3VPT

*******

From practical considerations, you would install Windows 7, then
use the "Skip" or "Next" button at license key entry time.

You will need drivers for Windows 7. If the motherboard
BIOS is in Compatible IDE or AHCI mode, you can probably
get an image on the screen. A Win7 video driver would help.
Many of the other drivers you could ignore for the purpose
of this (limited) situation.

Where will the output go ? Printer ? Printer driver ?
Stored on USB stick ? (In-box driver)
Internet ? (Need network driver for Win7)

The Heidoc tool generates a URL for downloading the OS.
The download link is valid for 24 hours only. Every time
you do this, a folder is created on a Microsoft server,
with the ISO in it. The Heidoc tool has a "Copy to clipboard"
button. You can move the URL to Notepad and save it there,
then drive somewhere and do the download. Or, you could
run the Heidoc web page from the library computer, and
paste the URL into the browser and download. The download
comes from Microsoft, not from Heidoc. All that the Heidoc
tool does, is forge a request to Techbench, to have an
ISO image staged for your convenience. It is in every
way, a valid ISO image, and comes from Microsoft.

Here are your play tools. Get a copy of Win7 x32. Home Premium
should be good enough:

https://www.heidoc.net/joomla/technology-science/microsoft/67-microsoft-windows-iso-download-tool

Heidoc --> "Copy to Clipboard"
Browser (Paste into URL bar)
Download and save the ISO9660 file.
Burn to DVD.

Take both Heidoc EXE files to the library with you. In case the
library computer doesn't have the very latest .NET, you
can use the "legacy" compiled version instead, which
will run on more computers (WinXP+).

*******

Other options include these. Vista SP2 is usable for 30 days,
but "not a keeper". While I have these links in my notes
file, they're probably erased by now, by the "DMCA police".
I cannot guarantee these links are still good. Only the
first one is of use to you, as it is the 32-bit version,
and most likely to work on your crusty CPU.

https://ia801708.us.archive.org/26/items/zozoo8/en_windows_vista_with_sp2_x86_dvd_342266.iso
Windows Vista with SP2 32-bit
SHA1: 25AD9A776503E6A583BEC07879DBCC5DFD20CD6E
Size: 3093 MB (3.02 GB)

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B9WCxe2pLMSWRWdpeWlNZFFYcWs/edit?usp=drive_web&pli=1
en_windows_vista_sp2_x64_dvd_342267.iso
Windows Vista with SP2 64-bit
SHA1: AAEE3C04533899F9F8C4AE0C4250EF5FAFBE29A3
Size: 3683 MB (3.59 GB)

HTH,
Paul

[pjp[_10_]]

In article >,
says...
>
> Is there a legit way to get Windows 10 temporarily for a few days?
>
> I have an XP laptop that isn't worth fixing, that won't boot.
> It has two hard disk drives though (big Dell XPS gaming thing).
> It has my taxes on it from last year that I need to suck into Turbotax.
>
> All I want to do is pop in a spare hard drive and boot off that spare hard
> drive and then grab the tax records and put them onto USB flash stick.
>
> But I don't have any Windows boot media.
>
> My plan is this:
> 1. Remove the old XP boot hard drive (which is where the taxes are).
> 2. Put in a formatted hard drive (temporarily yanked off another laptop).
> 3. Install Windows 10 temporary (if that exists) on the new hard drive.
> 4. Boot off of Windows 10 (to test that the computer problem is solved.
>
> Then, I pull out the second hard drive and put the original (bad xp) boot
> drive in its place, because the tax records are on that (old boot xp)
> drive.
>
> Windows 10 should access that old boot xp drive for long enough for me to
> get the taxes off it.
>
> The plan seems sound (to me) but my question is whether or not I can get a
> temporary copy of Windows that is legitimate.
>
> Is there a legitimate temporary Windows 10 method that will work for me?

Why not just pop the drive into a cheap usb enclosure and connect it to
the pc you wish to copy the files to? Cheap, easy and you're left with
an external hard disk to use as you wish :) P.S. Insure it's correct
type for existing hard disk e.g. IDE or SATA and note that you can still
buy enclosures do either rather than just the one type.

[[email protected]]

On Mon, 13 Mar 2017 02:08:04 +0000 (UTC), Jonas Schneider
> wrote:

>Is there a legit way to get Windows 10 temporarily for a few days?
>
>I have an XP laptop that isn't worth fixing, that won't boot.
>It has two hard disk drives though (big Dell XPS gaming thing).
>It has my taxes on it from last year that I need to suck into Turbotax.
>
>All I want to do is pop in a spare hard drive and boot off that spare hard
>drive and then grab the tax records and put them onto USB flash stick.
>
>But I don't have any Windows boot media.
>
>My plan is this:
>1. Remove the old XP boot hard drive (which is where the taxes are).
>2. Put in a formatted hard drive (temporarily yanked off another laptop).
>3. Install Windows 10 temporary (if that exists) on the new hard drive.
>4. Boot off of Windows 10 (to test that the computer problem is solved.
>
>Then, I pull out the second hard drive and put the original (bad xp) boot
>drive in its place, because the tax records are on that (old boot xp)
>drive.
>
>Windows 10 should access that old boot xp drive for long enough for me to
>get the taxes off it.
>
>The plan seems sound (to me) but my question is whether or not I can get a
>temporary copy of Windows that is legitimate.
>
>Is there a legitimate temporary Windows 10 method that will work for me?

There is a fairly good chance the drive is toast and that is why it
won't boot. The idea of putting in another machine is probably your
best bet. You still may be able to recover that data.

[J. P. Gilliver (John)[_4_]]

In message >, pjp
> writes:
>In article >,
>says...
>>
>> Is there a legit way to get Windows 10 temporarily for a few days?
>>
>> I have an XP laptop that isn't worth fixing, that won't boot.
>> It has two hard disk drives though (big Dell XPS gaming thing).
>> It has my taxes on it from last year that I need to suck into Turbotax.
>>
>> All I want to do is pop in a spare hard drive and boot off that spare hard
>> drive and then grab the tax records and put them onto USB flash stick.
>>
>> But I don't have any Windows boot media.
>>
>> My plan is this:
>> 1. Remove the old XP boot hard drive (which is where the taxes are).
>> 2. Put in a formatted hard drive (temporarily yanked off another laptop).

You will ruin the other laptop if you do this. (Well, corrupt the HD
anyway.)

>> 3. Install Windows 10 temporary (if that exists) on the new hard drive.
>> 4. Boot off of Windows 10 (to test that the computer problem is solved.
>>
>> Then, I pull out the second hard drive and put the original (bad xp) boot
>> drive in its place, because the tax records are on that (old boot xp)
>> drive.
>>
>> Windows 10 should access that old boot xp drive for long enough for me to
>> get the taxes off it.
>>
>> The plan seems sound (to me) but my question is whether or not I can get a
>> temporary copy of Windows that is legitimate.
>>
>> Is there a legitimate temporary Windows 10 method that will work for me?
>
>Why not just pop the drive into a cheap usb enclosure and connect it to
>the pc you wish to copy the files to? Cheap, easy and you're left with
>an external hard disk to use as you wish :) P.S. Insure it's correct
>type for existing hard disk e.g. IDE or SATA and note that you can still
>buy enclosures do either rather than just the one type.

My thoughts exactly: if you're willing to move drives around, and all
you want is to access _files_ on the old disc, then by far the simplest
way to do so is to access it - the disc - from another computer. There
are about three ways to do that: either using an external housing (which
will contain some electronics), using a "USB to EIDE (or SATA) cable"
(which, though it appears to be just a cable, will also contain some
electronics), or using an external "dock" - these are bases into which
you can plug a drive (the one I have has slots for (E)IDE and SATA, also
lots of memory card types). All of these connect by USB (possibly other
ways too, but USB is the commonest), and are available for peanuts, at
least the external housing and "cable" are. A fourth way would be to
connect the drive directly to another computer that has a spare
EIDE/SATA (as appropriate) connector, but I'd be wary of doing so with a
disc that has an OS on it (assuming it _is_ the one that does), as
there's a small chance it would confuse the booting of that computer.
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

They don't seem to want to blind me with science nor to impress me with their
superior intellect, but just to share their enthusiasm for their subject.
(Appreciative) contributor to Radio Times letters page, 26 July-1 August 2014

[Keith Nuttle]

On 3/13/2017 12:41 AM, pjp wrote:
> In article >,
> says...
>>

>>
>> Is there a legitimate temporary Windows 10 method that will work for me?
>
> Why not just pop the drive into a cheap usb enclosure and connect it to
> the pc you wish to copy the files to? Cheap, easy and you're left with
> an external hard disk to use as you wish :) P.S. Insure it's correct
> type for existing hard disk e.g. IDE or SATA and note that you can still
> buy enclosures do either rather than just the one type.
>
If time is a problem April 15th,I agree. If you do what you propose
with the temporary OS, you will spend 10 X the time that it would take
to put the old drive in a USB enclosure, and copy of your tax data, and
any thing else you want.

You can order the USB enclosure or buy one at Office Max, Staples and
the like.

[Ian Jackson[_3_]]

In message >, Jonas Schneider
> writes
>Is there a legit way to get Windows 10 temporarily for a few days?
>


As others have suggested:
<https://www.google.co.uk/?gws_rd=ssl#q=usb+ide+sata+adapter&*>
(or similar wherever you are).

A 2.5" drive normally runs off the USB power, and doesn't need a
separate power supply.

A 3.5" drive needs an adapter with a separate 5V / 12V supply.


--
Ian

[Char Jackson]

On Mon, 13 Mar 2017 08:38:26 -0400, Keith Nuttle
> wrote:

>On 3/13/2017 12:41 AM, pjp wrote:
>> In article >,
>> says...
>>>
>>> Is there a legitimate temporary Windows 10 method that will work for me?
>>
>> Why not just pop the drive into a cheap usb enclosure and connect it to
>> the pc you wish to copy the files to? Cheap, easy and you're left with
>> an external hard disk to use as you wish :) P.S. Insure it's correct
>> type for existing hard disk e.g. IDE or SATA and note that you can still
>> buy enclosures do either rather than just the one type.
>>
>If time is a problem April 15th,I agree. <snip>

I think you mean April 18th. We get a few extra days this year.

[Mark Lloyd[_2_]]

On 03/12/2017 11:41 PM, pjp wrote:

[snip]

> Why not just pop the drive into a cheap usb enclosure and connect it to
> the pc you wish to copy the files to? Cheap, easy and you're left with
> an external hard disk to use as you wish :) P.S. Insure it's correct
> type for existing hard disk e.g. IDE or SATA and note that you can still
> buy enclosures do either rather than just the one type.
>

You don't need an enclosure for the 5 minutes or so it takes to copy a
file. You could use one of these:

https://www.amazon.com/Drive-Cable-Adapter-Power-Random/dp/B01N4VUIOV/ref=sr_1_12

--
Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.us/

"Access denied. Thought you could get in?"

[Shadow]

On Sun, 12 Mar 2017 21:16:20 -0500, Paul in Houston TX
> wrote:

>Jonas Schneider wrote:
>> Is there a legit way to get Windows 10 temporarily for a few days?
>>
>> I have an XP laptop that isn't worth fixing, that won't boot.
>> It has two hard disk drives though (big Dell XPS gaming thing).
>> It has my taxes on it from last year that I need to suck into Turbotax.
>>
>> All I want to do is pop in a spare hard drive and boot off that spare hard
>> drive and then grab the tax records and put them onto USB flash stick.
>>
>> But I don't have any Windows boot media.
>>
>> My plan is this:
>> 1. Remove the old XP boot hard drive (which is where the taxes are).
>> 2. Put in a formatted hard drive (temporarily yanked off another laptop).
>> 3. Install Windows 10 temporary (if that exists) on the new hard drive.
>> 4. Boot off of Windows 10 (to test that the computer problem is solved.
>>
>> Then, I pull out the second hard drive and put the original (bad xp) boot
>> drive in its place, because the tax records are on that (old boot xp)
>> drive.
>>
>> Windows 10 should access that old boot xp drive for long enough for me to
>> get the taxes off it.
>>
>> The plan seems sound (to me) but my question is whether or not I can get a
>> temporary copy of Windows that is legitimate.
>>
>> Is there a legitimate temporary Windows 10 method that will work for me?
>
>How about booting from a Linux live CD or a rescue CD and copy the files to usb?

+1 there. I would have done that without thinking twice.
Use an "easy" distro, if it's not online, even an old Ubuntu
10.4 would suffice (and fit nicely on a CD), and it looks and behaves
sufficiently like XP for the OP to master it in a few minutes.
[]'s
--
Don't be evil - Google 2004
We have a new policy - Google 2012

[Shadow]

On Mon, 13 Mar 2017 12:07:11 -0500, Mark Lloyd >
wrote:

>On 03/12/2017 11:41 PM, pjp wrote:
>
>[snip]
>
>> Why not just pop the drive into a cheap usb enclosure and connect it to
>> the pc you wish to copy the files to? Cheap, easy and you're left with
>> an external hard disk to use as you wish :) P.S. Insure it's correct
>> type for existing hard disk e.g. IDE or SATA and note that you can still
>> buy enclosures do either rather than just the one type.
>>
>
>You don't need an enclosure for the 5 minutes or so it takes to copy a
>file. You could use one of these:
>
>https://www.amazon.com/Drive-Cable-Adapter-Power-Random/dp/B01N4VUIOV/ref=sr_1_12

Why buy something when all he needs is a Linux live system,
like ubuntu 10 ?

There you go:

http://old-releases.ubuntu.com/releases/10.04.3/ubuntu-10.04.4-desktop-i386.iso

694MB. Burn it to a CD, boot the old computer with it. Choose
"test, or "live", whatever, NOT "install". Unless the MB is fried,
you will be able to copy the contents of the HD to a USB.
Should take you 20 minutes or so.
But WhyTF don't you keep a backup to a DVD (NEVER use "the
cloud" ? Not only of the tax data, but EVERYTHING important ? HDs
always die, eventually. The DVD will too, eventually. But look at the
bright side, you will be long gone by then ...
[]'s
--
Don't be evil - Google 2004
We have a new policy - Google 2012

[Keith Nuttle]

On 3/13/2017 10:10 AM, Char Jackson wrote:
> On Mon, 13 Mar 2017 08:38:26 -0400, Keith Nuttle
> > wrote:
>
>> On 3/13/2017 12:41 AM, pjp wrote:
>>>
>
> I think you mean April 18th. We get a few extra days this year.
>
They are now with the CPA so it is up to her. ;-)

[Ian Jackson[_3_]]

In message >, Shadow
> writes
>On Mon, 13 Mar 2017 12:07:11 -0500, Mark Lloyd >
>wrote:


>>You don't need an enclosure for the 5 minutes or so it takes to copy a
>>file. You could use one of these:
>>
>>https://www.amazon.com/Drive-Cable-Adapter-Power-Random/dp/B01N4VUIOV/r
>>ef=sr_1_12
>
> Why buy something when all he needs is a Linux live system,
>like ubuntu 10 ?

Well, those adapters come in extremely handy, and it's rather convenient
to have one 'about your person' for future use. I now have several.

That one on Amazon does look rather expensive - but you do get a
complete set of adapter leads. Be aware that the power supply - needed
for 3.5" drives - can run pretty hot (well, mine do), and it's best to
ensure that there is plenty of airflow around them.
>
>
>
>
>

--
Ian

[[email protected]]

On Mon, 13 Mar 2017 19:53:38 +0000, Ian Jackson
> wrote:

>In message >, Shadow
> writes
>>On Mon, 13 Mar 2017 12:07:11 -0500, Mark Lloyd >
>>wrote:
>
>
>>>You don't need an enclosure for the 5 minutes or so it takes to copy a
>>>file. You could use one of these:
>>>
>>>https://www.amazon.com/Drive-Cable-Adapter-Power-Random/dp/B01N4VUIOV/r
>>>ef=sr_1_12
>>
>> Why buy something when all he needs is a Linux live system,
>>like ubuntu 10 ?
>
>Well, those adapters come in extremely handy, and it's rather convenient
>to have one 'about your person' for future use. I now have several.
>
>That one on Amazon does look rather expensive - but you do get a
>complete set of adapter leads. Be aware that the power supply - needed
>for 3.5" drives - can run pretty hot (well, mine do), and it's best to
>ensure that there is plenty of airflow around them.
>

I have never had any luck with a 3.5" enclosure that did not have a
fan in it. If you leave it running very long, it fries the drive.
They are OK if you just run a backup and unplug it but I still suspect
there may be some cumulative damage to the drive.
On the one I use for storage for my DVR, I used a hole saw to punch a
hole in the top and I mounted a fan. I drilled some holes in the sides
to let the air out. That one has been going OK for quite a while,

[Ian Jackson[_3_]]

In message >,
writes
>On Mon, 13 Mar 2017 19:53:38 +0000, Ian Jackson
> wrote:
>
>>In message >, Shadow
> writes
>>>On Mon, 13 Mar 2017 12:07:11 -0500, Mark Lloyd >
>>>wrote:
>>
>>
>>>>You don't need an enclosure for the 5 minutes or so it takes to copy a
>>>>file. You could use one of these:
>>>>
>>>>https://www.amazon.com/Drive-Cable-Adapter-Power-Random/dp/B01N4VUIOV/r
>>>>ef=sr_1_12
>>>
>>> Why buy something when all he needs is a Linux live system,
>>>like ubuntu 10 ?
>>
>>Well, those adapters come in extremely handy, and it's rather convenient
>>to have one 'about your person' for future use. I now have several.
>>
>>That one on Amazon does look rather expensive - but you do get a
>>complete set of adapter leads. Be aware that the power supply - needed
>>for 3.5" drives - can run pretty hot (well, mine do), and it's best to
>>ensure that there is plenty of airflow around them.
>>
>
>I have never had any luck with a 3.5" enclosure that did not have a
>fan in it. If you leave it running very long, it fries the drive.

That's why a non-enclosure adapter is probably a better idea than an
enclosure.

>They are OK if you just run a backup and unplug it but I still suspect
>there may be some cumulative damage to the drive.
>On the one I use for storage for my DVR, I used a hole saw to punch a
>hole in the top and I mounted a fan. I drilled some holes in the sides
>to let the air out. That one has been going OK for quite a while,

I always dangle the power supply in the air - and place a (say) 1"
square strip of wood between the hard drive and the surface it's lying
on.


--
Ian

[J. P. Gilliver (John)[_4_]]

In message >, Ian Jackson
> writes:
>In message >, Shadow
> writes
>>On Mon, 13 Mar 2017 12:07:11 -0500, Mark Lloyd >
>>wrote:
>
>
>>>You don't need an enclosure for the 5 minutes or so it takes to copy a
>>>file. You could use one of these:
>>>
>>>https://www.amazon.com/Drive-Cable-Adapter-Power-Random/dp/B01N4VUIOV/r
>>>ef=sr_1_12
>>
>> Why buy something when all he needs is a Linux live system,
>>like ubuntu 10 ?
>
>Well, those adapters come in extremely handy, and it's rather
>convenient to have one 'about your person' for future use. I now have
>several.

+1. I now have a "dock", a red-and-black thing you can plug drives into
([E]IDE or SATA; it also has lots of card slots), for convenience.
>
>That one on Amazon does look rather expensive - but you do get a

Yes, that was my reaction too! Last time I bought such (that was in the
days before SATA, but I've seen them since that included SATA for the
same price), it was five pounds, which came with the "cable" and a power
supply. (Which I don't remember ever getting hot, but then I've probably
never used it for long.)

Though I've seen - and bought - enclosures (including the electronics)
for less: the last one was two pounds something (I think I could have
found it for one something if direct from China but we needed it in a
hurry). [This was for a 2½" drive; for a 3½", might have been more.] For
just extracting a file, there'd probably be no need to actually put the
drive into the enclosure.

But yes, I'd assume anyone used to playing with PCs would have such an
adapter, dock, or enclosure handy, so it would be quicker (unless the
poorly PC had _very_ awkward mounting arrangements) than booting up a
Linux (or similar) system, especially if you had to download and burn it
first. (Of course, I realise a different sort of "anyone used to playing
with PCs" would probably have the Linux disc anyway.)

>complete set of adapter leads. Be aware that the power supply - needed
>for 3.5" drives - can run pretty hot (well, mine do), and it's best to
>ensure that there is plenty of airflow around them.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

Tact is the ability to describe others as they see themselves. -Abraham
Lincoln, 16th president of the U.S (1809-1865)

[Arnie Goetchius]

J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:
> In message >, Ian Jackson
> > writes:
>> In message >, Shadow >
>> writes
>>> On Mon, 13 Mar 2017 12:07:11 -0500, Mark Lloyd >
>>> wrote:
>>
>>
>>>> You don't need an enclosure for the 5 minutes or so it takes to copy a
>>>> file. You could use one of these:
>>>>
>>>> https://www.amazon.com/Drive-Cable-Adapter-Power-Random/dp/B01N4VUIOV/r
>>>> ef=sr_1_12
>>>
>>> Why buy something when all he needs is a Linux live system,
>>> like ubuntu 10 ?
>>
>> Well, those adapters come in extremely handy, and it's rather convenient to
>> have one 'about your person' for future use. I now have several.
>
> +1. I now have a "dock", a red-and-black thing you can plug drives into ([E]IDE
> or SATA; it also has lots of card slots), for convenience.
>>
>> That one on Amazon does look rather expensive - but you do get a
>
> Yes, that was my reaction too! Last time I bought such (that was in the days
> before SATA, but I've seen them since that included SATA for the same price), it
> was five pounds, which came with the "cable" and a power supply. (Which I don't
> remember ever getting hot, but then I've probably never used it for long.)
>
> Though I've seen - and bought - enclosures (including the electronics) for less:
> the last one was two pounds something (I think I could have found it for one
> something if direct from China but we needed it in a hurry). [This was for a 2½"
> drive; for a 3½", might have been more.] For just extracting a file, there'd
> probably be no need to actually put the drive into the enclosure.
>
> But yes, I'd assume anyone used to playing with PCs would have such an adapter,
> dock, or enclosure handy, so it would be quicker (unless the poorly PC had
> _very_ awkward mounting arrangements) than booting up a Linux (or similar)
> system, especially if you had to download and burn it first. (Of course, I
> realise a different sort of "anyone used to playing with PCs" would probably
> have the Linux disc anyway.)
>
>> complete set of adapter leads. Be aware that the power supply - needed for
>> 3.5" drives - can run pretty hot (well, mine do), and it's best to ensure that
>> there is plenty of airflow around them.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
I have that adapter and used it a number of times in different configurations.
Can't beat it for $25

[J. P. Gilliver (John)[_4_]]

In message >, Arnie Goetchius
> writes:
[]
>>>> On Mon, 13 Mar 2017 12:07:11 -0500, Mark Lloyd >
>>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>>> You don't need an enclosure for the 5 minutes or so it takes to copy a
>>>>> file. You could use one of these:
>>>>>
>>>>> https://www.amazon.com/Drive-Cable-Adapter-Power-Random/dp/B01N4VUIOV/r
>>>>> ef=sr_1_12
[]
>I have that adapter and used it a number of times in different configurations.
>Can't beat it for $25

Well, try http://ebay.eu/2mWZhmy - I _think_ it has all the same bits,
and if it is missing one of the cables the amount below $25 it is should
more than cover it ...
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

When I'm good, I'm very good. But when I'm bad - I'm better! (Mae West)

[Mike Easter]

Jonas Schneider wrote:
> I have an XP laptop that isn't worth fixing, that won't boot.
> It has two hard disk drives though (big Dell XPS gaming thing).
> It has my taxes on it from last year that I need to suck into Turbotax.
>
> All I want to do is pop in a spare hard drive and boot off that spare hard
> drive and then grab the tax records and put them onto USB flash stick.

Boot a live linux or windows environment from optical or USB.

Lotsa linuxes. Suchas Hirens for the live XP.

--
Mike Easter