Switched on the PC yesturday and Smoke started coming out of the back
Then I herd a Pop and the rest is history.
Looks like the power supply kicked the bucket big style..
the comp was out the Ark any who and I think it was letting me know it was time to change..
I have brought a new Base unit which I am still setting up..

Thing is Im a bit worried that It may have fried my old Hard drive..
and I haven't done a back up in a few months
What are the chances this has survived?

Even the mouse stinks like TCP and dont work on the new PC...

 

My power supply went pop last month. 23 quid later and it was all up and running again.
Nothing lost on the harddisc or any other problems

 

There is a good chance your hard drive is gonna be ok. It's your motherboard to be concerned about

 

What would be the best way of getting my files from my old hard disc to my new one?

 

If you connect the old Hard-drive as a slave on the new PC, you should be able to import what you want onto the new drive. Even if the old HDD is FAT32 (Win98 default) you will be able to transfer across, as XP will recognise this file system.
When you have transferred everything you want, use FDisk to wipe the rest, including the O/S ... and set the drive up as a new NTFS partition (if youre using W2000/XP) and format within Windows (Drive properties/tools)
Quite easy, really.

 

Al Bags Cheers pal. I did think of that but when I checked inside the new pc it has a 250 GB hard disk but theres no slave output on the harnes. Can I use one from my old pc or is this to risky?

 

Say your HDD would be ok. Those PSU's have a tendancy to pop.
In regards to data. Install your old HDD as a slave device and you can access it as yu would a CD.
Keep it in their for backup puposes too.

 

You can see if it is a SATA connection cable (small flat data cable 10mm wide)
or IDE ribbon .. (the popular type)

I've never seen a IDE ribbon with only one HDD connection .. I think some old stuff had them ... If it is this type, you could swap the ribbon for one with a slave connector.

SATA Motherboards often have an IDE connector ... check the board ... or tell me the name if you can see it!
If it IS a SATA only Mobo, the quickest way around is probably to connect as Slave to another puter (a mates?) then drag the files off onto a Pen Drive and transfer that way. I use a 512Mb pen, pretty quick (USB2) too.

Hope that helps!

 

It's a wide ribbon, not sure what mobo is. Got it 3 days ago brand new packard bell.can i use one of the ribbons from my old pc? as I used to run master and slave on that. sounds to me from what your saying, if it fits it will work??
Cheers You are a helpfull chap tonight..

 

It's a 250 GB hard disk and it uses 6GB as a back up theres no slave on the harnes plugs directly into the mobo.

 

SATA .... PIC (Just for Info, then! )



The spec of the old cable may not be correct (without getting into technical stuff too much)

A local PC shop should let you have .. or you can buy a new one for a few quid.
There are usually two lengths (make sure it's gonna be long enough!)
Dont connect running ; ) use a spare power cable from Power supply. This will easily support an extra HDD.

FDisk from a boot up disc if poss (floppy) after you have (hopefully) "seen" the drive and got your files. Make certain you then Wipe/format the correct drive .. NOT the one you are on!!! Once the HDD drive is partitioned as you want it (eg 1 partition, maximum) boot up normally, and format within Windows.
If you need a guide on FDisk, I'll email it you .. It has screenshots of most stages)

Now .. off to make some CD's for a couple of girls at work ; ))

 

On the hard drive, inbetween the power connector, and the ide cable there will be a set of pins, which should have a small bit of plastic on them, usually covering 2 of the pins either horizontally or vertically. There should be a referance on the drive for Master and Slave settings, correspondant to what pins are covered by the bit of plastic.

Now, I would install your old hard drive as a slave, and just copy your stuff across in windows.

 

ooo i had a simular problem when i pushed the selector for power rating next to the power supply in college a while back. wondered what it did, so i pushed it down and pop, game over and a nice smell to the room.

 

All done used one of my old ribbons,set to slave coppied all stuff over and then reformated, now time to stick it on ebay and see what I get for it.
Cheers for all your comments