Of all the components of a computer, the motherboard is the most crucial. The motherboard controls interfacing with every other part of the computer. You may think that if the motherboard dies, the computer is a total loss. However, in the majority of cases, that is not true. Think of a computer as a car, with the motherboard as the engine. If the engine dies, it can be replaced or the remaining parts can be removed and installed in other cars. The same goes for most parts connected to a motherboard. Just because the board fails, it doesn't necessarily mean that the cards, RAM and hard drives cannot be salvaged. If you have files on an old computer with a fried motherboard, those files can often be recovered by removing the hard drive. You can even access the files without having to install the hard drive in your new computer by using a IDE/SATA to USB adapter cable, which will let you plug the drive into a USB port on your new computer.
Instructions
1. Disconnect all power from the computer with the fried motherboard. This includes the battery if it is a laptop computer.
2. Remove the hard drive. The process varies depending on the type of computer you are using. Refer to the user manual for your specific computer to find the proper process for installing/removing the hard drive.
3. Connect the IDE/SATA to USB adapter cable to the interface port on the back of the hard drive. For 3.5-inch hard drives, connect the power cable included with the adapter to the power port in the back of the hard drive.
4. Plug the USB cable into an open USB slot on your current computer. Your computer will recognize the hard drive as a mass storage device and assign it a drive letter designation.
5. Open your computer's file manager and double-click on the new drive letter designation. This will open a window that shows all files on the removed hard drive. Select the files you wish to transfer and copy them to your current computer.
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