A bad motherboard can stop your computer from working.
Everything inside your computer is connected to your motherboard in some type of way. If your motherboard fails and you are unable to start your computer, then all of your documents, files and other stuff are inaccessible to you. You can buy a new computer or buy a replacement motherboard, but in the mean time you can get your stuff off the computer by taking the hard drive out and connecting it to another computer.
Instructions
1. Open the computer case by removing both side doors. The doors are usually screwed into the back of the computer case with Phillips screws.
2. Locate the hard drive at the front of the computer. Disconnect the power and data cable. Unscrew the drive from the case on both sides of the drive. Lift the hard drive out.
3. Find a similar computer of about the same age. It must have a DVD or optical drive installed. Open this computer case on just the side where the hardware can be easily accessed.
4. Disconnect the DVD or other optical drive's power and data cable. Connect the hard drive from the first computer using the power and data cables from the optical drive.
5. Restart the computer. In Windows Explorer you should see both hard drives. Copy all of the data and files off of the original hard drive and onto the second computer's hard drive. Shut down the computer and disconnect the hard drive and reconnect the optical drive.
Tags: hard drive, optical drive, computer case, power data, your computer, data cable