Save files from a homeless HDD with different OS installed on.

[BSulyok]

Few days ago my PC died with some important files on my HDD I urgently need (for an assignment already overdue!!). Now I couldn't test my HDD for potential malfunctioning but I'm positive it was my mobo and that's not the matter of discussion here.

It was a middle-end custom-built gaming PC (AMD CPU, dedicated GPU, Win 10).
I have another PC up and running with decent hardware (Intel CPU, integrated GPU, Win 7).

If I were to hook my HDD up with this other PC can I save my files on a flash drive succesfully?
If so, how do I go about it?
Temporarily replace the HDD in this second machine or just add mine as a secondary disk?



Posting in software section because I suspect there could be a problem with either the Operating System or the GPU Drivers.

 

[Alabalcho]

Option 1: If that "other PC" is a desktop, just connect your HDD as a second drive there.
Option 2: Get external USB hard drive enclosure (like $20), put your HDD inside, and connect it over USB to that other PC.

 

[Solandri]

Both Win 7 and Win 10 use NTFS as their filesystem, so your Win 7 PC should have no problem reading the Win 10 disk.* Just pop the Win 10 disk into the Win 7 PC as Alabalcho instructed (make sure the original disk is set to be the boot disk). You will not be able to run any programs on the Win 10 disk, but you should be able to read and copy any files. You might need to "take ownership" of your folder before you can read the files.

* The exception would be if you encrypted the drive or part of the filesystem using bitlocker or a similar program. In that case you need the emergency key which Windows told you to create and save on a floppy or USB stick because it was very important, but you probably didn't create because nobody ever does (I lost my 2002-2004 tax returns this way). Without that key, your files are as good as deleted unless you've got access to a couple tens of thousands of years of supercomputer time.

 

[BSulyok]

Thank you for your answers. Everything worked out safe and sound: I hooked my HDD as secondary boot device. During the boot process the computer checked in my HDD and it appeared as secondary disk (D. I could save my piece of work on a flash drive and complete it safely.