Accessing an Old Laptop w/Dead Screen

My friend has a 'new' refurb XP Pro laptop and an old Vista Home Pro laptop with a dead screen. She wants to transfer files from old to new machine. I read I need a 'crossover' Ethernet cable, but AFAICS this requires the old screen to be working, and to fire up the transfer wizards on both machines. My best vague notion is to buy a cheap monitor to connect to the old machine via USB. Would this work? Or are there any better (and cheaper) solutions out there? (We're both low-income pensioners. VERY low-income <g>)

 

Take the hard drive from the laptop and connect a USB adapter to it and transfer the files. Or, connect it internally to another computer.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812232002

 

Many thanks for the answer, tgell. I'll see if I can find an online video on how to open the old Tosh, to see what tool(s) I'll need.

 

This site has a lot of Toshiba guides. http://www.irisvista.com/tech/ Look for a similar model number. You may not have to do all the steps you just want to find a picture that shows the location of the HD and figure out the easiest way to get to it.