Retrieving Files / Photos From Very Old Hard Drives

Hi to all,
First , love this site for all the GO TO Help Provided !!! :major
Me,, Just A Newbie ,, With a Friend's Help , I have been building PC's Since the '80's ..

I have Several Very Old Hard Drives with photo's , Personal Info , Family info ...
I found my box of " Hard-Drives " While doing my fall cleaning/ Moving Day,
I want to remove these files to destroy/ Scrap these old drives .

(( In the past , When I would upgrade/ build a " New PC " , I would PULL_OUT the " HD's " - Store Them , - Install A New " HD " and the " OS " , Then either sell, give to family or donate to a charity . )) ...

My Query is , What program (or ) How -To , ( Step-By- Step ) Can I Retrieve This Info ??? ( The Password's ? , All Disc's , All Floppy's ,,,, Gone ) !! :cry

I Have A " Window's XP / OS " PC Still Running , Can I Use This ???
Or Do I Need To Bring Back From the Dead A " Win 95 /98 " PC Machine ?

Any Ideas ?? Or Am I """ OUT "" OF "" LUCK "" ??????????????? :banghead :banghead :banghead
(The Portable Drill and Fire Barrel Are waiting for the " Hard Drive Roasting ").

Thank for your time !!
Later,
Mark K.
High Point , N. C. USA

 

Are these IDE HDDs?

 

Eldon is on the right track, look at the pins on the HDD, determine what interface it has.
Buy ($20 - 30) an interface.

http://www.amazon.com/Unitek-Conver...ns&keywords=sata+ide+hard+drive+adapter&psc=1
is the one I use.

 

Hi To All,
Thanks for the reply ..
Yes , Most of the Hard-Drive's Are IDE Connections .
A few of them Are SCUZZI and SCUZZI _ II Drives . ( Memory Foggy )) .
For the "IDE Drives " , I was Thinking of using my " WIN - XP " PC computer ,
Setting The Drive pin's to " Slave Mode " and Try That.
I do have an old IDE Raid Card/ PCIe Slot And a SCUZZI Raid Card ( I think they still Work ? ) ....
My " WIN_XP _ PC Is ; a ASUS Striker Extreme Main Board ,, CPU_ Intel -Core 2 @ 2.13ghz , 8 Gigs Corsair memory , (x2) Western Digital / WD-Raptor-X 150 Gb /SATA HD's , A NIVIDA/ BFG 7900GTX Graphics Card . Sound Blaster Card , a " LG " - DVD _ rw /CD/rw Disc Drive ( It has A IDE Connector ) ..

I Came Here First , To ask , Before I Burn Down the House ,,,, ( Yes ,, I Have
Let The " Black And BLUE Smoke Out .... ) :cry ............

I Have ( Some Where ??? ) A " A-Bit " Dual (twin 386 CPU's ) PC Server/ File Storage Box , Maybe This is the way to go ???

I Was Thinking That Maybe I Could Transfer/ dump the Files from the old Drives ( Making a File Name For that drive ) To A Very Large New HD Or to
Dvd/RW/ Cd Disc's ....

again , Thanks for your Time ,
Later,
Mark K.
High Point , N.C. USA

 

Hi to All ,
( Brain Fart ) !!!
What I'm Up to is Getting Ready For An UpGrade / build To Handle " WINDOWS 10 Pro "
I like playing PC Games , Flight Sims , A little CAD / PhotoShop Drawings Play ( NOT Work !)
So ,, This is where I am at .
Thanks Again..
Later,
Mark K.
High Point, N.C. USA

 

A simple IDE to USB adaptor will do the trick.