Data retrieval from dead laptop

[Roger H. Goun]

On Wed, Jun 18, 2003 at 02:12:09PM -0400, Ben wrote:
> On Wed, 18 Jun 2003, at 12:56pm, roger at bcah.com wrote:
> > Once I figure out how to get the hard drive out (I've removed every
> > screw in sight, but still can't get the clamshell apart)
> 
>   What brand and model?

A Sony VAIO Z505JS (PCG-5201).

> One common thing: On many laptops, you need to remove the keyboard to
> expose more screws.  The keyboard, in turn, is held in by tabs, latches,
> and/or screws.

I unlocked the battery and slid it off the back. Removed twelve small
screws from the bottom, flipped the unit over and opened the lid. The
keyboard lifts off and flips over onto the palm rest. It's held on
with a tiny ribbon cable and a piece of tape. There's a single screw
underneath where the keyboard goes that secures the palmrest portion
of the case to the motherboard. I removed it. The palmrest is now
completely disconnected in front, but something is still holding it on
in back, and I can't figure out what.

> > so I can verify that it's the standard 44-pin IDE interface
> 
>   Good idea, but they almost always are, in any laptop made in the last ten
> years.

I should have been more precise. I'm sure it's a 44-pin connector, but
the hard drive apparently has four more address jumper pins nearby,
separated from the usual 44 pins by a one column gap. I'm not going to
be convinced that it's mechanically possible to connect a vanilla
44-pin connector to this until I see it.

> > A 44-pin IDE to USB adapter would be more convenient, but seems to be a
> > lot more expensive.
> 
>   Yes.  The 44-pin IDE interface is just the regular 40-pin IDE interface,
> in a slightly smaller form factor, and with four new pins for power.  The
> adapters are typically just a PCB with two connectors soldered on to it.
> 
>   USB-to-IDE, on the other hand, will require a USB interface, an IDE
> interface, a micro-controller to do the conversion, likely some buffer
> memory, and maybe some other stuff, too.  That will raise the price
> significantly.  Still not a lot of money, but when you're talking about
> something you'll likely only use once, $5 vs $50 is significant.  :)
> 
>   For data recovery, I would prefer the plain IDE myself, anyway.  USB is
> often slower, sometimes harder to get working, and always hides certain
> aspects of the IDE drive.  For example, many OEMs provide utilities which
> can talk to their drives and run proprietary diagnostics; such things won't
> work with a USB adapter.

All good points. But the drive in an external enclosure with a USB
cable is potentially a lot more useful.

-- Roger