laptop drive died, recover files

I've got a laptop, and the hard drive is pretty much dead. It makes a not-so-pleasant clicking noise, and won't boot to WIN2K. OK, that part is no big deal, I can get Dell to drop ship a new HD and reload the software.

However, there are some files on it I'd like to recover. The disk is not NTFS, so I can access the files with just a plain old dos boot disk. I've booted into it, and can browse the C drive, and get to the directory I need. I've tried copying some of the files to floppy, but it hasn't really worked out. It says it copies, but then there is nothing on the A drive.

Any ideas how I might get at the info (without biting the bullet and taking it to a pro shop)? Any easy ways to make a network boot disk, to try copying files that way? Am I a lost cause here?

:)

Thanks.

Hi you could get an adapter to connect your laptop drive in a regular desktop. Here's a link for what they are priced and what they look like.

http://www.cablesforless.com/browsep...e-Adapter.html

OK, that's a pretty cool device. I might give that a try. But, other suggestions are certainly welcome...

If your lapper is networked to your desktop you can copy the files over that way too. A cable such as parallel and I believe USB cable, would work also, albit would be very slow.

Ironically, a co-worker came in today and overheard me talking about this. He reached into his desk and handed me the very device you were linking to earlier! So, I'll try my luck with that.

Thanks again.

Good deal!! Just remember to set you lapper drive to slave and you should be good to go.