transfering files to a new hard drive

[rwalton31]

i installed a new ssd  and did a clean install. now i'd like to get some files off the old hard drive. the problem i'm having is hooking the old hard drive to the computer using a sata to usb adapter,the computer doesn't even show the old hard drive after i plug it in. i tried turning it off,then plugging in the usb adapter in but the display just says no signal. i had to manually turn it off,un plug the adapter then restart the computer. it started up normally. its like the pc doesn't recognize the adapter. my mother board only has a single sata hook up or i would use that method. can you buy a splitter or is there a hookup on the mother board for another cable?             HELP

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi:

If the hard drive you removed is a standard 3.5" desktop hard drive, is the the adapter you bought powered?

You need a powered hard drive enclosure to read a desktop hard drive--IDE or SATA.

A simple SATA to USB cable only works on notebook (2.5") hard drives.

[rwalton31]

No, I bought it on amazon. Its just a Sata plug on one end to a USB plug. The book says the adapter requires no external power supply, as it is capable of recieving power from the USB Bus to which it is connected.I also got a microphone that i plugged in and it didn't read that, but i plugged my camera in and tho a window didn't pop up to ask me what I wanted to do, it showed in this pc.

[Paul_Tikkanen]

The only drives it can read without power are the notebook drives the size of the SSD you bought.

I have both, and the enclosure to read 3.5" hard drives has its own power source that you have to plug in to a wall outlet.

Guaranteed that is why it is not working.

Don't you have a portable hard drive you can transfer the files to by putting the original hard drive back in the PC?

It'll take you a couple of minutes to do that if you do.

[rwalton31]

No I don't. Will a thumbdrive work after iI put the old hard drive back in? These are 2 programs I downloaded that I paid for.

[Paul_Tikkanen · Accepted solution]

That would all depend on how big the program installation files are, and how big your thumb drive is.

If you have an 8 GB or larger thumb drive, you should be OK.

Do them one at a time if you have to.

An entire Windows installation file is less than 4 GB in size, for example.