[davidcrocker1982]

here is the background. sparing the exact details but refusing to rule out the prior consumption of alcohol i returned home one night a couple of months ago and fell onto my 15 inch powerbook g4. having treated it like a baby child it was in immaculate condition but a tiny crack in the space bar and the dreaded three beeps indicated to me that the logic board was probably cracked or damaged in some fatal way. (later confirmed at an indpendent mac retailer who tested the ram etc.) being totally out of warranty and without apple care i have been advised that repairing this unit is not worth the time money and effort and have since purchased a nice shiny new intel imac (which hopefully will be more difficult to fall on!)

So i'm massively out of pocket already.

I would really like all of the information that's stored on my old powerbook's hard drive. This i understand will probably cost between 150 and 250 pounds to have it transferred onto my new imac or put into a removable casing. I really don't want to have to pay this on top of the 1800 wasted when i fell on my powerbook and the 1200 i have had to shell out on the imac. it seems unfair. there must be a cheaper way of transferring this data, i am more than happy to try and do it myself if it can be done, no matter what the risks may be.

sorry this message rambles a bit.

can anyone help me?? anyone??

distressed, 23 London.

[Nai no Kami]

You could eventually borrow any IDE to USB interface and salvage your data. I bought an inexpensive case for notebook disks for under USD 25. If your PowerBook is bricked, you can take it appart carefully using this or this instructions. Or you can take it appart the hard way, trying not to cause damage to the HD of course.

Hope this helps.

Not so distressed, 31 Buenos Aires.

[ghporter]

Your thread title is horrible-it's just saying "Help Me." Our rules require that titles be informative and descriptive of the problem you're having.

And for what it's worth, Nai's idea is rock solid. If the PB is indeed destroyed, you shouldn't have any problem getting the drive out (though it may take some time to do the job). And then you just find an enclosure that you like (I've seen combination firewire/USB 2.0 enclosures for not much more than the ones Nai mentioned) and put the thing in. It's not brain surgery-it's more like using a VCR in mechanical difficulty. Really, if they ask £150 to put your drive in an enclosure, they're robbing you blind AND deaf.

[JKT]

FW enclosure kits at OtherWorldComputing -- scroll down to see the 2.5" kits. The cheapest is about £20 (which would be closer to £30 with shipping etc) for a dual Firewire 400/USB 2.0 kit.

[davidcrocker1982]

sorry about the title, didn't really realise what the guidelines are and will avoid it in future. seems like the shop were trying to rip me off. i just bought this Direct USB Store - HD605 - 2.5" HDD Enclosure - USB 2.0 - usb, devices, mp3, card readers, data backup, storage, memory sticks, flash, hard, drives with massive discounts
which is a 2.5" usb enclosure ans was only just over 10 pounds with p and p. quite cheap. Hopefully all will go well, many thanks for all the help!