computer hardware help/motherboard issue?

Discussion in 'Horn Depot' started by ballrific, Nov 13, 2009.

  1. ballrific

    ballrific 500+ Posts

    I have a Dell Dimension 9100 and the other day all the usb ports went out, the 2 in the front and the 4 in the back, none work. So I obviously can't use the keyboard or mouse. I don't have a S/2 connection, so that's out the window.

    I cracked open the box and reset the BIOS, still nothing. So Im guessing the motherboard is fried and it would be dumb to pay to replace it for this old of a machine.

    Question is, how do I access the old hard drive. Should I just buy a new PC and insert it in there as a 2nd hard drive/slave? Or a friend told me Frys sells some kind of case where you can turn a hard drive into an external hard drive.

    Any ideas? I didn't have the hard drive fully backed up, so I need to get some data off of it asap.
     
  2. MilkmanDan

    MilkmanDan 1,000+ Posts

    Either running the drive as a secondary in a new computer or purchasing an enclosure at Fry's are good plans. The external enclosure will let you allow you to access it from any computer.
     
  3. CottonEyedHorn

    CottonEyedHorn 1,000+ Posts

    Get a multi-port USB card, like this one, and put it in an available slot in your board. They are dirt cheap.

    [​IMG]
     
  4. ballrific

    ballrific 500+ Posts

    would the multi-port usb card fix anything if my motherboard is ******?
     
  5. Stuck_At_Work

    Stuck_At_Work 1,000+ Posts

    Those external HDD enclosures are dirt cheap - like 15 bucks.
     
  6. MilkmanDan

    MilkmanDan 1,000+ Posts


     
  7. CottonEyedHorn

    CottonEyedHorn 1,000+ Posts

    Good points if the keyboard/mouse won't work. Maybe default drivers would kick in? dunno.
     

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