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1 Rookie

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5 Posts

668

March 30th, 2023 06:00

dead dell desktop

dead dell desktop, it has died on my for the last time, all I want is to retrieve the pictures but there is no recognisable hard drive in there ?. no Seagate or similar, there is however a plug in 8gb1rx8 board, does this contain the pictures and if so, how can I transfer these pics to my new computer, which incidentally does not have a plug in facility for this board, please help

4 Operator

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1.8K Posts

April 1st, 2023 07:00


@odbob wrote:

I was just hoping that there was some way of retrieving my pictures from this totally dead machine


Yes, you can retrieve your pictures and other personal files. 

  1. Buy an external USB drive interface or drive enclosure that is made to connect to the type of drive that you have (M.2 SSD; 2.5" SSD; etc.). If you're uncertain, get a PC-knowledgeable friend to help you identify the type of drive.
  2. Remove the drive from your computer, by following the procedure in the Service Manual
  3. Connect the drive to the USB drive interface.
  4. Plug the drive interface's USB connector into a working computer.
  5. Using Windows File Explorer, browse through the drive's directory structure to find your pictures and other files that you want to save.
  6. Copy/drag those files to the working PC's drive or to an external USB drive or flash drive.

After you have saved your files, you can reinstall the drive in your PC and follow advice from others in this thread to see if you can get your PC working.

Whenever touching components or working inside a computer, wear a grounded wrist strap, also called anti-static wrist strap, ESD wrist strap, or ground bracelet. It's a cheap and sensible precaution. Rest the laptop on an anti-static mat or at least a reasonable alternative such as corrugated cardboard.

9 Legend

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8.1K Posts

April 2nd, 2023 01:00

Hello, if you can't see any hard drive, very likely that your computer has a solid state drive.  That is also the storage where your pictures are held.  The solid state drive has a rectangle shape, about the size of a chewing gum, sometimes shorter.  The picture below may help with the location and how to remove it.

 

xps 8940 ssd removal.jpg

 

After removal from computer, it can be place in a USB enclosure such of this one and it will turn into a flash drive whereas you can plug into a working desktop or laptop for data retrieval.  

To search for your data (pictures), use this path:  Local Disk (X)/Users/MachineName/ and you will find all your folders there, including Pictures.

Good luck,

9 Legend

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12.6K Posts

March 30th, 2023 09:00

The "board " you refer to is the RAM module and no, the pictures are not stored on there. In order to confirm HDD/SDD availability we would need the exact model number. There were some very basic budget models with a drive soldered to the MB but again you have to post the model number for any help.

10 Elder

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45.2K Posts

March 30th, 2023 11:00

In addition to what @JOcean asked, also tell us:

  1. Version of Windows?
  2. When was the time you replaced the motherboard battery?
  3. What color Is PC's power button and steady or blinking? If blinking, count them, to get the error code.

1 Rookie

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5 Posts

March 31st, 2023 04:00

hi, thank you, the numbers I have are : , hope that identifies the computer

10 Elder

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45.2K Posts

March 31st, 2023 11:00

@odbob You shouldn't post your private info in an open forum like this.

Your PC is an XPS 8940 with a 256 GB Toshiba SSD, i5-10400 CPU, 1x8 GB RAM, and NVidia 1650 GPU, Win 10.

Now answer the other questions...

  1. Are you still using Win 10 or did you update to Win 11?
  2. What color is the power button, and steady or blinking?
  3. Exactly what error message are you seeing?
  4. Reboot and tap F2 to open BIOS setup. Is Windows Boot Manager first in the boot sequence?

1 Rookie

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5 Posts

April 1st, 2023 00:00

thank you for the info re privacy, but as I said, the desktop is completely dead, no chance of revival, it was windows 10, I was just hoping that there was some way of retrieving my pictures from this totally dead machine

10 Elder

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45.2K Posts

April 1st, 2023 12:00

@odbob  "Completely dead" sounds odd.

If the PSU LED on back of PC doesn't even turn on when you press the PC's button, that might suggest:

  1. Power cord disconnected or failed 
  2. Power strip and/or surge protector (if used) disconnected or failed
  3. PSU failed. Run BIST test for "How to run self-test without the button on the PSU"

If PC passes the BIST test, that could suggest a problem with the PC's power button module.

PSU and power button module are both replaceable components, assuming you'd want to fix this PC rather than just recovering files from the drive.

FWIW, this PC has a Toshiba 256-GB M.2 NVME SSD.

1 Rookie

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5 Posts

April 2nd, 2023 00:00

thank you but I know how to deal with Sata hard drives, it's just that this desktop does not have a recognisable drive in it, my original question, where are the pictures held in this machine

1 Rookie

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5 Posts

April 2nd, 2023 04:00

thank you so much, very helpful and now sorted, best regards Robert

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