Ideas for a Cheap Desktop?

[easysurfer]

I got the off lease computer delivered today:

Works fine, Came loaded with XP Pro, 1 Gig RAM, 80- Gig hard drive and a new keyboard and mouse. For $140 inc. shipping, I'm very happy. I put a monitor on it and updated all the software so MIL can set about using it right away.

MIL wants to know if I can recover some stuff on her old hard drive, which of course was not backed up. Can one get a pigtail to allow an internal hard drive to be plugged into a USB port on a second computer?

Since you mentioned that your MIL's old computer no longer powers up, if you are comfortable with opening up the case and removing the old hard drive you can get something like this:

Sabrent USB 2.0 to IDE Cable for 2.5-Inch / 3.5-Inch / 5.25-Inch Drive with Power Adapter at TigerDirect.com

which would treat her hard drive like an external hard drive and recover the data that way.

 

[travelover]

Since you mentioned that your MIL's old computer no longer powers up, if you are comfortable with opening up the case and removing the old hard drive you can get something like this:

Sabrent USB 2.0 to IDE Cable for 2.5-Inch / 3.5-Inch / 5.25-Inch Drive with Power Adapter at TigerDirect.com

which would treat her hard drive like an external hard drive and recover the data that way.

Excellent - that's exactly what I was thinking of. Shoulda bought it with the computer and I'd have saved the shipping fee.

 

[skyline]

If you're not doing anything that is either CPU or 3-D graphics intensive, a nettop works great. It's cheap, about $300 or so (or you can build one for about $200 if you're PC literate), and usually tiny and unobtrusive. Plus, it uses next to no electricity compared to a traditional PC.

Take a look at a typical model at 'egg:

Newegg.com - ASUS Eee Box EBXB202-WHT-X0081 Intel Atom N270(1.60GHz) 1GB DDR2 160GB Intel GMA 950 Windows XP Home - Desktop PCs

Or search your favorite shopping site for 'nettop' or 'atom'

 

[target2019]

Excellent - that's exactly what I was thinking of. Shoulda bought it with the computer and I'd have saved the shipping fee.

I prefer something that has a case. You can mount the HD in it, and attach when you like.
3.5 external drive enclosure, 3.5 hard drive enclosure, 3.5 external hard drive enclosure, 3.5 inch drive enclosure at TigerDirect.com