If the subject drive is a laptop drive and the second computer is a desktop computer, you can purchase a hard drive enclosure for laptop drives with a USB connection. You can also purchase a laptop hard drive adapter to connect a laptop drive to an IDE cable. They are usually sold for under $20.

If a second computer is not available:

• Immediately shutdown the computer holding the lost data.
• Remove the subject drive to avoid accidental change during the next steps.
• Install a new hard drive. Install Windows® (Vista, XP, 2003 or 2000) and File Scavenger® on it.
• Reconnect the subject drive, now as a data drive. Do not let Windows® Scan Disk or Check Disk repair the drive when booting up the computer

Quick Procedure

Follow this procedure only if you cannot use the “Safe Procedures” discussed earlier in this chapter due to lack of resources or time. This procedure does not completely write-protect the subject drive and, therefore, may reduce the chance of a successful recovery. However, if you carefully follow the procedure, the reduction is minor.