Is it safe to disconnect the HDD cables? (h8-1360t)

r5h76jjk5 · 4 Weeks Ago

We have an HP Pavilion HPE h8-1360t computer with Windows 7 Home Premium on it.

Just asking, but is it safe to disconnect the HDD cables?

Here is an image of the hard drive and the cables:

Is it safe to disconnect the HDD cables? (h8-1360t)-20240326_203106-edit.jpg

I want to take the drive out of the machine and use a USB to SATA cable so I can view the contents of the drive on my Windows 10 (custom built) machine. The hard drive of the HP machine is dated from 2012.

The reason why I want view the contents of the drive on another machine is because the HP computer once unexpectedly got the Blue Screen of Death while it was running. It then restarted, went to a disk checking screen (no errors), and booted into the OS normally. Fortunately, no contents of the drive were wiped.

I am leaving the HP machine turned off so it doesn't get the BSoD again and possibly cause actual damage to the contents of the hard drive.

Should I either disconnect the cables from the HDD so I can view the contents of the drive on the other machine, or would I have to turn on the HP machine and view some contents of the drive before the machine gets the BSoD?

Any help would be appreciated.

SIW2 · 4 Weeks Ago

Just asking, but is it safe to disconnect the HDD cables?

Of course you can.

Make sure the machine is off.

r5h76jjk5 · 4 Weeks Ago

Thank you for the reply. I was just wondering if it was safe, because the data cable on the HDD seemed tough to unplug, as if was glued to the drive. I then found out that there was a push button on the connector end of the cable, so I got the cable unplugged now.

I'll let you know when I find an adapter cable for the drive and/or a right angle screwdriver and get the drive hooked up to my Windows 10 machine.

Edit: We might have to order either of those items from eBay and/or Amazon.

Edit 2: Sorry about that, the push button was on the power cable, not the data cable. My mistake.

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Edit 3: I found the SATA to USB adapter, a right angle ratcheting screwdriver, and a screwdriver bit for the hard drive screws. No need to order anything from eBay and/or Amazon. I will begin taking out the hard drive from the HP computer and use the SATA to USB adapter to connect the drive to my Windows 10 computer.

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Edit 4: Sorry about all of the edits, but here are the steps that I did:

1. Took the drive out of the HP PC (The cables were not plugged into it)
2. Connected the drive to the USB to SATA adapter (The USB port of the adapter was not connected to the Win 10 machine)
3. Drive did not spool up when it was connected to the adapter
4. Unplugged drive from adapter
6. Reconnect the drive to the cables of the HP PC
7. Powered on the PC
8. Started to use a flash drive to transfer the data from the HP PC to the Win 10 PC
9. Put the drive back in the PC

The drive did not work with the adapter, but it did work when I reconnected it the the HP machine. No data was lost.

I will just continue to transfer data from the HP PC to the Win 10 machine using the flash drive.

Moderators, could you delete this thread? It turned into a log of me unplugging the HDD, finding a screwdriver and taking the drive out of the PC. Thank you.

SIW2 · 4 Weeks Ago

Is it a powered adapter?

r5h76jjk5 · 4 Weeks Ago

Yeah, it is a powered adapter.