WWonka, there is an external laptop hard drive adaptor that you can buy. It is a USB 2.0 connection and is very easy to use. Just plug your hard drive into the device, then plug the usb cable in, and the drive just shows up in My Computer or Explorer. I use it a lot to recover data for my customers (believe it or else, 2 of them with the exact situation as yours).

I recommend Toshiba's Satellite Series of laptops. I have owned 3 now and won't ever go with any other. I feel they are every bit as high quality as Dell or Compaq and can be quite a bit less expensive compared with the exact hardware in other brands.


Let me know if you need more help.

Tony