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General discussion

Moving files from laptop (no OS)

by elias723 Jun 27, 2007 10:59AM PDT

The operating system on my laptop will no longer boot and I have a backup I would like to restore my OS files (but not others) from. I have a Mac desktop and an ethernet cable, and would prefer not to have to buy any adapters or enclosures for my stranded HDD. I also do not want to wipe the disc, as there are various new files that I do not want deleted or overwritten.

Is it possible to connect the laptop (no OS) to the desktop with an ethernet cable and modify files? I would really like the HDD on the laptop to pop up as a slave or second disc on the Mac. How could I do this?

Discussion is locked

2 Posts

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other option...

by elias723 Jun 27, 2007 11:11AM PDT

Another possible option? If I download a liveCD from the web does anyone know of one that does Ethernet and would be able to modify files on the hard drive without permissions fiddling?

Thanks again!

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by jackson dougless Jun 27, 2007 11:21AM PDT

There's no way to do what you want without buying some kind of device. An enclosure would be the fastest and easiest way to go.

If the laptop were also a Mac... You could probably do what you want if you had a Firewire cable. Not sure if it works via USB or not, and I'm pretty sure it doesn't work via ethernet. Otherwise, you need an enclosure or to slap the disk inside the Mac.

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