Need to transfer files from Windows hard drive

[akrubin]

The motherboard on my Windows XP desktop fried last weekend, and I have had it. I made up my mind to buy an iBook to replace it. However, I really want to be able to transfer lots of files from my still working hard drive. The only problem is that I cannot boot up my PC to burn these files onto a CD.

It has been suggested to me that I purchase a IDE-to-USB cable, which seem reasonable enough for $30-$40. However, I have worries that the cable may not work if the hard drive is from a Windows machine and I want to connect it to a Mac. Does anyone have experience with this kind of operation? Will it work?

Do I have other options besides purchasing a cable? How can I extract a lot of files from this orphaned hard drive?

Thanks so much for your help!

[adambyte]

Well, you really don't need to worry about the format of the drive... the Mac can read Windows-formatted drives easily, whether they're USB flash drives, network volumes, or Hard Drives.

I have never heard of an IDE to USB cable... and just did some research on them. I have no idea if those would work. I've heard of people buying external FireWire and USB enclosures for drives, but not just a cable... I guess if the USB provides enough power to the drive, it should work fine.

[akrubin]

Actually, I believe the cable comes with a plug for the hard drive. USB carries some miniscule amount of power, like 2 watts.

[drmacintosh]

What you might consider doing is using a piece of software called Move2Mac by Detto Technologies (http://www.detto.com/move2mac/). Along with the software there comes a USB cable. 500MB in 15 minutes time is not bad since an IDE to USB cable will be way to slow. Check out the site, you will be pleasantly suprised.

[limike28]

What I would do is buy a USB enclosure for it. Then you can transfer your files off of it on to your new laptop and you can then reuse the drive for backup or extra storage.