Computer help (!!!!)

[Atlas Mugged]

Here's the problem:

My desktop computer has had a serious hardware crash. I still don't know what the problem is, but it's time to take it into a qualified professional to diagnose, and hopefully repair, it. Unfortunately, my hard drive has a lot of extremely sensitive and personal information on it. I do the databasing for a stock broker (my other half, actually) and the files have SocSec numbers, bank account information, extensive tax records and other private details that I don't want to hand over to someone I don't trust or know. Everything is backed up, so that's not a problem. I just don't want to take this computer in for repair and have this information available for abuse. So, is there any way I can remove the hard drive, attach it to my laptop, access it, and delete all those programs and files??? I want to leave the original hard drive in when I take it in for repairs, in the event that it will help in diagnosing the problem. I suspect that the issue has something to do with recent upgrades and BIOS tweaking, but I'm afraid I'll just make things worse than they already are if I cheney around with it any further. As for networking, my laptop has the hardware, but not the desktop, and even then, I'm not sure how to do it.

Thanks in advance for any help anyone might offer.

Also, thanks in advance for anyone who answers my questions without getting all cavalier on my sorry ass.

[SheepyMcSheepster]

1. it would be much easier to hook the hard drive to another desktop PC

what operating system are you running on this computer?

also, what does the computer do when you try to start it?
it may be fixable without taking it in.

[Atlas Mugged]

7. Both the laptop and desktop are WinXP

NOTHING happens when I start it up. My monitor does the usual check, says it's okay, and then a big fat nothing.

One of the upgrades was a new video card that Gateway (I know, I know...) swore was compatible with my system. Worked fine for a few days, and then I had a complete meltdown, to the point of where I can't even access BIOS anymore. Nothing at all. For the record, the new video card is Verto GeForce FX 5200 PCI. According to someone I spoke to this video card is a disaster with Celeron processors, which is what this computer has. This was after the fact, of course. I did all the installations myself, and normally have no problems. This is a first - and a biggie. For the record, I was fiddling with Uru when everything went haywire.

[SheepyMcSheepster]

10. do you see the bios screen?

if not i think your vid card is what is broken. if you just plain don't see anyting on the screen ever, it's probably your vid card.

does the computer beep irregularly when booting?

if you have the an extra vid card, i would try swapping it out and see what happens.

[TrogL]

2. Get the computer shop to sign a non-disclosure agreement

[notadmblnd]

3. It sounds like the problem is your hard drive

If you boot up to settings you can try to delete files from there. If you get nothing but disk errors, just destroy the old drive and pop in a new one. You can pick up a new disk drive for under a hundred bucks. When you have installed the new one (they'e not hard), and you attempt to bring it up, you should be prompted to reinstall your operating system (Windows?) and restore your files from backup after you've recovered your system.

on edit: if your hard drive is bad you will not be able to access it from your laptop anyway.

[democracyindanger]

4. Yes, but it's kind of a pain

To do exactly what you're talking about, you can buy an external drive kit with either a firewire or USB 2.0 connection. I think they go for about $50 at CompUSA. Take the drive out of your desktop, put it in the kit, attach the cables, and plug it into your laptop. Then you can delete all the files.

The easier way, as someone mentioned upthread, is to have the shop sign a non-disclosure agreement.

[Deja Q]

5. Just manually deleting files won't be enough, they could easily recover

them.

Get a nondisclosure agreement as had been said.

How did the computer 'crash'? Can it boot? Do you get any errors when booting? Could be the hard drive itself (which was also said) gone bad.

[trotsky]

6. They make drive enclosures

that allow you to connect an external hard drive to a laptop computer using the USB port. Here's an example:

http://www.insight.com/site/product/detail/index.cfm?item_number=IDECASE35U2&NugsTracking=Results_No_JS_Quick_Full_Specs

Only $50, not bad.

[Atlas Mugged]

8. But....

...shouldn't I be able to access BIOS even if my hard drive is corrupted?

[RC]

9. Yes, but

if your video card firmware is corrupt you may not be able to see the BIOS. You have a generic video card to try?