Help. Computer help needed.

[ConstanceWorry]

My work laptop died. I have removed the hard drive and can connect it to another laptop via SATA/USB. It comes up as F:local in windows explorer. But when I click on it it's just continually loading and no files come up. Should I leave it for hours?

I need the files on it.

Help😩

How, exactly, did the work laptop 'die'?

A dead boot disk is a perfectly good explanation for a dead laptop, and putting a dead disk drive into a different PC is not going to bring it back to life.

The hard drive is working and powers up. That was not the issue.

Do you not have an IT department/person who can look at it for you?

Ok, can you right-click on the Drive in Windows, select 'Properties', and check the drive is showing the existence of some files/signs of being used previously. Assuming it does, go to 'View' and check 'Hidden Items' is flagged.

If that doesn't solve it, it's possible the other laptop, if it's an old machine that isn't used, doesn't have the necessary drivers on board to run the drive. This is unlikely, but it is possible.

Other than that, you need to start thinking about running some basic commands to check the integrity of the Disk itself, because it's possible when the original laptop kicked the bucket it has corrupted or damaged the contents of the drive.