Getting Windows Data Back ... With an old Macbook!

MacBook (early 2008)

I recently had an interesting experience with a friend's Windows laptop. It just crashed and he couldn't get it to boot! His company's Systems people tried everything they could but, short of reinstalling Windows, there appeared to be no other solution.

In desperation, he asked me whether I had any ideas (I used to be considered the Tech person around until I decided to freelance recently.) He wasn't worried about reinstalling Windows and other program files, as he had all installation disks. He was most concerned, though, about losing his important data -- accumulated over many years of hard work.

I told him I'd try.

So, off to the tech-shops nearby I went and bought an external HDD dock. I then removed the Windows hard drive, stuck it in the dock and then ... yes, you guessed it ... I plugged the dock (with the Windows HDD in it) into my old trusted MacBook (early 2008.) It read everything like a dream.

After that, it was just a matter of patiently copying his data files folder-by-folder to another external drive, reinstalling Windows and all other programs, drivers, Windows updates and so on and his laptop was as if brand new. His data (every single file of it) was intact and copied back to the relevant folders on his "new" Windows laptop and he was up and running again!

Needless to say, the Systems people at his company -- although they did try every possible Windows solution and even one (I understand) Linux option -- had not tried a good old Mac.

Time taken ... half a working day.
And that's why I will never get rid of my old, early 2008 MacBook. It just works!