Good afternoon! I'm looking for advice please

[Marthe48]

I finally dismantled my broken laptop. It is a Dell Inspiron N5110. The hinge connecting the screen to the body was cracked, and I accidentally tipped it off a footrest and broke the hinge, got the blue screen of death. I took it to a shop before Covid-19 hit, and they sat on it for 3 months and did nothing. I brought it home, but I was overwhelmed with the idea of dismantling the lap top to get the hard drive removed. But after all this time, I did it. I didn't ruin any of the parts, but since it is so out of date, I don't think I'll try to put it back together, although I'm thinking of trying, just for the experience. I think that when I dropped it, it knocked the LCD cable loose, and it might have been an easy fix, had the computer shop bothered to open it and look.

My next step is to buy a hard drive docking station and that is what I'd like advice about. The hard drive is a Western Digital Scorpio Blue (?) HDD S/N 5400 RMP 640 GB WX91E61ARS18

I was looking at an all-in-one dock, and I see that they have a description like this:
2 IDE SATA 2.5" 3.5" HDD Hard Drive Disk Clone Docking Station Card Reader USA

I realize I'm not sure what I should actually order that would be usable with this hard drive. I was using this laptop up until I dropped it, and there pictures and other data I'd love to retrieve. I would be happy to get a device that would read that hard drive. If someone could advise me, I would be so grateful.

Thank you!

[4Q2u2]

1. I have an all in one

Docking station that works with 3 types of hard drives.
Works well and has allowed me to use old laptop hard drives for back ups and like a large flash drive.

They are fairly inexpensive also.

[Marthe48]

2. I've been looking at them

and I'm eager to get one, but I want to be sure this hard drive will fit in the dock. Is the 2.5"-3.5" length or width of the HD? (lol, sorry, I really need to learn the basics!)

[4Q2u2]

4. Pin Connectors

Is the key. How many.
I believe if you get the all in one, you should be good to go.

https://www.amazon.com/Converter-External-Universal-Function-Software/dp/B00EHDTRJ6/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=3V7UPOT7X8B9B&dchild=1&keywords=all+in+one+hard+drive+reader&qid=1616612119&sprefix=all+in+one+harddrive+reader%2Caps%2C407&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&smid=A1683W8HSNOXQZ&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzNjJSM1QwTkhHQTlCJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNjk2NzQzMTM0WEIxOVY5SzdIOSZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwMTE1OTg0U0hMQlBDQTBZODJXJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

That is the one i have.

[intrepidity]

5. Width

2.5" are laptop drives; 3.5" are typical PC/tower hard drives

[Hugh_Lebowski]

3. Laptops have 2.5" SATA drives (unless it's SUPER ancient like pre-2010 at least)

What you want is commonly called an HDD Enclosure, you just need one that supports a 2.5" SATA drive. There's TONS of them

Something like this:
https://www.amazon.com/Antec-External-Enclosure-Portable-Aluminum/dp/B08M45JPGM/

Since that's designed to plug into a computer with a USB-C port, if you don't have one on the computer you want to connect to, you might choose a different enclosure, or buy this one and a different cable, or use an adapter with the cable that comes with this drive.

A 'docking station' probably has stuff you don't need based on your description of what you want, but it's same idea.

[canetoad]

6. I'd go for the docking station

Rather than a dedicated enclosure.

A device like this on has saved many drives and computers over the years - just by the ability to plug in practically any hard drive and work on it on another computer.

[slightlv]

7. I'd like one of these... got one laptop and one desktop drive

I'd love to get the info off these drives. Can you give a URL for this docking station, or at least exactly what the name of it is, if you go to search for one at an electronics shop or amazon? Thanks!

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

8. I have one of these

https://www.newegg.com/wavlink-wl-st334u-dock/p/0VN-0069-00001?Item=9SIA6PF3NA0586

It works well as much as I've used it.

[canetoad]

10. I'm not in the US

So better to follow discntnt_irny_srcsm's links above.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

9. If you pretty much know it's for home use/minimal moving around ...

They are pretty nifty, I'll give ya that

[Marthe48]

11. Thanks for the help!

Thanks for the links and product info. I am more confident about what I want to get. I'll let you know how it works out

[eppur_se_muova]

12. You should probably be asking whether you want to keep that HDD, or just its contents ...

SSDs keep dropping in price; I have no HDDs left at this point, all SSDs. That HDD is going to fail sooner or later, best to consider other options.

If you just want to save the contents of one drive, a docking station is gross overkill. Better to buy a utilitarian adapter, transfer the contents, and stash the HDD in the closet, just in case. Keep in mind that if you use that HDD as a USB drive, transfers will be slower, and booting from that drive will be especially slower.

Consider something economical, like this: https://www.ebay.com/p/15027565287?iid=333878432138 (not endorsing that particular product, but that's the type of thing you need for a one-time transfer) and a new SSD.

[Marthe48]

15. I'd like the contents

I think I'm going to be adventurous and put the laptop back together after I get what I want off the hard drive. Since I saw that the LCD (screen) cable was pulled loose, I just want to see if I can put the thing back together. If I can and it powers up, good. If I get it back together and the screen lights up, even better.

I just ordered a cable like the one in the link you shared. I'll let you know how it goes.

Thanks for offering advice.

[Emrys]

17. If you haven't found it already,

Dell are very good for offering manuals for their laptops, including dismantling/reassembly and repair.

I've fixed various issues on Dells over the years.

Check it out here: https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-uk/product-support/product/inspiron-15r-n5110/docs

Spares for the older Dells are usually very cheap on eBay.

[Marthe48]

18. Thanks!

I am still working on transferring, had to set my work aside. I had company over the Easter weekend. Many loved ones got their first or 2nd dose this week, so we were all in touch being supportive. Luckily, all is well.

I'll save that link you sent. If I get the Dell back together, it'll take up les space than it does currently Amazing how much stuff they can get in a laptop case!

[Emrys]

19. Yes. It's not unusual to find a screw or two that's apparently "not needed" on reassembly!

Underneath the laptop, you should be able to find a Service Tag. If you enter that number in the box at https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-us?app=products&~ck=mn then it should show the original factory configuration for your laptop (important for some variant add-ons, but probably not for your problem).

You say the hinge has "cracked". This seems to be a common problem with your model (see here: https://www.dell.com/community/Laptops-General-Read-Only/N5110-bototm-base-right-side-hinge-broken/m-p/4199013 ). Repairing it depends on what component is broken.

At worst, it might mean replacing the laptop base (not an expensive component, but you'd basically need to disassemble and rebuild the whole laptop, which would be a bind and maybe more trouble than you're willing to go to).

If what's broken isn't an easily replaceable more minor component (the manual linked above should at least let you know what it's called!), some folks have come up with durable bodged repairs, e.g.: https://www.dell.com/community/Laptops-General-Read-Only/N5110-hinge-break-irreparable/td-p/4237364 See also https://www.dell.com/community/Laptops-General-Read-Only/N5110-bototm-base-right-side-hinge-broken/td-p/4199013/page/2 where one owner describes another bodge repair.

Others with similar problems have discussed them here (mainly moaning about it!): https://www.dell.com/community/Laptops-General-Read-Only/Inspiron-N5110-hinge-hinge-base-broken-identify-damaged-parts/td-p/4536357

[Marthe48]

20. I think I got the hinge repaired on this one

and the replacement cracked. Same hinge. We took it to a shop, a different shop, and it took him awhile, but he got it done. I have another Dell laptop, older, and that might have been the one we had the hinge repaired.

I don't really need the Dell I took apart, but I wanted the files and pictures really bad. Usually when I know I'm replacing a laptop, I get prepared. But this was a surprise.

While I took it apart, and this is the first time I tried anything like this, I thought that if I didn't repair or replace anything, I might be able to get it back together. That by itself would be an accomplishment

I am going to bookmark your comments. You have offered so much advice, and encouragement. I really appreciate that you took the time

[Emrys]

21. You're very welcome. n/t

[Betty88]

13. I use a cable like this one

https://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-SATA-USB-Cable-USB3S2SAT3CB/dp/B00HJZJI84/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=usb+hard+drive+adapter&qid=1616707512&s=electronics&sr=1-4

its just the USB on one end and HDD connections on the other works great

[Marthe48]

14. I like that too

Good price

Thanks!

[Marthe48]

16. I got the cable and it works!

I ended up getting just a cable with the hard drive plug on one end and USB on the other. It fit and I'm transferring data now. The hard drive doesn't seem to have been damaged when the laptop dropped on its corner onto carpet. I bet if the hinge hadn't been cracked, the laptop would have been fine. Just bad luck

Thank you all so very, very much for taking the time to help me. I am so grateful to be accessing this data.