Getting data off an old 5.25 HDD

[mikees]

I have an old drive from the inlaws 'puter that I need to get some stuff off. I assumed I'd just buy an external caddy like I would for a 3.5 and be away but it seems harder than that ! Cant seem to find mnay and the one or two that I have seem very expensive.

Any ideas? Could buy old PC off gumtree but that seems like overkill!

Mike

[Smoggy XJR]

If you're anywhere near Leighton Buzzard I've got one you can borrow.

Tim

[TonyRPH]

If it's an old MFM drive, then you will need a controller card.

However - it could also have a different interface (RLL springs to mind but it's been a long time since I had a PC with a 5.25" drive).

The other problem you face, is that any controller cards are likely to be ISA bus (I don't think any MFM controller cards were made for PCI bus) so then you would need a vintage PC.

EDIT: Is it one of these?

[essayer]

Something like this will work if it’s IDE
https://www.amazon.co.uk/SATA-Hard-Disk-Cable-Conv...
Just run it outside the case

[mikees]

Sorted - they still have the PC - i'll stick it back in and do that. They had to look for it in the shed..................I may return

Cheers all

Mike

[Mr Pointy]

essayer said:

Something like this will work if it’s IDE
https://www.amazon.co.uk/SATA-Hard-Disk-Cable-Conv...
Just run it outside the case

How on earth can they sell that for £2.32 & make a profit? I've paid more than that for a SATA cable alone.

[droopsnoot]

TonyRPH said:

If it's an old MFM drive, then you will need a controller card.

However - it could also have a different interface (RLL springs to mind but it's been a long time since I had a PC with a 5.25" drive).

As I recall it MFM, RLL and ESDI all had the same two-cable interface, the narrow data cable and the wider command cable. SCSI was a single cable. You're probably correct about the requirement for an ISA card, though I have a vague recollection that one of the caching disk controller manufacturers like DPT used to do a PCI version of their card. Chances of finding one of those is relatively slim though.

[TonyRPH]

droopsnoot said:

As I recall it MFM, RLL and ESDI all had the same two-cable interface, the narrow data cable and the wider command cable. SCSI was a single cable. You're probably correct about the requirement for an ISA card, though I have a vague recollection that one of the caching disk controller manufacturers like DPT used to do a PCI version of their card. Chances of finding one of those is relatively slim though.

Yes I think you are correct.

I have a 20mb Seagate and the MFM controller - just no motherboard to suit!!

I also have a selection of SCSI controllers lol.

I'm a hoarder!

[buggalugs]

I’m betting 2p it was a Quantum Bigfoot!

[alorotom]

Mr Pointy said:

essayer said:

Something like this will work if it’s IDE
https://www.amazon.co.uk/SATA-Hard-Disk-Cable-Conv...
Just run it outside the case

How on earth can they sell that for £2.32 & make a profit? I've paid more than that for a SATA cable alone.

I have one of those kits bought at least 15yrs ago and paid something similar to the current selling price - it took an age to arrive from China or Taiwan but still works on the (now very) odd occasion it’s needed