Disaster

[Michael Rolls]

My computer has died. Until you can't use it, it's frightening how indispensable it is. I have a second machine and I back up from the main machine onto an external HDD. Smugly inserted it into the spare machine and it refuses to recognise it! At my wits end

[GrannyMac]

Horrible feeling Mike, sorry I can't help.  Years since I used our desktop, just an iPad these days.  

[klondike]

it refuses to recognise it!

Recognise what? The disk or the backup format? What messages do you see. What does "died" mean exactly.

[Michael Rolls]

The external had simply doesn't show when you select'this pc' just the c drive and the external keyboard the ASUS's own keyboard only acts as an on,off switch.
Witness the DELLswitching on changes the dead screen to one very dark blue but that's all that happens. Tried switching on and numerous times but no joy
I stopped using theASUS about a year ago when I started using the external drive to back up the DELL so I do have some old files I can access but nothing less than a year or so old

[klondike]

You have the disk of the current PC which will, unless it is where the problem lies, hold all your current files.

It still isn't clear to me what happens when
you turn on your main PC
you turn on your old PC
which PC has the dodgy screen

I have no idea which PC is which when you say Asus or Dell
How many screens do you have? If one then it could be that which is bust.

It might be recoverable but not without some clear picture of what is going wrong.

[Michael Rolls]

Sorry to have been unclear.the DELL is my main machi, used every day until Tuesday when in died. The HDD was plugged into it and I backed up onto it every few day. When the DELL died I plugged the external HDD into the ASUS which sits in the office which isn't usually used or even on