Using a term paper

Lyra Jean · Apr 27, 2012

So I wrote this 23 page paper about the Aleutian battle front during WWII. It is now stuck in the hard drive of my laptop which no longer works.

So my question, with some rewriting I think I could turn my term paper into a couple of articles. Can I do this? Is this legal?

I want to get the paper because I worked really hard on this paper so I want to get it anyway but it will cost me around $30 for me to get all the info off my laptop. Blah too much info now.

Anyway, thanks for the advice.

I am kicking myself for not backing up my work and I don't know how to retrieve the information myself.

Deleted member 42 · Apr 27, 2012

If you wrote it, it's yours to do with as you see fit.

If the laptop is broken, not the drive, the old drive can be taken out and put into an external drive case; you can retrieve the data you want, and use the drive as a backup.

alleycat · Apr 27, 2012

Medievalist is right. You can hook the drive up to a "black box" and access it just like you would any other external drive. If you have any tech buddies they could do it for you for free. You could probably buy a cheap "black box" for less than $30.

Lyra Jean · Apr 27, 2012

I wrote the whole paper myself. I earned a B+ on the paper which included a 30 minute power point presentation.

Deleted member 42 · Apr 27, 2012

Lyra Jean said:
I wrote the whole paper myself. I earned a B+ on the paper which included a 30 minute power point presentation.

Be prepared to do considerable work to make it publishable for pay.

Lyra Jean · Apr 27, 2012

Medievalist said:
Be prepared to do considerable work to make it publishable for pay.

Oh absolutely, I was thinking I might even be able to break it up. Each battle had it's own section in my paper. So I'm going to start researching where I can send it and then plan on the rewriting to fit it to the magazine.

Billtrumpet25 · Apr 27, 2012

Medievalist said:
If you wrote it, it's yours to do with as you see fit.

If the laptop is broken, not the drive, the old drive can be taken out and put into an external drive case; you can retrieve the data you want, and use the drive as a backup.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

Lyra Jean · Apr 28, 2012

The laptop just doesn't turn on.

Old Hack · Apr 28, 2012

That doesn't necessarily matter. What Medievalist and others have suggested is taking the back off the laptop, removing the hard drive, and putting that hard drive into a docking station which will connect to another computer by a USB cable. You can then use the other computer to copy all your stuff off the laptop's hard drive.

It's relatively easy (I've done it several times), but you do need to buy an appropriate docking station first.

Deleted member 42 · Apr 29, 2012

Old Hack said:
That doesn't necessarily matter. What Medievalist and others have suggested is taking the back off the laptop, removing the hard drive, and putting that hard drive into a docking station which will connect to another computer by a USB cable. You can then use the other computer to copy all your stuff off the laptop's hard drive.

It's relatively easy (I've done it several times), but you do need to buy an appropriate docking station first.

I'd actually buy an external drive case, thus making the drive useful again for the long term.

Old Hack · Apr 29, 2012

You could--but then it's awkward if you want to do the same with another hard drive unless you want to buy another case. I am too mean. I shuffle.

James D. Macdonald · Apr 29, 2012

I recently did the whole thing with the thing with putting an old hard drive from a dead computer into an external case. It works great (and gives me somewhere else to back up files).

Anyway ... for the dead laptop. Try this: Unplug it. Remove the battery. Press and hold the "On" button for about 30 seconds. Replace the battery. See if it turns on now. If it does, rapidly save your work elsewhere.

Using a term paper

Lyra Jean

Two years old now.

Deleted member 42

alleycat

Still around

Lyra Jean

Two years old now.

Deleted member 42

Lyra Jean

Two years old now.

Billtrumpet25

Lyra Jean

Two years old now.

Old Hack

Such a nasty woman

Deleted member 42

Old Hack

Such a nasty woman

James D. Macdonald

Your Genial Uncle