So I have 2 Dells, the newest has been giving me shit for awhile now, and it ain't worth buying parts for it imo. But I have 2 hdds on there, one 1TB with all my newest acquired media and reshares and one 160GB with more importantly my 2 new mixtape projects stuck on it (also the drive with my OS (winxp media center home).

I have no patience or sobriety to build the needed components and it seems pre-assembled kits have shit I don't need like hdds and gpus (or worse integrated gpus!). I just need a case with mobo/processor/ram/sata/pci-express16/psu already in it. No hard drives or disk drives.

Other than some recommendations, I wanna ask: if after obtaining those parts, can I just plug my 2 hdds in it and boot it up? Will it at least boot enough for me to clear out that 160GB hdd (with mixtapes and os) and re-install the os (my old winxp home for now from the other working dell)??? Or alternatively, how would that hdd (with the os) operate if I put it in an external case and ran it as a usb external drive just to get my projects?

any help to decide best route to take would be appreciated. My budget is about $500US.

I am really itching to get those projects!

Dont think you're computer will start up if you swapped all parts but the HDD (drivers etc), I think I would go for either putting it in as an extra HDD and then try to copy over the needed stuff or indeed put it into a external HDD case and try from there.

Look here. For that money you could build a whole new system, hard drive, enclosure and PSU included: http://techreport.com/articles.x/17102/2

If you don't need everything, then look at the other recommendations like this or this.

I would buy a new HDD for the new computer you want to build and install the whole OS and shit on that new HDD and after that I'd try to get your other stuff from the HDDs you already have.

perhaps also can burn it all to DVD as data and then put it in other comp's dvdreader/writer and copy to HDD...but perhaps some files are to big for 1 disc, then just rar all in parts then burn on multiple DVD's and then transfer all parts 1 by 1 to other comp's hdd and extract again
the shitty comp has to work though is it totally dead or still kinda working?

Thanks for the replies.

@enterlexx: Well the comp is a Dell e510, which has a legacy of problems, the one I encountered being common, the "blinking amber light of doom" which has now become the "doesn't power up at all of doom" though the mobo led is lit up. I tried all the fixes I could find short of buying a new mobo or psu. Both are over priced and aren't worth it, since for about double the price I can build a new comp that isn't the evil Dell brand. And I can't get the data off the HDDs to burn them until I get some new hardware. I was playing around with idea of swapping the hard drive into this old Dell I am using now, but it so old it doesn't have sata! I wanted to keep my programs from that system too.

@elguaxo: That "Econobox" looks real nice (though Newegg doesn't have the gpu, but that I really don't need). I'd probably swap the case for the Antec 300, I always liked that case, and its a little cheaper.

Here's a list of stuff I wanna salvage if I can:
An Nvidia gfx card (1gb gt9500)
a 1TB sata hdd (and a 160GB that has my projects and WinXpMediaCenter OS)
my old winxp home OS from this older dell
2 dual-layer burners

The setup I think I want from MagicMicro is $400 (plus $35 shipping):
AMD Phenom 9600+ (Quad Core) AM2+ 4MB Cache
Spire Kestrel-King II AMD 64 fan
ASUS M4A78 PLUS, AMD 770, PCI-EX, GB LAN
4GB (2x2GB) PC5300 DDR2 667 Dual Channel
AC 97 3D Full Duplex sound card (onboard)
Ethernet network adapter (onboard)
Antec Three Hundred Black Case, front USB
Okia 550W ATX Power Supply w/ 6pin PCI-E

I can add a small hdd to install the OS and then grab the stuff I need externally. Can you run a hard rive with an OS through USB externally? Is that an issue?

I want this for video editing, so I think quadcore and 4gb ram is important. Although I don't think my 32bit WinXp home will recognize more than 3gb doh! I can buy a new os (xp pro!) later I just need something by next Mon (aug 10th) or I will start killing and raping and pillaging day care centers!

Sorry for the long read, and THANKS for the help!

you can, it's just slow.

so if I got a new new comp and a hdd enclosure, I can just pop it in and copy the files to the new comp without a problem? That would be great!

sure, that works.

Cool, then I'll get a enclosure on Tues, copy the files to this old crapper. Then they are safe, main concern Replacing the FULL TB would really suck too, but I am itching to be editing right now. Someone stole my new dope, man!

Really, these past months have been great, completely drunk and playing metal and making shitty mixtapes! Nothing like getting up too early and hungover and deaf from a show and then getting drunk and screaming and then going to work 8 hrs serving man. Any way, I outta beer, its time for bed...