>>>My daughter's laptop seems to have breathed its last. It had been shutting itself down with messages warning that it was overheating, and now this morning it won't start at all. Even connected to a power outlet it won't boot and none of the indicator lights come on. I guess its time has come. My question is how I might go about getting the data off the hard drive. The only backup I have is a Ghost image, which I now realize is useless for restoring to a different machine. (Right?) Is there a way to get the data without going to a lot of trouble and expense?
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>>Sounds like you've solved, but one thing to try in cases like this is to pull the hard drive and stick it in the freezer for a while. Sometimes a good cool down will buy you enough operating time to get what you need off the drive.
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>>Tamar
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>That should be your last step. Try everything else first.

Strangely enough, that has worked for us several times over the years.

Put the drive in a freezer bag before sticking it in the freezer - that should protect it from further damage.