Thais is a set of photos How to read data from a laptop HDD. the hard way.
Sometimes using a USB adapter does not do what you need to do.

Here are a set of jpg images that show how to hook a laptop IDE DRIVE up to a SMALL Form Factor desktop.
The only IDE PORT on the mother board is fro the CD-ROM, so we "borrow" that port with a 40 oin cable we sneak out the back of the case. Th small laptop drive needs an adapter and a small poser supply for five and twelve bolts. Once connected, we poser up everything and Windows shows this to be another drive. We now can read stuff off the drive. NOTE. we do not try to run programs off the secondy drive, if may be infected with a virus. Nor do we open image files. Filrs scan the SUSPECT drive and then backup neede files. Or make an image of the drive.

http://geek9pm.com/drive-adapters/adapter01.jpg
http://geek9pm.com/drive-adapters/adapter02.jpg
http://geek9pm.com/drive-adapters/adapter03.jpg
http://geek9pm.com/drive-adapters/adapter04.jpg
http://geek9pm.com/drive-adapters/adapter05.jpg
http://geek9pm.com/drive-adapters/adapter06.jpg

If this is of any help, say so. I may take it down or revise it later.
Wow...Uhm....That seems like an awful lot of work for something you can do much easier by just hooking it up to the laptop Have a good laff.
Might you be You must be a person who makes backups weekly?
Good for you.
And you seldom and problems with Virus, and when you do you know how to fix it? Good for you.

Many people come to this forum and have horror stories about how the laptop stopped working. So some helpful soul SAYS
"Ttry the recovery CD ."
They do it. And it just got worse.
How do they get the data off the laptop Hard Disk Drive?

Curious minds need to know!Hey Geek, is English your first language?
What country are you from? After seeing the "small form factor" PC was a Dell Optiplex, I just had to go and vomit. There should have been a warning!