I was assuming you had a UNIX server to scp to, especially given the forum you are posting on.

Alternatively you could try to use samba to share the windows disk.

Perderabo has agood workable solution. Your suggestion of copying to a USB drive while you reinstall windows is also a good solution. reborg suggests using "live CD" with a linux OS on it. If you can boot from DVD the latest version of Knoppix (free download and also free in many other ways). If it won't boot from DVD, but will from CD try a slightly older version of Knoppix. boot with your USB drive connected. Knoppix will find it and your old hard drive (and any others, plus your CD, floppy, etc. and show it's icon on the screen. right click it and "mount" it. open it to display a directory and look at it to be sure that you actually have the drive in question. The close the file browser, and right click the drive icon again. this time you want to change the read/write settings open it again, and open the eld drove. Shoose the files that you want to copy and just "drag them" where you want them.
. Sonshyne5

Hello Perderabo,
i'm facing the problem not booting in now found the Harddisk has some serious hardware issue.few sectors. will it be possibel to retrieve the data if i mount that on a working machine. mine is 320 GB SATA disk. becoz of the problem DELL replaing me as ihave the warranty. Now i want to get the data in the old HDD. could u plse send me some procudure for this. thanks in advance.

milhan,

How about you boot from a linux live CD and mount the drive NTFS. Then insert a External USB drive with enough space and copy from there?

Cheers!