We have great success, but not perfect success, when we place the laptop hard drives into a Vantec Nextar 3 external enclosure with its own power plug, then plug it into a USB port of a desktop computer.
IF THE DRIVE WILL TURN AT ALL, we keep it running. (Too often if you stop, it never turns again) than it is detected by the computer as a new drive such as F: or E: We can then use software that recovers data, or we simply drag and drop files from Quicken, My Documents, Palm files, Internet Explorer, Outlook Express, or whatever... You have to use special software to recover AOL and other proprietary email programs...
One thing that is important is that if the drive is turning, keep it turning. Do not turn off the external drive, or wait for later, and to save the files as quickly as you can.
Most laptop hard drive enclosures do not come with a power adapter, but they are available for a few dollars. When they derive their power from the USB cable into the desktop, that is simply not enough or reliable power to do the job on a defective drive.
But this does work MUCH better than plugging in the HD, AC Adapter, or USB cable alone.
If the bearings are gone, or if the drive chip on the hard drive is gone, there is nothing you can do, unless you are good at electronics, then install the chips, or the entire chip section on the back of the hard drive from an identical hard drive.
Whatever you do, do not open the case that exposes the three plates with the magnetic media, as that is the end of the drive and any chance of rescue.
