I was just hoping that there was some way of retrieving my pictures from this totally dead machine Yes, you can retrieve your pictures and other personal files.  After you have saved your files, you can reinstall the drive in your PC and follow advice from others in this thread to see if you can get your PC working. Whenever touching components or working inside a computer, wear a grounded wrist strap, also called anti-static wrist strap, ESD wrist strap, or ground bracelet. It's a cheap and sensible precaution. Rest the laptop on an anti-static mat or at least a reasonable alternative such as corrugated cardboard.
dead dell desktop, it has died on my for the last time, all I want is to retrieve the pictures but there is no recognisable hard drive in there ?. no Seagate or similar, there is however a plug in 8gb1rx8 board, does this contain the pictures and if so, how can I transfer these pics to my new computer, which incidentally does not have a plug in facility for this board, please help
dead dell desktop