Computer Help and Support

Unless they are in some oddball format.

Here is a guy doing it with a Sony Vaio laptop:

If you post the model Dell you have I can find instructions specific to it for getting out the hard drive. Different manufacturers put the drives in differently.

I've gotten enclosures from NewEgg.com, similar to this one: https://www.newegg.com/rosewill-rx100-pu3-25b/p/N82E16817182291?Item=N82E16817182291&Description=hard%20drive%20enclosure&cm_re=hard_drive_enclosure-_-17-182-291-_-Product&quicklink=true Best Buy sells them but for much higher prices.

Once you get the hard drive into the enclosure, just plug it into a USB port on a working computer and you can search and copy any files onto the computer you are using.

It's a simple process, especially these days - I have done for twenty years with desktop computers. My Dad used to give me his old computers and I'd pull the hard drives out, copy his data off and store the old ones. He had lots of personal and financial data that I did not want anyone to see and I was not sure it could be completely erased.

For your fan, you might be able to replace it. YouTube has lots of "how-to" videos on various computers for various parts, but knowing the exact model is important. The hardest part is probably finding a replacement fan - NewEgg.com sells them too.

BUT before you try to replace it, see if you can open the laptop up enough to get to the fan and use canned air to blow any dist or debris out of it. It may just be clogged up.

ETA - here is a video about how to replace the fan: