I had an e-machine with XP as OS that died and I was wondering how I could recover the data from the hard drive, assuming it isn't damaged.

My new PC, an EI System, has Vista installed.

Would a USB caddy work? Is the difference in OS a problem? Should I install XP on the new machine for transfer perhaps?

I have never used a caddy before so I'm not aware of potential problems etc.

Appreciate any help!

It's quite easy if you're handy...
You just need to take the HDD from the old PC and put it in your new PC. You can use Vista to explore the HDD and copy files from it. There isn't any difference between files under Vista or under XP.
The only thing is that you might loose your warrenty if you open the case of you new PC, make sure that isn't the case here!

Robin

Thanks Robin, I'm sure I can manage that, I installed a drive in another machine that worked fine. I need to check the warranty though. If it isn't possible, do you think a USB caddy method would work?

A usb enclosure should work fine.

Thanks, I will give one of these options a go