External HD disk needs software rehab.

Circa 1999 , Western Digital HD Model : AC313500 - 00DW , Serial # WT668 007 2292
13.5 giga . P- ATA , not SATA.
This hard drive was 99% filled .
It is my belief that it was also loaded with malware.

My feeble attempt to cure involved deleting as much as I could , run defrag, then try to fix malware.
When I tried to delete printer, I could not delete printer .
In response , I changed registry ( a permission perhaps ?? do not recall details ) .
Then tried unsuccessfully to do "WinXP REPAIR /INSTALL" from original WinXP disc.
Failure to complete installation as it sees no Devices at all in Device manager.


The 13.5 giga is now in my hand .

Question :
Is it possible to place the 13.5 giga HD into an external drive container
and then attach it via USB to a WinXP system to fix the messed up HD ?
Will I be able to access the external HD contents and take steps to get old data ?
If so, what recommendation can you offer regarding an external HD case/ box/container?
The 13.5 HD will end up in trash once the data is obtained .

Will a PC running WinXP be able to look into this messed up disk ?
Do I need to protect the main PC from Malware ? How ?

I am very new to this subject matter .
Kindly use small words , minimum techno talk . Thank you .

Radioshack said that an external hard drive enclosure would be seen by WinXP
and that the old HD 13.5 Giga could be accessed from the desktop WinXP to fix software on
the old 13.5 giga HD which also has WinXP .

Bought $20 :
"3.5 inch Hard Drive enclosure"
"Gigaware brand , Model 25-421 "
USB connector
"plug and play , no driver required"

If this works, will repost the issues that need addressing under separate posting.

<<It is my belief that it was also loaded with malware.>>

If that is true...a repair install is unlikely (IMO) to have any impact. Repair installs only (sometimes) are able to overcome O/S problems, no impact at all on malware.

Possiblle malware issues should be addressed by posting in the BC Am I Infected Forum .

Louis