accessing HDD with virus, safe to?

[TOPEC]

last week my comp got that stupid msn virus, no matter what i used, be it norton, avg, other spyware/adware scanners, it couldnt get rid of the virus
so i went and installed a fresh copy of windows onto another hdd.
now i want to retrieve some, actually, most of my files from the old HDD which has virus, what is the best way to go about doing this without infecting my new copy of windows/HDD?

[willystyle]

Install an Antivirus program with the latest virus definitions.

[InvisibleSoul]

I believe the risk is extremely low. Most viruses are files that get executed on Windows startup, but if the files are just on a slave drive, it won't run, therefore it won't infect the host computer.

[TOPEC]

thanks for the replies, i feel safe plugging in the hdd now.