salvaging a dying hard disk

[Curt Tresenriter]

On 7/28/2011 10:21 AM, Ernest Doub wrote:
>
>
> On Thu, Jul 28, 2011 at 8:00 AM, compdoc <compdoc at hotrodpc.com 
> <mailto:compdoc at hotrodpc.com>> wrote:
>
>     >I have never had to use Spinrite to recover data before
>
>     >and had forgotten about it. Unfortunately it doesn't see the disk
>     either.
>
>     Spinrite is a great tool, but it has a few flaws: it's too old now
>     and can't work with disks that are 1TB or larger. And if you have
>     a lot of bad sectors, it can literally takes days to try to fix
>     things. Working your drive for days might not be the best thing
>     for a failing disk.
>
>     Freezing hard drives sounds a bit voodoo to me - you might have
>     the same luck by swinging a dead cat over your head three times.
>     But good luck, and let us know if it helped...
>
>
>
>
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>
> The freezer technique works if there is a stuck read/write head. No 
> voodoo involved, simple physics.  The reduction in temperature changes 
> the dimensions of moving parts enough to [sometimes] allow a stuck 
> mechanism to unstick long enough to perform data recovery.
> The clearances on these drives are in the ten thousandths of an inch 
> range [or metric equivalent] so a temperature reduction below the 
> normal operating range can unstick a stuck bearing.
> If there is surface damage to the platter or a failure of the 
> supporting hardware you are sadly out of luck.
>
> -- 
> When Government fears the people there is Liberty.
> When People fear the Government there is Tyranny.
>
Good news! The disk was working just a few weeks ago but acting 
strangely so I removed it from service until I could deal with it.
I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Great sig BTW
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