salvaging a dying hard disk

[Jordon Bedwell]

On Fri, July 29, 2011 6:59 am, Jordon Bedwell wrote:
> On Fri, July 29, 2011 3:42 am, Curt Tresenriter wrote:
>> On 7/29/2011 2:19 AM, Jacob Mansfield wrote:
>>> you should only chill the drive for fifteen to twenty mins. otherwise
>>> the read arm will freeze into position, and then your drive /is/ dead
>> Thanks for that!!
>
> That is incorrect, you need to chill for a minimum of 24 hours in a deep
> freezer for it to work properly, in a normal home freezer (a fridge
> freezer) you'll need more time because it's cooler.

Also, to add, its preferable you let it cool for an hour or 2 before
vacuum packing it, or at minimum put it into a freezer safe bag.  Doing
those things will prevent condensation and water crystal formation, those
ice crystals will be your worst enemy if you just throw it into the
freezer like it's being flash frozen.