Re: [PLUG] Desperate call for help - HDD problems...

[Sandi Jonas <laserhen@speakeasy.net>]

Paul wrote:
> 
> > Slap the drive in
> > an air-tight bag (Ziploc would work fine) and toss it in the
> > freezer for a few hours.  Pull it out, pop it back in the machine
> > and see what happens.  You're not going to get anywhere with it
> > otherwise, right?  I've had this work for me on a couple occasions
> 
> That is more crazy than anything I could think of!  Couldn't any
> condensation cause something else to blow up?

Actually, if it were a mechanical issue, such as a head crash, I can see
how it is a rather viable option.  By cooling the disk in the freezer
all the parts contract, thereby pulling the heads of the disk. 
Condensation can easily be minimized.  If working in a cool dry room,
there is little humidity to begin with.  Also, if you put the disk in a
Zip-Lock bag, get rid of the atmospheric air by blowing into the bag
with an air duster, and then evacuate the bag, there should be little,
if any moisture in the bag.  The worst that could happen is that the
small amount of potential condensation might cause a short, in which
case some of the data could be corrupted, but it really wouldn't be much
less retrievable by a data center than it would have been in the first
place.  

Hehe, of course if it were a head crash, and there are little iron oxide
particles all over the place, even if this did work it seems it would
simply result in another head crash from the particles.  Can't win 'em
all! 

**********************************************************************
Sandra Jean Schmidt-Jonas | http://www.laserhen.net
"An expert is a man who has made all the mistakes, which can be made, in
a very narrow field." -- Neils Bohr
**********************************************************************

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