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DADDY BOB'S COMPUTER Q & A
April 8,
2007
Q.
Someone told me that if you have a failed
hard drive, that you might be able to get
the information off it if you first freeze
it. This sounds like an old "wives tale",
but is there any truth to this?
A.
Actually, this is not a "wives tale" but a
proven fact. I have successfully used it a
time or two. It should, however, only be
tried as an absolutely, positively last
resort. There are three last ditch fixes
that may work. These could be called the
"Twist, "Hit", "Freeze" scenarios.
Please note here that any of these can
further damage a hard drive, but if it isn't
working, and you really need some data that
is on it, you really don't have a lot to
loose.
Of
course, you could send it to a professional
data recovery facility if you have the
thousands of dollars they normally charge,
but I suspect you probably don't have the
thousands of dollars any more than a recent
backup.
Why may
freezing the drive fix it? Well, the
expansion/contraction that takes place in
the drive internals when they are cooled and
heated just may free up a stuck part.
Cooling may also temporarily revive a old,
slightly defective electronically part on
the drive's circuit board. This could get it
working, albeit for a short time which may just
be enough for you to recover your data.
Here's how you do it.
First,
have everything ready to immediately insert
the cold drive into a computer and have it
ready to copy the data to a working hard
drive. Don't forget to check the drive's
jumper to be assured it is set correctly. This whole process must be done
quickly, before the drive warms up too much.
Place the
hard drive in a plastic zip bag and try to
remove as much of the air as possible before
you seal it. This will help to eliminate
condensation on the hard drive itself as it
cools down. Leave it in the freezer for
several hours.
Now,
working as fast as you can, remove the drive
from the bag, and connect it to the computer
and boot it up. IF (and that's a big IF) it
starts working, copy the most important
stuff first because the drive will almost
surely fail again when it warms up and the
freezing trick may not work a second time.
Remember
this is a very last ditch effort, and there
are a couple of things, nearly as radical
you should try first.
The "Twist" and "Hit" as mentioned
above. Once again, remember that these are
all things that you should only try if all
else has failed to get your important info
from the drive.
Possibly,
this would be a good time to say that this effort in
probable futility would not be
necessary if you had a recent backup of your
important data. The very best way to never
need a backup is to have one. Oh
well........
When the computer is started,
listen to the hard drive in question and see
if you can hear the platters spinning.
Placing one end of a pencil on the drive and
the other end in your ear will allow you to
hear it if it is.
If the platters don't spin,
you may have a situation where a drive head has become stuck to a platter.
This at best is not good and may result in
some lost data. The disk's magnetic surface
will probably be physically damaged at the
point where the head touches it and
therefore any data that was at that place on
the platter will be lost.
The drive's read/write heads
themselves also are at risk and may become
damaged or destroyed in the process of
trying to loosen them. But if you truly are
out of other options and have nothing to
lose, try these last-ditch techniques.
With the PC powered off,
gently remove the drive from the PC, but
leave all its cables plugged in. Hold the
drive horizontally or flat and start the PC.
As power is applied to the drive, sharply
rotate your wrist, as if the hard drive were
a large nut that you were trying to screw or
unscrew. The added rotational force may be
enough to overcome the stuck head, and get
the drives spinning again.
If it does start spinning you
will be able to feel it as the torque causes
the drive to act like a gyro. If this does
not work, try a applying a modest amount of "anger
release." Start out gently tapping the drive
on each side going around the drive. How
gently you tap it is up to you. This may
cause more damage to the drive, but if it
isn't working anyway, you have little to
loose. This may get it spinning or also jar
loose the heads from the platters.
If
neither of these "Twist" or "Hit"
fix works,
then give the ""Freeze" treatment described
above a try.
If you are a very lucky
person, and any of these desperation
measures works, IMMEDIATELY start copying the
data off the hard drive. This kind of fix is
extremely temporary and short lived, and the drive
definitely needs replacing. Don't
shut down the drive or PC until everything
you need is copied off the dying drive. |
