Hard drive recovery help

[Hitman]

That must be some good porn.

[robodude666]

Originally Posted by Hitman

That must be some good porn.

More likely like financial records and flight schedules and stuff... (He works at an airport company) But we will see if I get it working... I will pull it out of the freezer in like 20m and see how it goes.

[robodude666]

Well, I had it in freezer for about 55 minutes (last 5 minutes were killing me) and still nothing... I will give it a 4 hour freezer run in the morning :( But I sadly think that the drive is dead! :(

[Elysium]

Originally Posted by robodude666

Well, I had it in freezer for about 55 minutes (last 5 minutes were killing me) and still nothing... I will give it a 4 hour freezer run in the morning :( But I sadly think that the drive is dead! :(

Ya, if it's not detecting the drive, and the freezer thing won't work, I think it's a goner.......

You could bring it to a pro PC shop and see what they can do.

[robodude666]

Originally Posted by yellowhello

Ya, if it's not detecting the drive, and the freezer thing won't work, I think it's a goner.......

You could bring it to a pro PC shop and see what they can do.

Yea.. I think its a goner too :( I am giving it 3 hours as I found that was the "sweet time" for freezing drives.. If it doesnt work, then RIP. I think replacing the electronics might fix it since the drive spins up. I can feel it spinning and I can feel/hear the arm moving.

As for the shop, ehhh. Not worth it for me. I would have to pay them probably to do it and I am only getting $200 for this.. If it costs more then it really isnt worth it. If they cant fix it, then I lose money. I am sure my stepdad's company is doing this to try avoid paying $500-1000 for recovery experts to tell them its a dead drive.

Oh well, thanks for your help guys :) I will let you know what 3 hours does.

Oh, my mom thinks I am insane for putting it in the freezer... She asked me how much sleep did I get, and if I was considering boiling it just in case... >_>

EDIT: So, you guys think replacing the electronics might help recover the drive? If the drive spins up but isn't detected in BIOS or anywhere else, wouldn't that mean that something is wrong with the electronics as the chips contain the drive info, not the plates... He said that he could get an identical model for me so I can swap the electronics. Think its worth a try?

[carpenator]

What have seen work a couple of times was remove the circuitboard on the HD and replace it with one from the exact same model. Of course the warranty is shot at the point, but if you really want to get the data off. Since the BIOS is not seeing the drive it and it is spinning, it sounds like it might be in the controller board or the electrical supplying the controller board.

Worst case you find a drive that is the same, pop both of them open and try and swap the platters. The odds of it working are not good, but if the cost is low enough and it is not under warranty, its worth a shot. Never have gone that far myself.

Good Luck,

[robodude666]

Alright, well 3 hours in freezer.... made it very cold and impossible to hold... But BIOS or spinrite still dont detect it. Guess I will have to try replacing the control board.

[stinger608]

Originally Posted by carpenator

Worst case you find a drive that is the same, pop both of them open and try and swap the platters. The odds of it working are not good, but if the cost is low enough and it is not under warranty, its worth a shot. Never have gone that far myself.

Good Luck,

And it should be noted, that you have to be in a complete dust free environment and you CAN NOT get any finger prints on the platters!!!!

[robodude666]

Originally Posted by stinger608

And it should be noted, that you have to be in a complete dust free environment and you CAN NOT get any finger prints on the platters!!!!

Yea.... Its wayyyy too much work. I won't go that far. I will try to replace the control board, if it doesnt work, then poop :( I tried my hardest.

[stinger608]

Originally Posted by robodude666

Yea.... Its wayyyy too much work. I won't go that far. I will try to replace the control board, if it doesnt work, then poop :( I tried my hardest.

Yea, attempting to pull the platters and install in another drive is a real chore!!!

You really have to build a completely clean box and install rubber gloves to the box and do it that way, and then there sure is no way to know if it will work or not