View Full Version : Hard Disk not breathing?Did you try mouth-to-mouth???
Resurrection
13.10.10, 06:19
Hard Disk (http://bernardbelanger.com/computing/hd/)
Your Hard Disk seems dead. It's not responding anymore. You hear a few "biz biz" when you're trying to boot from it and then it stops and you can't access it.
You try everything, and I mean everything because I know you... You even knock it, you even rock it because you remember having read that it might help. And that's true, the damned thing is just stucked in there. You well may succeed, but maybe not. You lost everything, and a hard disk.
Stop crying. The thing is dead, so why don't you open it ? You have nothing to loose. side. Don't touch the plates, don't touch anything. Plug it. Try to boot, froGet a screwdriver and have a peek in it or from another one or from a floppy, doesn't matter.
http://www.sb-innovation.de/attachment.php?attachmentid=8385
Observe. As you start up, the arm moves a bit (biz biz) but then it stops. Push on it a bit. The head will now go all the way to the inner part of the plates. That's the " biz biz biz biz biz biz biz biz biz biz biz " you're familiar with. If not, cut the power off and put it back on ; try something, you'll get lucky.
Save your data on another disk.
At the next restart, maybe you'll have to help it again, maybe not. It depends on how lucky you are.
SO there you go...
The Hard disk drive is possibly a man's favorite part in a computer.You lose it you lose everything.You don't quite know if you can pick yourself up after such a loss.You've spent the best times of your life with it...
You can try the above method to resuscitate it but if it still did not come back its time to let go...
Shed a few tears,mourn for a few days and move on...
I hear samsung has some amazing beautiful models with curves in all the right places...
Wait.what are we talking about?
saebrtooth
13.10.10, 07:22
Out of all the brands of HDD Ive used there has only been one that suddenly crashed (less 9-10 months) crashed and no longer able to be used
Samsung
Resurrection
13.10.10, 07:26
Whoa ...Don't diss my love like that...
I have two Samsung disks and the older of the two is elder to the other by 5 years and both are working without a glitch...in like EVER...
My oldest HDD is more than 7 years old! :D And I hope it won't die soon :D
Resurrection
18.10.10, 06:00
I found another case of refusing to give up...
Must...Not...Lose...Saved...Games...
My dead hard drive story (http://www.deadharddrive.com/)
---
I wonder if I'd try that hard on human beings...
No...Don't think so...
desodorante
18.10.10, 15:35
I actually did that to a couple of HDDs, but I just thought of that, no Googling involved ;)
I still remember the joy of turning 2 unusable HDDs into a working one...good old times
The first thing i would try if my drive failed is putting it into the freezer for a couple of hours and freeze it to -20°! It works and helped me once and saved the drive's guarantee as well!
So opening the drive would be a matter of the last resort or if there is no guarantee on the drive left...
But there is a funny thing you might try if the drive is opened anyway. Just use it normally and watch it operate and spinning the platters. I had a Samsung drive running that way. You can still read and write to it ;)
Still working with a samsumg 80 gb hard disk ,nothing but normal .
Has anyone tried this ? I am exactly in the same situation as Resurrection has mentioned. I am virtually dead.
The first thing i would try if my drive failed is putting it into the freezer for a couple of hours and freeze it to -20°! It works and helped me once and saved the drive's guarantee as well!
So opening the drive would be a matter of the last resort or if there is no guarantee on the drive left...
But there is a funny thing you might try if the drive is opened anyway. Just use it normally and watch it operate and spinning the platters. I had a Samsung drive running that way. You can still read and write to it ;)
Are you sure about this pal?
desodorante
04.11.10, 15:37
Are you sure about this pal?
I have not tried it but it seems like cold helps the HDD work better.
I heard it numerous time.
What he failed to mention is that you have to be very careful. The HDD has to be placed in a dry container, preferably in a dry-working freezer. Moist could solidify in the HDD and it will just short all over.
Are you sure about this pal?
Yes, absolutely! No joke! The cold will make the material contract and hopefully the jammed arm will become operational again... It's just physics.
But like desodorante said, you have to operate carefully and you have to make sure the drive will not come in contact with moist or the electronics will short circuit.
The cold will make the material contract and hopefully the jammed arm will become operational again... It's just physics.
somehow i doubt the temperatures generated inside the hd case are high enough to cause material contractions (more correctly: dilatation) worth mentioning, other possibilities:
- the arm doesn't receive enough el. current to be able to move from the original position (electronics problem)
- the electronic hd board could be replaced (sometimes its a simple solution for data recovery as opposed to companies that will do it for ridiculously high prices)
- the arm needs to be lubricated/cleaned (friction being the problem)
Why does freezing the drive sometimes work?
Well, to be honest, i don't know for sure!
I just assumed that it might be material contraction,however it was not the definitive explanation!
Why does freezing the drive sometimes work?
Well, to be honest, i don't know for sure!
I just assumed that it might be material contraction,however it was not the definitive explanation!
How did you keep it away from moist inside the freezer ? Did you keep it inside a box? Kindly explain :)
How did you keep it away from moist inside the freezer ? Did you keep it inside a box? Kindly explain :)
Here's an article (http://geeksaresexy.blogspot.com/2006/01/freeze-your-hard-drive-to-recover-data.html) that describes the procedure fairly well.
Additionally i would freeze it along with the cables attached and use an external USB-Enclosure.
According to the article an anti-static cover that usually comes with HDD will do the job i think. Why would you attach the cables while freezing :confused:
According to the article an anti-static cover that usually comes with HDD will do the job i think. Why would you attach the cables while freezing :confused:
Just leave the cables hanging loosely out of the bag. That way you won't have to unpack the drive off the foil and it stays cooler somewhat longer!
Resurrection
08.11.10, 06:21
Why would you attach the cables while freezing :confused:
Yup doesn't make sense either...Actually the article Darth linked to has just the disk in the ziplock bag so I donno where that is coming from...
The method I mentioned is the last ditch effort...The freezing method is pretty easy to implement but any mistake in locking the bag and its game over before it began...
In any case,if you do get the thing to work you'll tell us wont you?
Yup doesn't make sense either...Actually the article Darth linked to has just the disk in the ziplock bag so I donno where that is coming from...
The method I mentioned is the last ditch effort...The freezing method is pretty easy to implement but any mistake in locking the bag and its game over before it began...
In any case,if you do get the thing to work you'll tell us wont you?
I sure will ;)
I just removed my HDD after keeping inside the freezer the whole night. I had kept it inside a plastic casing. After removing , i saw moisture which soon condensed to form water . I was apprehensive about connecting it back to motherboard. Whatever object you remove it after freezing will always give moisture . ( this is basic science) . Should i wait till it returns to normal temperature & remove the water particles during that??
Should i wait till it returns to normal temperature & remove the water particles during that??
keep it at a relatively warm location, positioned in such a way that the water can slide/flow down without getting in contact with the electronic elements, which will allow you to see if there is still some water particles left after a few days - its similar to drying dishes after a manual cleaning/washing process (you could also use a hair dryer, but beware of its EM field affecting the electronics), its definitely preferable to leave it dry for more than a day or two before attempting to reconnect with a computer, as most (if not all) water particles will evaporate by themselves
Resurrection
13.11.10, 16:35
keep it at a relatively warm location, positioned in such a way that the water can slide/flow down without getting in contact with the electronic elements, which will allow you to see if there is still some water particles left after a few days - its similar to drying dishes after a manual cleaning/washing process (you could also use a hair dryer, but beware of its EM field affecting the electronics), its definitely preferable to leave it dry for more than a day or two before attempting to reconnect with a computer, as most (if not all) water particles will evaporate by themselves
I think you lost a bit of perspective when you answered with that reply...
Remember we are freezing the hard disk to contract the metal part to make them functional for whatever little period possible.What good will thawing it for more than a day or two do?
Its a catch 22 sort of situation.You want to connect the disk as quickly as possible after you remove it from the freezer but not too fast or the moisture will short circuit everything...
I PMed KELLY some info which I think will work.
I remember having this chat with a friend of mine who is in the data recovery business.Unfortunately I've lost his contact info other wise I'd have given Kelly a much more up-to-date information...
Remember we are freezing the hard disk to contract the metal part to make them functional for whatever little period possible.What good will thawing it for more than a day or two do?
Its a catch 22 sort of situation.You want to connect the disk as quickly as possible after you remove it from the freezer but not too fast or the moisture will short circuit everything...
notice that i mentioned my skepticism towards this whole freezing idea in the first place - doing this is pretty much guaranteed to fry the hard drive, possibly damaging other components (fi. motherboard) as well
also you meant 'too slow', not 'too fast' :P
Guys, freezing didn't work out. I have now removed the outer cover & am able to see the inner parts of the hard disk.Where should i place the head when i boot the comp?
My hdd is acting similar to this.
YouTube - Harddrive 'click of death' aka Home Harddrive Recovery (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWR34wKBNS0&feature=related)
well, personally i wouldn't mess with the hard drive interior (can't help with your particular question), what would be advisable is to contact some respectable pc shop/service and let them check what exactly is the problem, before attempting any repairs - some will do it for a small fee, sometimes even for free if its the same shop it was purchased from
- best case scenario: a little cleaning and it works again
- worse case scenario: it will work again (no guarantee for how long) if its electronics board is exchanged for a working one of the same hard drive type/generation
- almost worst case scenario: only specialized very expensive methods will help to retrieve the data (no guarantee of its condition/corruption)
- worst case scenario: its dead for good
the 2nd case above happened to me once before, interestingly the drive worked decently afterward even though it had a few bad sectors (afaik the norton utilities i used back then were able to flag those sectors so no app would attempt to write data onto them), it didn't fail at all
am able to see the inner parts of the hard disk
Can you go into details of what the inner parts are? Because hard drives are usually fixed in a clean room. So I would go with what slikrapid had said to avoid more damage.
Can you go into details of what the inner parts are? Because hard drives are usually fixed in a clean room. So I would go with what slikrapid had said to avoid more damage.
I am able to see the platter, (the actual magnetic disk). When i boot, the head keeps moving between the inner circle & the outer circle, just like in the video i posted in my previous link. I think , placing at some position will actually make it work.Well thats just my belief. Anyways, getting it to a data recovery guy would be the best option.
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.5 Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.