Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
From: mpicpu
If this drive isn't spinning up, putting it in the freezer for about an hour will usually get the
drive spinning again so you can copy needed files before the drive warms up again. The first
thing you want to do is run a disk utility like Norton disk doctor or wddiag (if it's a western
digital drive) to verify whether the drive is working mechanically or not. If it is a master boot
record problem, sometimes running Fdisk/mbr will correct the problem. It could also be a
virus, and a program like F-prot will look at the drive as a physical unit. As an A+ PC
technician I have seen this problem many times. Usually if the drive is not making a clicking
sound I am successful in recovering the data.
From: Scott Greving
I've run into this scenario numerous times. One time it involved the main Novell SYS volume
on our HP File Server. I was really sweating as the server would not boot. I took the drive out
and put it in a freezer for 30 minutes. I then reinstalled it into the file server and Presto! I was
up and running. Needless to say I quickly mirrored the drive onto another and got rid of the
bad drive. In stand alone client systems, the method I've had the most luck with reviving
drives from death has been removing the drive, firmly tapping the top of its case several
times, and then re-installing it making sure all cables are secure. I've had a better than 60
percent success rate with this method.
From: jphillips
If the drive is spinning and you are experiencing these kinds of errors, my experience has been
that you are out of luck.
If the drive is not spinning, I have been able to remove it from the computer and 'spin' the
drive on a flat smooth surface (much like spin the bottle). This will usually free the drive and
when placed back in the machine, it will boot. You should immediately back up you data after a
successful boot, because the problem will return. The next 'fix' was actually given to me by a
Compaq technician several years ago. I had a drive that would not spin and he told me to put
the drive in a plastic bag in the freezer overnight and then install back in the computer. Believe
it or not, the drive booted. I have only tried this the one time.
From: John Turcotte
In the past, when a drive has failed after it has been running for a short period, I have
removed it from the machine and placed it in a freezer for a couple of hours, then hooked it up
again. It sometimes will run long enough to remove the data to another safe storage medium.
From: David Furlow
One of the methods I have used before (sometimes even successfully) is to actually remove
the drive from the PC, place it in the freezer for a day, then quickly put it back in the machine
and try to access it. Why does this work? Who knows, but I heard about this tactic years ago,
and it has saved my behind on a couple of occasions. (Of course, if it comes back up, back up
the data immediately.... Guess that should go without saying.)
