Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 12

Thread: Dead Hard Drive

  1. #1
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2002
    Location
    Portsmouth UK
    Posts
    23

    Dead Hard Drive

    OK This is gonna sound stupid.

    Really a last straw. I have a dead hd and have tried the usual technical and none technical methods to get some info from it......no use.

    Having found out that it is not spinning, that seems terminal.

    Is there anything I can do.

  2. #2
    No spinny = It's dead, Jim.

  3. #3
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jul 2001
    Posts
    420
    One of the PC Mags I read over the summer recommended freezing a bad drive to extract data. I suspect, like AngelicKnight said, if it does not spin it is dead.
    If you spend more on coffee than on IT security, you will be hacked. What\'s more, you deserve to be hacked.
    -- former White House cybersecurity adviser Richard Clarke

  4. #4
    Senior Member t34b4g5's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Location
    Australia.
    Posts
    2,391
    Get an identical drive, same size, samd model number etc.

    Just swap out the platters from the dead one into the other one. Then get your data back.

    Just make sure that you don't get dust on the platters. etc etc etc

  5. #5
    Disgruntled Postal Worker fourdc's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2002
    Location
    Vermont, USA
    Posts
    797
    Another PC mag said to take the drive and slam it flat on table or counter from about a foot up.

    You may unfreeze it, of course this action will also cause damage, so if it unfreezes be ready to have one shot at reclaiming the data.
    ddddc

    "Somehow saying I told you so just doesn't cover it" Will Smith in I, Robot

  6. #6
    Senior Member nihil's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Location
    United Kingdom: Bridlington
    Posts
    17,188
    OK, shifty, it is a little bit more complicated than that

    There are two reasons that it won't spin.

    1. The drive motor and read/write heads are screwed.
    2. Something has burned out on the drive motherboard (controller card).

    Generally, you will be able to see a little green light on the controller card ("motherboard") but they are usually mounted what seems to be upside down, so you need to look in through the ventilation slots.

    If there is no green light, this is a good sign, as it means that the controller card has failed, and that is a relatively simple recovery process for a trained professional with the right equipment. Unfortunately, they will charge you an arm and a leg for doing so

    If you have a HDD of the same make and model, you can swap out the controller card and that will get you back into the drive.

    If the actual drive mechanism is at fault, then you are screwed; without some very expensive equipment and a "clean room". Like the last time I looked, an entry level spinup table was $250,000, and it would be at least $500,000 for a clean room.

    Good luck!

  7. #7
    Senior Member t34b4g5's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Location
    Australia.
    Posts
    2,391
    awww but Johnno, i was just going to say all that needs to be done is a quick vacumn and dust, maybe a little spray 'n wipe the walls and the room is already..

    Well i tend to cheat and just pull the drive's apart and quickly slap the needed component's into one drive screw it back together and slap it into the machine.

    Havan't had much success but it's fun to do none the less.

  8. #8
    Senior Member nihil's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Location
    United Kingdom: Bridlington
    Posts
    17,188
    Fair do's sport,

    I admit I have never tried that, but I have an extensive collection of dead HDDs and would think that I have about an 80% success rate with replacing the controller card.

    I prefer this approach because it doesn't require using a good working drive.


  9. #9
    Just a Virtualized Geek MrLinus's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2001
    Location
    Redondo Beach, CA
    Posts
    7,323
    At the least you can now make it useful: http://hackedgadgets.com/2006/04/25/...ad-hard-drive/



    Once dead, their ain't no voodoo that will revive it.
    Goodbye, Mittens (1992-2008). My pillow will be cold without your purring beside my head
    Extra! Extra! Get your FREE copy of Insight Newsletter||MsMittens' HomePage

  10. #10
    Disgruntled Postal Worker fourdc's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2002
    Location
    Vermont, USA
    Posts
    797
    And they make great targets at the rifle range, try and hit the spindle from 50 yds with a 30-06
    ddddc

    "Somehow saying I told you so just doesn't cover it" Will Smith in I, Robot

Similar Threads

  1. Here we go again -- another hard drive goes missing!
    By acidtone in forum AntiOnline's General Chit Chat
    Replies: 4
    Last Post: May 10th, 2007, 02:32 AM
  2. Old hard drive new system
    By Andy_Baxter498 in forum Hardware
    Replies: 11
    Last Post: April 2nd, 2007, 04:32 PM
  3. Tcp/ip
    By gore in forum Newbie Security Questions
    Replies: 11
    Last Post: December 29th, 2003, 08:01 AM
  4. Software to wipe clean hard drive
    By sweet_angel in forum AntiOnline's General Chit Chat
    Replies: 9
    Last Post: April 25th, 2003, 05:47 PM
  5. Partitioning a hard drive
    By johnjoe in forum AntiOnline's General Chit Chat
    Replies: 6
    Last Post: January 20th, 2003, 05:21 PM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •