Hard drive gone bad

Geekgirl · 07-03-2006, 12:40 PM

Im working on a Dell Inspiron 3800 that the hard drive has gone bad. As soon as you boot it you can hear the clunking sound and Im sure you all have heard that sound.

Anywho, I wanted to pull off her important information but my bench computer is not reading the drive. It is connected as the master on the Secondary controller using an adapter, and when it detects the drives at boot it pauses for a moment when it is checking for a master secondary drive and then it states no drive present.
I have heard by placing a drive in the freezer over night may allow you to have enough time to pull off the data. I have never tried this and had some questions before attempting.
1. Does this work?
2.After bringing out the drive, will it "sweat" or give off condensation when its in its "thawing" process?
3.How long does it need to be in the freezer to have an effect on it? What if I get too busy and leave it in there for 2 days?

Sorry, I know these are silly questions but these were just some concerns of mine.

Thank you for your help in advance

dai · 07-03-2006, 12:55 PM

http://www.meetmyattorney.com/slink/...es/000275.html
http://www.hackaday.com/entry/1234000840067578/

Geekgirl · 07-03-2006, 02:45 PM

Thanks for the links

Volt-Schwibe · 07-03-2006, 03:14 PM

since i've never seen this mentioned, i'm going to suggest something that seems to help.

when you stick the drive in the freezer, put it in a zip lock bag, along with a few packets of "do not eat". (i know that's not it's name, but it's what it's known as.)

this stuff will absorb the moisture and avoid ice crystals on the platters.

(and ya know, us techies always have a few packets of that stuff laying around, since half the parts you buy come with some)

**PanamaGal** · 07-04-2006, 11:02 AM

That stuff is called dessicant, and it does help with the condensation. I have used the freeze technique several times with about a 50% success rate. I wouldn't leave it in the freezer for 2 days. I usually do about 4 hours or so. Good luck.

dai · 07-04-2006, 11:11 AM

try and get most of the air out of the bag before putting in the freezer

Geekgirl · 07-05-2006, 01:53 PM

Thanks for all the suggestions, I will post my outcome

Geekgirl · 07-06-2006, 10:31 AM

Well the freezer option did not work, I figured I had a 50-50 chance of it working.
I have a friend who is going to run a program on it that spins the drive at a dramtically slower speed, takes sometimes 25 hours to run and there is no guarantee he will be able to retrieve any info.

Than you all for your help

07-03-2006, 12:40 PM	#1 (permalink)
Geekgirl Assistant Manager, Microsoft Support Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Six-burgh, Pennsylvania Posts: 14,186 OS: XP Home SP3/XP Pro SP3/Vista Ultimate SP2/Windows 7 Professional	Hard drive gone bad Im working on a Dell Inspiron 3800 that the hard drive has gone bad. As soon as you boot it you can hear the clunking sound and Im sure you all have heard that sound. Anywho, I wanted to pull off her important information but my bench computer is not reading the drive. It is connected as the master on the Secondary controller using an adapter, and when it detects the drives at boot it pauses for a moment when it is checking for a master secondary drive and then it states no drive present. I have heard by placing a drive in the freezer over night may allow you to have enough time to pull off the data. I have never tried this and had some questions before attempting. 1. Does this work? 2.After bringing out the drive, will it "sweat" or give off condensation when its in its "thawing" process? 3.How long does it need to be in the freezer to have an effect on it? What if I get too busy and leave it in there for 2 days? Sorry, I know these are silly questions but these were just some concerns of mine. Thank you for your help in advance __________________ Compare NOD32 to your current antivirus and anti-spyware solution, HERE How to back up and restore the registry in Windows XP and Windows Vista Or Windows 7 How to back up and restore the registry in Windows 98/ ME / NT 4.0 / 2000 I DO NOT ACCEPT EMAILS AND WILL NOT REPLY TO THEM !!!!! TSF DOES NOT SUPPORT ASSISTANCE THROUGH EMAIL OR PRIVATE MESSAGES, PLEASE KEEP ALL QUESTIONS IN THE OPEN FORUM *The Pittsburgh Steelers - 6 X Superbowl Champions !!!!!!!* *The Pittsburgh Penguins - 2009 Stanley Cup Champions !!!!!!!*

07-03-2006, 12:55 PM	#2 (permalink)
dai Manager, Hardware Forums Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: west australia Posts: 56,678 OS: win 7 32x 64x rtm	http://www.meetmyattorney.com/slink/...es/000275.html http://www.hackaday.com/entry/1234000840067578/ __________________

07-03-2006, 02:45 PM	#3 (permalink)
Geekgirl Assistant Manager, Microsoft Support Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Six-burgh, Pennsylvania Posts: 14,186 OS: XP Home SP3/XP Pro SP3/Vista Ultimate SP2/Windows 7 Professional	Thanks for the links __________________ Compare NOD32 to your current antivirus and anti-spyware solution, HERE How to back up and restore the registry in Windows XP and Windows Vista Or Windows 7 How to back up and restore the registry in Windows 98/ ME / NT 4.0 / 2000 I DO NOT ACCEPT EMAILS AND WILL NOT REPLY TO THEM !!!!! TSF DOES NOT SUPPORT ASSISTANCE THROUGH EMAIL OR PRIVATE MESSAGES, PLEASE KEEP ALL QUESTIONS IN THE OPEN FORUM *The Pittsburgh Steelers - 6 X Superbowl Champions !!!!!!!* *The Pittsburgh Penguins - 2009 Stanley Cup Champions !!!!!!!*

07-03-2006, 03:14 PM	#4 (permalink)
Volt-Schwibe Asst. Manager, Automotive Forums; HJT Trainee Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Behind you, watching you as you type. Posts: 7,372 OS: Click "My System" to view details My System	since i've never seen this mentioned, i'm going to suggest something that seems to help. when you stick the drive in the freezer, put it in a zip lock bag, along with a few packets of "do not eat". (i know that's not it's name, but it's what it's known as.) this stuff will absorb the moisture and avoid ice crystals on the platters. (and ya know, us techies always have a few packets of that stuff laying around, since half the parts you buy come with some) __________________ <signature> TSF is funded by our Admin's pocket, care to help? Power Tip: Subscribe to your thread (Thread Tools) to receive an instant email notification when you get a reply. New Members: Creating a single new thread in the correct section is the best way to assure your thread will receive a reply. </signature> Last edited by Volt-Schwibe; 07-03-2006 at 03:16 PM.

07-04-2006, 11:02 AM	#5 (permalink)
PanamaGal Mentor Hardware Team Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Panama Posts: 1,240 OS: WinXP Pro SP2; Windows Server 2003; Windows Vista Ultimate; Vista Business	That stuff is called dessicant, and it does help with the condensation. I have used the freeze technique several times with about a 50% success rate. I wouldn't leave it in the freezer for 2 days. I usually do about 4 hours or so. Good luck. __________________ It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.

07-04-2006, 11:11 AM	#6 (permalink)
dai Manager, Hardware Forums Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: west australia Posts: 56,678 OS: win 7 32x 64x rtm	try and get most of the air out of the bag before putting in the freezer __________________

07-05-2006, 01:53 PM	#7 (permalink)
Geekgirl Assistant Manager, Microsoft Support Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Six-burgh, Pennsylvania Posts: 14,186 OS: XP Home SP3/XP Pro SP3/Vista Ultimate SP2/Windows 7 Professional	Thanks for all the suggestions, I will post my outcome __________________ Compare NOD32 to your current antivirus and anti-spyware solution, HERE How to back up and restore the registry in Windows XP and Windows Vista Or Windows 7 How to back up and restore the registry in Windows 98/ ME / NT 4.0 / 2000 I DO NOT ACCEPT EMAILS AND WILL NOT REPLY TO THEM !!!!! TSF DOES NOT SUPPORT ASSISTANCE THROUGH EMAIL OR PRIVATE MESSAGES, PLEASE KEEP ALL QUESTIONS IN THE OPEN FORUM *The Pittsburgh Steelers - 6 X Superbowl Champions !!!!!!!* *The Pittsburgh Penguins - 2009 Stanley Cup Champions !!!!!!!*

07-06-2006, 10:31 AM	#8 (permalink)
Geekgirl Assistant Manager, Microsoft Support Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Six-burgh, Pennsylvania Posts: 14,186 OS: XP Home SP3/XP Pro SP3/Vista Ultimate SP2/Windows 7 Professional	Well the freezer option did not work, I figured I had a 50-50 chance of it working. I have a friend who is going to run a program on it that spins the drive at a dramtically slower speed, takes sometimes 25 hours to run and there is no guarantee he will be able to retrieve any info. Than you all for your help __________________ Compare NOD32 to your current antivirus and anti-spyware solution, HERE How to back up and restore the registry in Windows XP and Windows Vista Or Windows 7 How to back up and restore the registry in Windows 98/ ME / NT 4.0 / 2000 I DO NOT ACCEPT EMAILS AND WILL NOT REPLY TO THEM !!!!! TSF DOES NOT SUPPORT ASSISTANCE THROUGH EMAIL OR PRIVATE MESSAGES, PLEASE KEEP ALL QUESTIONS IN THE OPEN FORUM *The Pittsburgh Steelers - 6 X Superbowl Champions !!!!!!!* *The Pittsburgh Penguins - 2009 Stanley Cup Champions !!!!!!!*