[ltp] HDD emergency repair (howto)

[Joerg Bruehe]

Hi Michael, Adrian, all!


Michael Gaber wrote:
> That's something I'd like to know, too, since one of them contains the
> last living(?) copy of my pgp-key for some reason...
>=20
> Adrian Bastholm schrieb:
>> It would be nice to have a howto with pictures :P. By the way, is ther=
e a
>> way of fixing those old IBM DeathStar drives with the clicking problem=
 ?

I don't know for sure whether the problem you refer to is the one I
remember ...


Years ago, there were IBM disks which, if having been up and running for
a long time, after some power-down would not start to spin again.
They may have made some clicking sound, I don't remember.

For this problem, you had good chances to resurrect them (but probably
once only) by removing them from the machine, turning them upside down
(electronics up) and then hitting them really hard onto some solid, flat
surface (floor, workbench, large anvil, ...).
Of course, you had to take care that they hit the ground very parallel.
The hope was that this sudden stop of the disk case would make the
platters move slightly upward (relative to the normal orientation,
electronics on the bottom side) and so break them loose enough for the
motor to start turning.

You should have some storage medium ready to accept the data once you
get them from that (previously dead) disk, and most likely you have one
attempt only (this hitting really doesn't do the disk any good).


We recently had to use this procedure on a notebook disk, and it helped.
However, YMMV, and the risk stays with you ...


HTH,
J=F6rg

--=20
Joerg Bruehe  - persoenliche Aeusserung / speaking only for himself
mailto:joerg.bruehe@web.de