Dead HDD

[SaintHacker]

Anyone good with problematic pc's? @PhilTheFragger
Woke my pc up earlier and the shortcuts to the programs installed on my 2nd internal HDD were all blank. Rebooted the pc and it wouldn't boot at all, and I couldn't hear the hdd spinning up. Disconnected it and the pc boot fine. I've tried changing all the cables,sata ports etc to no avail so I think the hdd is fried.
Anyone got any tips to bring ot back to life, if only for long enough to get some files off it? I've reda a few about putting in the freezer overnight but not sure I like the sound of that...

 

[GreiginFife]

It depends on whats gone wrong. If its the PCB or the spindle controller then you can sometimes buy a used drive off ebay for parts.
If its the actual discs then you are pretty boned.

Disconnect all other drives and just connect a SATA power cable to the drive, not the data cable.

If you can feel the drive spin up the controller is fine and it could be an actual disc issue. If it doesn't spin up then thats a good sign the PCB/controller are shot.

Either way, total ball ache to recover data.

 

[cliveb]

Is stiction still a possible issue with HDDs? Used to be that sometimes a drive wouldn't spin up because the motor was stuck in some way. A modest lateral tap with a rubber mallet while it was trying to spin up would free it. That would be a last resort, though, after all other possibilities are eliminated.

 

[GreiginFife]

Is stiction still a possible issue with HDDs? Used to be that sometimes a drive wouldn't spin up because the motor was stuck in some way. A modest lateral tap with a rubber mallet while it was trying to spin up would free it. That would be a last resort, though, after all other possibilities are eliminated.

Absolute last resort, got to be careful not to cause the actuator arms to jump. Older hard drives invariably used heavier platters and smaller motors which was a major factor in sticking and motor failure. Don't see that as much these days. (don't think I have ever seen it on a SATA drive tbh).

 

[SaintHacker]

Is stiction still a possible issue with HDDs? Used to be that sometimes a drive wouldn't spin up because the motor was stuck in some way. A modest lateral tap with a rubber mallet while it was trying to spin up would free it. That would be a last resort, though, after all other possibilities are eliminated.

Might give the freezer trick a go first to see if that works. There's nothing important on there that isnt backed up, just a huge amount of flight sim scenery that took forever to create

 

[cliveb]

Don't see that as much these days. (don't think I have ever seen it on a SATA drive tbh).

Yes, last time I experienced it was an IDE drive, must have been at least 15 years ago