Comments on: How I recovered my hard drive by double-boiling it http://www.mandible.net/2007/11/24/how-i-recovered-my-hard-drive-by-double-boiling-it/ The Mad Ravings of Zorba Thu, 12 Jan 2012 00:07:41 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v= By: Chad Garrett http://www.mandible.net/2007/11/24/how-i-recovered-my-hard-drive-by-double-boiling-it/comment-page-2/#comment-46475 Chad Garrett Thu, 25 Aug 2011 23:15:28 +0000 http://www.mandible.net/2007/11/24/how-i-saved-my-hard-drive-by-double-boiling-it/#comment-46475 Just a warning to those of you that think that your surge protector protects you against ALL surges - Think again! Look for the "clamping voltage." It's usually between 350 and 375 Volts. This means that if there's a small strike - say a lightning strike a mile or two away, you might get a 200 volt surge. Your surge protector will happily pass that right through to your electronics. The only way you're safe against that is with a line conditioner. I lost ~$500 worth of equipment due to a low-voltage surge that came in through my computer even though it was protected with a 2,000 joule with a "$50,000 connected equipment warranty." That warranty only protects you if the the surge protector ends up as burnt toast. If 200 volts comes through and wrecks your electronics, you're still going to be paying the replacement bill. Just a warning to those of you that think that your surge protector protects you against ALL surges – Think again! Look for the "clamping voltage." It's usually between 350 and 375 Volts. This means that if there's a small strike – say a lightning strike a mile or two away, you might get a 200 volt surge. Your surge protector will happily pass that right through to your electronics.

The only way you're safe against that is with a line conditioner. I lost ~$500 worth of equipment due to a low-voltage surge that came in through my computer even though it was protected with a 2,000 joule with a "$50,000 connected equipment warranty." That warranty only protects you if the the surge protector ends up as burnt toast. If 200 volts comes through and wrecks your electronics, you're still going to be paying the replacement bill.

]]> By: KeithFromCanada http://www.mandible.net/2007/11/24/how-i-recovered-my-hard-drive-by-double-boiling-it/comment-page-2/#comment-46460 KeithFromCanada Thu, 25 Aug 2011 19:33:34 +0000 http://www.mandible.net/2007/11/24/how-i-saved-my-hard-drive-by-double-boiling-it/#comment-46460 Big Al, *clearly* I'm not talking to you, then. :biggrin: Bravo, sir! Big Al, *clearly* I'm not talking to you, then. :biggrin:

Bravo, sir!

]]> By: Big Al http://www.mandible.net/2007/11/24/how-i-recovered-my-hard-drive-by-double-boiling-it/comment-page-2/#comment-46458 Big Al Thu, 25 Aug 2011 19:21:08 +0000 http://www.mandible.net/2007/11/24/how-i-saved-my-hard-drive-by-double-boiling-it/#comment-46458 Keith, my surge protector says 2,000 Joules (Fellows 99073)and I've even got a Cutler-Hammer CHSP-3 Way surge protector on the mains of the house, can I be considered protected? I've had this kind of surge protection since at least 2005. Checked regularly. Keith, my surge protector says 2,000 Joules (Fellows 99073)and I've even got a Cutler-Hammer CHSP-3 Way surge protector on the mains of the house, can I be considered protected? I've had this kind of surge protection since at least 2005. Checked regularly.

]]> By: KeithFromCanada http://www.mandible.net/2007/11/24/how-i-recovered-my-hard-drive-by-double-boiling-it/comment-page-2/#comment-46457 KeithFromCanada Thu, 25 Aug 2011 18:55:28 +0000 http://www.mandible.net/2007/11/24/how-i-saved-my-hard-drive-by-double-boiling-it/#comment-46457 Hey, you! Yeah, you. Right now, this *second*, look at the label on your surge protector, and see how many 'Joules' it is rated for. If the answer is 'it doesn't say anything about Joules', the protection light isn't on, or the rating is for less than 1800, GO GET ONE RIGHT NOW!!! I'm *serious*. It is the cheapest insurance you can buy for your electronics. Take a look around you and figure out how much it would cost to replace everything you own that plugs into a wall outlet. Quite a $$$hock, isn't it? You should have 1 'whole house' surge protector on your electrical panel, and *everything* should be plugged into a surge protecting power bar, to double your coverage. (Many insurance plans will give you a discount if you have surge protection; check yours out.) Hey, you! Yeah, you. Right now, this *second*, look at the label on your surge protector, and see how many 'Joules' it is rated for. If the answer is 'it doesn't say anything about Joules', the protection light isn't on, or the rating is for less than 1800, GO GET ONE RIGHT NOW!!! I'm *serious*. It is the cheapest insurance you can buy for your electronics. Take a look around you and figure out how much it would cost to replace everything you own that plugs into a wall outlet. Quite a $$$hock, isn't it? You should have 1 'whole house' surge protector on your electrical panel, and *everything* should be plugged into a surge protecting power bar, to double your coverage. (Many insurance plans will give you a discount if you have surge protection; check yours out.)

]]> By: Big Al http://www.mandible.net/2007/11/24/how-i-recovered-my-hard-drive-by-double-boiling-it/comment-page-2/#comment-46404 Big Al Thu, 25 Aug 2011 01:39:31 +0000 http://www.mandible.net/2007/11/24/how-i-saved-my-hard-drive-by-double-boiling-it/#comment-46404 To all of you who could retrieve their files from their dead HDD, don't forget to return it to the maker to get a new one. I have myself a click of death case here for a Seagate Barracuda bought a year ago, when I'll be through with the retrieval (if I succeed with the present method), I'll send it back for sure for a replacement as this drive is supposed to be garanteed for 5 years. I have to admit that I'm also considering the SSD solution, as there are no moving parts in these drives, but they're still very expensive. I'll also change my PSU as this is the second Seagate that I lose this way in a year (the other one was replaced for free where I bought it) and I'm afraid that underpower could be the reason why this happens. Best to all, To all of you who could retrieve their files from their dead HDD, don't forget to return it to the maker to get a new one. I have myself a click of death case here for a Seagate Barracuda bought a year ago, when I'll be through with the retrieval (if I succeed with the present method), I'll send it back for sure for a replacement as this drive is supposed to be garanteed for 5 years. I have to admit that I'm also considering the SSD solution, as there are no moving parts in these drives, but they're still very expensive. I'll also change my PSU as this is the second Seagate that I lose this way in a year (the other one was replaced for free where I bought it) and I'm afraid that underpower could be the reason why this happens.

Best to all,

]]> By: Richard M http://www.mandible.net/2007/11/24/how-i-recovered-my-hard-drive-by-double-boiling-it/comment-page-1/#comment-46299 Richard M Tue, 23 Aug 2011 19:18:24 +0000 http://www.mandible.net/2007/11/24/how-i-saved-my-hard-drive-by-double-boiling-it/#comment-46299 Well, I have to say this this the best "trick" I've seen. My 6 year old WD SE2500 250gig drive was making 6 clicks at startup, would spin down, then would make 2 clicks, spin down, and one more try with 2 clicks, then spin down. The SATA controller in BIOS was reporting it as a "HAWK" drive, which other research lead me to believe that the drive was indeed good, but that it could not read the info it needed to startup. I was able to get it to startup once, after repeatedly trying, I prayed, and 10 tries later, it started! Then, I began backing up all that I could. As luck would have it, in a major act of clumsiness and bad fortune, my cat toppled the PC while I had everything opened up, and it rebooted the PC. Then it was clicking like before. I read everything from freezing, to swapping cables, to checking power, to tapping and hitting the drive forcefully. I didn't try freezing, but was about to when I found this thread. I just heated my drive in my oven. Set oven to warm, put a cooking thermometer in it, and when the oven got to about 165 degrees, I took the drive out with a towel, plugged it in, and got 6 clicks. Then I powered off and on, and it worked! The problem never affected my use of the drive once it was able to read it's boot up info. It's all good once started... but obviously, that's not a way to operate a computer... the drive is failing. So I'm back in my computer now, finishing the backup. I'm also going to try some disk mirroring software that seems to be free from the WD website to move all of my stuff, en masse, over to a new drive. THANKS A MILLION FOR THIS THREAD! Well, I have to say this this the best "trick" I've seen. My 6 year old WD SE2500 250gig drive was making 6 clicks at startup, would spin down, then would make 2 clicks, spin down, and one more try with 2 clicks, then spin down. The SATA controller in BIOS was reporting it as a "HAWK" drive, which other research lead me to believe that the drive was indeed good, but that it could not read the info it needed to startup.

I was able to get it to startup once, after repeatedly trying, I prayed, and 10 tries later, it started! Then, I began backing up all that I could. As luck would have it, in a major act of clumsiness and bad fortune, my cat toppled the PC while I had everything opened up, and it rebooted the PC. Then it was clicking like before. I read everything from freezing, to swapping cables, to checking power, to tapping and hitting the drive forcefully. I didn't try freezing, but was about to when I found this thread.

I just heated my drive in my oven. Set oven to warm, put a cooking thermometer in it, and when the oven got to about 165 degrees, I took the drive out with a towel, plugged it in, and got 6 clicks. Then I powered off and on, and it worked! The problem never affected my use of the drive once it was able to read it's boot up info. It's all good once started… but obviously, that's not a way to operate a computer… the drive is failing.

So I'm back in my computer now, finishing the backup. I'm also going to try some disk mirroring software that seems to be free from the WD website to move all of my stuff, en masse, over to a new drive.

THANKS A MILLION FOR THIS THREAD!

]]> By: bsmith54 http://www.mandible.net/2007/11/24/how-i-recovered-my-hard-drive-by-double-boiling-it/comment-page-1/#comment-39036 bsmith54 Thu, 21 Apr 2011 22:40:13 +0000 http://www.mandible.net/2007/11/24/how-i-saved-my-hard-drive-by-double-boiling-it/#comment-39036 I used my wifes' hairdryer on my 160GB WD My Books without the cover on, everything else still intact, for about 5 minutes and to my surprise My Books was recongnized by my computer and is now being backed up to my C drive on my computer. so thankful i found this post. Geek Squad wanted $800.00 to retrieve my data and i was going to have to buy another external hard drive from them (Best Buy). so glad i didn't give that "GEEK" my hard earned money! i'm going by there just to tell him how i fixed it and that he'll never get any of my business again! I used my wifes' hairdryer on my 160GB WD My Books without the cover on, everything else still intact, for about 5 minutes and to my surprise My Books was recongnized by my computer and is now being backed up to my C drive on my computer. so thankful i found this post. Geek Squad wanted $800.00 to retrieve my data and i was going to have to buy another external hard drive from them (Best Buy). so glad i didn't give that "GEEK" my hard earned money! i'm going by there just to tell him how i fixed it and that he'll never get any of my business again!

]]> By: Data Recovery companies? - FreddysHouse http://www.mandible.net/2007/11/24/how-i-recovered-my-hard-drive-by-double-boiling-it/comment-page-1/#comment-37070 Data Recovery companies? - FreddysHouse Sat, 12 Mar 2011 23:33:58 +0000 http://www.mandible.net/2007/11/24/how-i-saved-my-hard-drive-by-double-boiling-it/#comment-37070 [...] [...] [...] [...]

]]> By: dawn http://www.mandible.net/2007/11/24/how-i-recovered-my-hard-drive-by-double-boiling-it/comment-page-1/#comment-30155 dawn Mon, 15 Nov 2010 20:12:53 +0000 http://www.mandible.net/2007/11/24/how-i-saved-my-hard-drive-by-double-boiling-it/#comment-30155 thank you so much for this info!! i had a clicking hard drive that was not readable as a slave drive or with an external enclosure. i tried the freezing method and hitting it to no avail. out of desperation i thought i would try heating it as a last resort and it worked! im copying files off of it right now and am hoping it stays running until i finish. for anyone else who may want to try this, i put it in the oven at about 150 degrees for an hour or so (it would have been less but i forgot it was in there); when i got it out it was very warm to the touch but not extremely hot. thank you so much for this info!! i had a clicking hard drive that was not readable as a slave drive or with an external enclosure. i tried the freezing method and hitting it to no avail. out of desperation i thought i would try heating it as a last resort and it worked! im copying files off of it right now and am hoping it stays running until i finish. for anyone else who may want to try this, i put it in the oven at about 150 degrees for an hour or so (it would have been less but i forgot it was in there); when i got it out it was very warm to the touch but not extremely hot.

]]> By: brendhan http://www.mandible.net/2007/11/24/how-i-recovered-my-hard-drive-by-double-boiling-it/comment-page-1/#comment-27924 brendhan Sun, 26 Sep 2010 20:47:36 +0000 http://www.mandible.net/2007/11/24/how-i-saved-my-hard-drive-by-double-boiling-it/#comment-27924 hi i have the click of death myself since yesterday actully but i also had the click of death a few months ago porably around julyish i know it was in the middle of summer. so we tired reinstalling windows and then we had to get the service packs by transfering to them to a cd from another computer and installing them from the cd (i could not access the internet without them) and it worked but then i decided to put in my hard drive it was being detected and since then i had no porblems even though i knew it could happen agian. so it happened agian last night. and well idk what to do. because for all i know leaving it alone could have fixed it or just being pulged in while the service packs where all installed could have fixed it. or a combination of all the other things i tired frezzeing it hitting it etc. all i know is one min it was clicking like today and then a few days later it works like nothing had happened. and lasts a few months before happening agian. hi i have the click of death myself since yesterday actully but i also had the click of death a few months ago porably around julyish i know it was in the middle of summer. so we tired reinstalling windows and then we had to get the service packs by transfering to them to a cd from another computer and installing them from the cd (i could not access the internet without them) and it worked but then i decided to put in my hard drive it was being detected and since then i had no porblems even though i knew it could happen agian. so it happened agian last night. and well idk what to do. because for all i know leaving it alone could have fixed it or just being pulged in while the service packs where all installed could have fixed it. or a combination of all the other things i tired frezzeing it hitting it etc. all i know is one min it was clicking like today and then a few days later it works like nothing had happened. and lasts a few months before happening agian.

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