Physical Data Recovery

[Loony Guitarist]

Hey Guys, A few days ago my Dad's laptop Hard drive stopped working and just makes a clicking noise whenever you try to power it on. I figured the read/write heads are toast so my question to you is if you know of any methods to retrieve data from the physical platters themselves that I could do at home. I know there are send off services for this kind of thing but the data is not quite that important to justify the cost.

[cooper]

You could buy an identical drive and exchange the platters, but you're more likely to destroy the data than to get it off the frankensteined drive.

[DingleBerries]

Put the hhd in a freezer safe ziplock bag and remove the air from it, then place it in the freezer for an hour. Take it out and immediately hook it up to a external reader and copy data. You will only have a few mins but its easier than Coopers method, however his would work WAY better.

[Whedgit]

Put the hhd in a freezer safe ziplock bag and remove the air from it, then place it in the freezer for an hour. Take it out and immediately hook it up to a external reader and copy data. You will only have a few mins but its easier than Coopers method, however his would work WAY better.

this method does work great, saved the data off a clients computer.

saved me and them losts of money!

[Loony Guitarist]

Put the hhd in a freezer safe ziplock bag and remove the air from it, then place it in the freezer for an hour. Take it out and immediately hook it up to a external reader and copy data. You will only have a few mins but its easier than Coopers method, however his would work WAY better.

if i leave it in longer would I be able to get enough time to do a dd image of the drive? or should I just ask where the most important files are and try to grab as much as I can. (Id have to double check but I believe it is a 20gig drive.)

[Sparda]

Put the hhd in a freezer safe ziplock bag and remove the air from it, then place it in the freezer for an hour. Take it out and immediately hook it up to a external reader and copy data. You will only have a few mins but its easier than Coopers method, however his would work WAY better.

I'd also try to do this in a cold room (as in server room cold) or if this isn't available have a room fan blowing over the PCB. These additional steps are to reduce the condensation building up on the surface of the PCB.

My actual answer is: Restore from your latest backup.

[Loony Guitarist]

My actual answer is: Restore from your latest backup.

Unfortunately the Backup concept is still beyond my fathers grasp... Although hopefully this dead drive will help change that.

Thanks for the reply's so far, I had heard about the freezing but wasn't quite sure if it was a serious option. I would prefer the platter replacement method but I am unsure if I can create a static free clean room in my apartment and i don't have access to any kind of clean room.

[DingleBerries]

I'd also try to do this in a cold room (as in server room cold) or if this isn't available have a room fan blowing over the PCB. These additional steps are to reduce the condensation building up on the surface of the PCB.

My actual answer is: Restore from your latest backup.

The fan is an excellent idea. I didnt think of doing it in a cold place, maybe find access to a walk-in freezer :P?

[Sparda]

The fan is an excellent idea. I didnt think of doing it in a cold place, maybe find access to a walk-in freezer :P?

There is too much water in the air in a fridge or freezer, with a fan it might be ok. If you had a dehumidifier along side that would be ideal. A cold normal* humidity room should be fine.

*Normal = England, not the Amazon rainforest.