Hard drives in the freezer?!

Wonder how you thaw them out . . .

[MatthewHSE]

Just found this article:

[news.bbc.co.uk...]

The article itself isn't particularly interesting, but that opening paragraph and the tidbit about the guy and his laptop are really bizarre. What makes people think of such things?

[encyclo]

Actually, freezing certain hard drives can help bring them back to life, at least for long enough to make a backup - so it's not as crazy as it sounds. The contraction of certain components when exposed to the cold can re-join some broken connections - much like how a thermostat works.

Don't try it unless you're desperate, though!

I'm more a fan of "percussive maintenance", though - surprisingly effective too!

[Macro]

A female user placed her laptop on top of her car while getting in. Forgetting about the laptop,...

I wonder why, in this case, they had to mention it was a female? LOL All the others were just called "users".

[vkaryl]

encyclo, I've done both and had luck with both. And one time I froze a drive, thawed it, and had to thump it too.... I would say it's not for the faint of heart though! But if the data's lost anyway.... *shrug* Why not?

[Macro]

>>Why not?

Because data recovery experts may be able to replace the motor/the pcb or even do miraculous things with your platters. And get all the data back

Sticking it in the freezer is not good especially when you consider there are condensation issues that could make the data really irrecoverable.

>>What makes people think of such things?
Freezing components is not new. The overclocking community has been freezing CPUs since before the Romans reached Britain. They've ruined a few I'm sure, but now have it down to a fine art.

[MatthewHSE]

That's really interesting about freezing hard drives really being useful sometimes. I'm not inclined to try it, though - I know a guy who does a lot of data recovery, and my first step is always to go to him! ;)

So freezing a drive has its uses; what about tossing a computer into the bowl like that other guy in the article did? ;)

[vkaryl]

Macro, the nearest data recov expert to me is in LA probably.... or maybe Las Vegas by now, no idea, since my experiences with frozen drives was years and years ago now. And of course, I had full backups in the safe deposit box anyway, but things like this always happen on Sunday when Monday's a holiday, and I needed my stuff NOW.

I don't know that I would do this now, but then again, I don't know that I'd pay anyone to try getting it back for me either. Besides, I'm the queen of redundant backups, if not the empress of patience....