Freezing failed Hard disks

[bensthelens]

I will cut to the chase...

Does it work?! anyone got any examples?!

or is it just a plain no no!

(I heard that you can freeze a failing hard drive.. in order to get 20 minutes recovery time)

Ben

 

[14049752]

No. This was covered just a couple of days ago in another thread.

 

[bensthelens]

No. This was covered just a couple of days ago in another thread.

apologies.. will make better use of the search !

 

[iisjman07]

It can work, but is highly un-recommended. The theory goes that freezing the drive for a few hours makes metal inside the drive expand ever-so-slightly, making the contacts touch. I have seen it work, but bad points are many:

• 
  you will only get a few minutes of access before the metal contacts stop touching

• 
  each time you freeze recovery becomes less likely

• 
  it doesn't work 100% of the time

• 
  it can seriously hinder the chances of professional companies recovering data, companies like Drive Savers

There are more, they just don't spring to mind right now... I wouldn't try it, as this is a mechanical fault with the drive. Best bet is to use a professional data recovery company.

 

[SOHO-NZ]

It can work, but is highly un-recommended. The theory goes that freezing the drive for a few hours makes metal inside the drive expand ever-so-slightly, making the contacts touch. I have seen it work, but bad points are many:

I think you meant CONTRACT.

I have used this method on a number of occasions - but only where the customer won't pay for a data recovery service. Sometimes it does work.

The amount of time you can vary - probably due to the different nature of the original reason for failure.

 

[studiot]

I have seen it work.

Put the drive into a sealed polybag and exhaust as much air as possible.

Make sure you don't frostburn your fingers on metal when you remove it.

 

[Larry Sabo]

I've used it a few times and have had roughly 50% success with it. As mentioned, put it into a plastic bag and then into the freezer. I leave it overnight, then connect it to my test PC without removing it from the bag (the thin bags from the produce section of grocery stores work well.) Best to be all set to clone the drive before taking it out of the freezer, as you normally only get one, fleeting chance at recovery. I read this on Techrepublic IIRC, where it has an article about 100 ways to recover a dead hard drive, but I can't find the link any more. It's considered BS by many in the know. I just know it works sometimes and for customers willing to take the chance and not willing to pay for professional recovery, they are happy with it. If the drive is grinding or clicking, don't even consider this approach.

 

[frostbyte5014]

I doesn't work all the time but has worked for me many times. The cold makes the internal solder joints and microelectronic connections on the controller board contract and come back together. This usually works long enough to get the data off. You may have to repeat several times before you can get all the data. You can also try what others including myself have done. Connect it with long cables and put it in a couple of ziplock bags and put it in a container and pack it in ice. this keeps it colder longer so you can recover more data.

 

[Rider]

I don't mean to hijack but I would like to extend the question a bit. I have never tried the freezing technique but I could see how it can work. How about the flip side? I've heard of folks fixing the XBox ring of death by baking it. How about hard drives? My thought is that any extreme temperature change could affect the connections and solder joints.

Rider

 

[Bobbing]

I don't mean to hijack but I would like to extend the question a bit. I have never tried the freezing technique but I could see how it can work. How about the flip side? I've heard of folks fixing the XBox ring of death by baking it. How about hard drives? My thought is that any extreme temperature change could affect the connections and solder joints.

Rider

Its a last attempt at getting data off the drive before chucking it.
Baking Xbox's to fix the ring of death?? The RROD is caused by the chip creeping out of the socket from the board flexing and heat. To fix that you need to bolt the heat sinks down.

 

[frostbyte5014]

You can bake boards to dry them after something has been spilled. Usually for a laptop but, you don't want to bake the hard drive. You don't want to cause anything to expand.

 

[iisjman07]

I think you meant CONTRACT.

Indeed, slip of tounge

 

[schwags]

I don't mean to hijack but I would like to extend the question a bit. I have never tried the freezing technique but I could see how it can work. How about the flip side? I've heard of folks fixing the XBox ring of death by baking it. How about hard drives? My thought is that any extreme temperature change could affect the connections and solder joints.

Rider

I think the reason you heat an xbox is to just barely re-flow some solder connections that have become disconnected due to high heat. I have never done this, but heard about it on one of the latest potnutz episodes.

to stay in line with the thread...I have heard the freezing technique can work, but it isn't always used correctly. I would think that any condensation you get after you take the drive out would do damage. Besides, I think people use it too fast. I just successfully recovered data from a drive that another shop had declared unrecoverable. They even stated on their shop notes that they had tried the freezer trick.

 

[Doctor Micro]

I just successfully recovered data from a drive that another shop had declared unrecoverable. They even stated on their shop notes that they had tried the freezer trick.

What did you do to recover the drive?

 

[topshelfpc]

I don't know if anyone has mentioned this but SpinRite, has to be one of the best data recovery products I have ever used. http://www.grc.com/spinRite.htm