 Dalantech
Jedi Web Master
Posts: 11743
Age: 45
Loc: Naples, Italy
Reg: Saturday October 8th 2005
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Wednesday July 9th 2008 03:10 PM - Post#98532
Last Thursday night it was getting late, and I was getting tired, so I packed my backup USB hard drive in my computer bag intent on backing up my images out at the farm. I was about two weeks behind and I had a few RAW files that I didn't want to lose.
Friday morning my laptop wouldn't boot.
I ran diagnostics on it most of the day Saturday -if there's one good thing I can say about a Dell XPS M1330 laptop is that there is a very good set of trouble shooting tools built into the laptop's BIOS. As my luck would have it the hard drive was toast...
Since I got back from the farm I've been using an older laptop and trying to access the damage. The old machine is dirt slow, so I haven't been posting much. I did contact Dell and they are sending me a replacement drive. Since I have no control over what they send, and since I needed more storage anyway, I went to New Egg and ordered a 320GB TravelStar drive that's compatible with the M1130. I'll put the drive that Dell sends me in an external USB enclosure and use it for data backups.
Moral of the story: Even a network engineer can get bitten by a bad drive. In my defense I've never had a hard drive die on me, and the laptop was about 6 months old. I've got a machine that I bought in 2000 that is still working...
My Photo Gallery -if you see an image you like just order it.
No Cropping Zone -macro photography explained.
Will Electronic Arts release a version of Spore for creationists that only has one level that's already finished?  |
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DooD
Member
Posts: 2138
Age: 24
Loc: Central PA
Reg: Saturday March 2nd 2002
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Wednesday July 9th 2008 04:00 PM - Post#98534
In response to Dalantech
Often, what I find with laptop drives is that they are victims of a few strategically placed bad sectors. I can 95% of the time recover the data by using Ghost to create an image of the drive, ignoring bad sectors. Then I can use Ghost Image Explorer to recover the files.
| At no time while I'm helping you with this, or any other problem, will your problem become my problem. The instant your problem becomes my problem, you no longer have a problem, and I cannot help a man without a problem. |
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 Lanwizard
Mostly Harmless
Posts: 7577
Age: 46
Loc: Tucson, AZ.
Reg: Saturday June 29th 2002
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Wednesday July 9th 2008 05:06 PM - Post#98535
In response to Dalantech
That's a bummer! Did you Spinrite the hard drive as I had recommended?
At this point, you've got nothing to lose, stick the drive in the external USB enclosure and put it in the freezer for a day. Fire it up and see if it'll spin up long enough to recover your files from it.
I have a 3.5 drive that over heats even with a fan blowing directly on it, freezing it and then running it until it warms up allows me to pull files off of it until it locks up again.
Repeating this cycle several times, I was able to recover all my files from my game computer's dead hard drive.
Come to think of it, that drive is still in the freezer, has been for a few months now...  I should recover the magnets from that drive.
Somebody told me to go to Hell, I replied back that I can't. He asked me why and I said that the Devil has taken out a restraining order against me.
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matt619
enthusiast
Posts: 880
Loc: San Diego, CA
Reg: Wednesday February 12th 2003
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Wednesday July 9th 2008 10:04 PM - Post#98536
In response to Lanwizard
I hear putting drives in freezers is bad, because when you take them out of a below freezing zero humidity environment and into a relatively humid environment, moisture will condense on the platters....which sure does seem like a bad thing. Contrary to popular belief, hard drives are not hermetically sealed.
-M@
| The bigger the government, the smaller the citizen. |
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Lanwizard
Mostly Harmless
Posts: 7577
Age: 46
Loc: Tucson, AZ.
Reg: Saturday June 29th 2002
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Wednesday July 9th 2008 11:51 PM - Post#98537
In response to matt619
Uhhh, I don't care, the drive is toast according to Dal and if freezing the drive can make it function just long enough so Dal can recover files from it in one session, who cares if it suffers permanent damage?
The drive holds no value, the files on it are worth something to Dal, that should be the focus.
Years ago, I bought a partially disassembled computer from a thrift store, I plugged several of the PCI cards back in, they were laying at the bottom of the case, hooked up the cables and fired it up.
The drive was locked up. A day in the freezer and the drive started working again. It was from some Doctor's office, full of patient files. I wrote a post about my $20 Linux box a few years ago and until the day I powered it down and stored it in the garage, it ran fine.
Granted, I didn't trust that drive to store any valuable info but it made a great Linux scratch monkey.
Somebody told me to go to Hell, I replied back that I can't. He asked me why and I said that the Devil has taken out a restraining order against me.
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Dalantech
Jedi Web Master
Posts: 11743
Age: 45
Loc: Naples, Italy
Reg: Saturday October 8th 2005
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Thursday July 24th 2008 06:42 AM - Post#98564
In response to Lanwizard
A friend of mine is dropping off an enclosure tomorrow and if I can't get any data off of it I'll stick it in the freezer -we've recovered data from a few drives here at work that way. I have a new 320GB drive from New Egg in the box now -still haven't seen the replacement from Dell...
My Photo Gallery -if you see an image you like just order it.
No Cropping Zone -macro photography explained.
Will Electronic Arts release a version of Spore for creationists that only has one level that's already finished? |
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Hardrive
DLT Staff
Posts: 13738
Loc: Long Beach, CA
Reg: Thursday January 4th 2001
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Thursday July 24th 2008 12:34 PM - Post#98567
In response to Dalantech
I have a new 320GB drive from New Egg in the box now -still haven't seen the replacement from Dell...
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DaFlake
DLT Staff GURU
Posts: 6551
Age: 41
Loc: Cape Cod
Reg: Thursday January 4th 2001
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Friday July 25th 2008 08:58 PM - Post#98585
In response to Dalantech
Should have bought Apple.... 
Just kidding.
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DooD
Member
Posts: 2138
Age: 24
Loc: Central PA
Reg: Saturday March 2nd 2002
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Tuesday April 27th 2010 10:48 AM - Post#99868
In response to Hardrive
You know... every time I see this thread, I think... "Oh no! Hardrive is dead! What happened ?!"
And then I realise it's the same thread I've been seeing in the listings for the last two years.
| At no time while I'm helping you with this, or any other problem, will your problem become my problem. The instant your problem becomes my problem, you no longer have a problem, and I cannot help a man without a problem. |
Edited by DooD on Tuesday April 27th 2010 10:49 AM. Reason for edit: No reason given.
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Lanwizard
Mostly Harmless
Posts: 7577
Age: 46
Loc: Tucson, AZ.
Reg: Saturday June 29th 2002
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Tuesday April 27th 2010 10:46 PM - Post#99869
In response to DooD
"Oh no! Hardrive is dead! What happened ?!"
OK, I'll play this game... Uhhh, he found the keys to the spark plug girls private locker room and died with a big smile on his face?
In other news, I bought a 2009 Toyota Corolla LE on Saturday for $11,981. It was pretty much time to park the 97 Saturn SC2 behind the garage and put a bullet in it's fuel injector pump.
Somebody told me to go to Hell, I replied back that I can't. He asked me why and I said that the Devil has taken out a restraining order against me.
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Iron
Da Alpha Geek
Posts: 753
Age: 56
Loc: Watertown, WI
Reg: Monday June 24th 2002
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Wednesday April 28th 2010 07:46 AM - Post#99870
In response to Lanwizard
2009 Toyota Corolla LE, nice. Hey, that's one of those cars that just "keep going & going" At least now when you tell the cop that the gas pedal stuck, he might believe you.  Seriously though, Toyotas DO seem to run forever.
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Hardrive
DLT Staff
Posts: 13738
Loc: Long Beach, CA
Reg: Thursday January 4th 2001
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Wednesday April 28th 2010 10:44 AM - Post#99871
In response to DooD
You know... every time I see this thread, I think... "Oh no! Hardrive is dead! What happened ?!"
And then I realise it's the same thread I've been seeing in the listings for the last two years.
thanks for lookin out!
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Lanwizard
Mostly Harmless
Posts: 7577
Age: 46
Loc: Tucson, AZ.
Reg: Saturday June 29th 2002
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Wednesday April 28th 2010 11:55 PM - Post#99874
In response to Hardrive
Any excuse for a wake, just sayin.......
Somebody told me to go to Hell, I replied back that I can't. He asked me why and I said that the Devil has taken out a restraining order against me.
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Lanwizard
Mostly Harmless
Posts: 7577
Age: 46
Loc: Tucson, AZ.
Reg: Saturday June 29th 2002
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Thursday April 29th 2010 12:00 AM - Post#99875
In response to Iron
Actually, I'll tell ya a secret, Toyota's are great sex toys, they won't stop no matter how loud you scream!
I bought it Saturday and it's at the dealer today and tomorrow getting two recalls fixed.
Somebody told me to go to Hell, I replied back that I can't. He asked me why and I said that the Devil has taken out a restraining order against me.
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