[Gllug] Anyone know anything about hardware ?

[Joel Bernstein]

On Tue, Jan 25, 2005 at 11:32:22AM +0000, John Hearns wrote:
> On Mon, 2005-01-24 at 17:08 +0000, Joel Bernstein wrote:
> 
> > 
> > Fujitsu have a post regarding this: 
> > http://www.fcpa.fujitsu.com/products/hard-drives/hd-public-statment.html
> > 
> 
> > 
> > It sounds as though your drive may work when cool, but not once it warms
> > up. This seems to be typical of the problem relating to the CL
> > controller chip.
> 
> I don't know if it is any help with a controller chip problem,
> but I've had success in getting a dodgy drive to work by putting it
> in a sealed bag then into the freezer, say for a few hours or overnight.
> If it does work, then obviously read the data off the drive quickly.

I'd be very surprised if that makes a difference. That technique works
on drives with head problems - by freezing the disk you cool the metal
platters and heads, causing the metal to contract. That way you have
more clearance for stuff to spin, often giving you one shot at copying
data off a dead drive. Useful tip, but unlikely to help in this instance
since the problem is related to the controller, rather than the drive 
mechanics.

Of course, given that the problem relates to a hardware thermal problem
with the controller chip, you might find that chilling the disc lets the
system detect the drive and allows you to copy off the data. The key
thing to remember is to use a SEALED bag - something like a ziploc
freezer bag would do the trick. Condensation must be avoided at all
costs.

/joel
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