Had a client's old IDE hard drive start clicking during a data pull

This was in a small office in Phoenix, trying to get their old accounting files off a machine from 2003. The drive made that awful click of death sound halfway through copying. I shut it down, put it in a zip-lock bag and stuck it in the freezer for about 20 minutes, like we used to do. Got it running just long enough to grab the last few folders. Anyone else still keep a freezer handy for last-ditch recovery tries?

3 comments

3 Comments

david_martin9d agoTop Commenter

Honestly, the freezer trick is my tech support version of an old folk remedy. It feels like trying to fix a TV by smacking the side, but sometimes it just works. I keep a spot clear next to the ice cream just in case, which makes me look a bit crazy. It's a total last resort, but for those few extra minutes of spin time, I'll take the weird looks.

oliviac229d ago

My old laptop from college got a solid six extra months because I'd put the battery in the freezer for ten minutes before class. Totally get what you mean, @david_martin. It's that weird mix of knowing it's a temporary patch but feeling like a wizard when it actually boots. My roommate still brings up finding a hard drive next to the frozen peas.

the_willow4d ago

I read somewhere that the freezer trick works by contracting loose connections for a bit.