Comments on: Hard Disk in the Freezer http://chris.pirillo.com/hard-disk-in-the-freezer/ News and Reviews! Geek, Internet Entrepreneur, Hardware Addict, Software Junkie, Book Author, Once TV Show Host, Technology Enthusiast, Shameless Self-Promoter, Tech Conference Coordinator, Early Adopter, Idea Evangelist, Tech Support Blogger, Bootstrapper, Media Personality, Technology Consultant, Thicker Quicker Picker Upper. Thu, 16 Feb 2012 22:41:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 By: Allan http://chris.pirillo.com/hard-disk-in-the-freezer/#comment-737926 Allan Wed, 13 Jan 2010 14:28:04 +0000 http://chris.pirillo.com/2002/04/18/hard-disk-in-the-freezer/#comment-737926 I am another who can testify that popping a hard drive into the freezer does work. I have done this one two disks in the last couple of years.... so that I could recover the data and transfer to another drive. Don't trust the disks afterwards though - it is not necessarily a permanent repair! Allan I am another who can testify that popping a hard drive into the freezer does work.

I have done this one two disks in the last couple of years…. so that I could recover the data and transfer to another drive.

Don’t trust the disks afterwards though – it is not necessarily a permanent repair!

Allan

]]> By: winson http://chris.pirillo.com/hard-disk-in-the-freezer/#comment-737884 winson Wed, 13 Jan 2010 00:01:15 +0000 http://chris.pirillo.com/2002/04/18/hard-disk-in-the-freezer/#comment-737884 yeah! i just tried this yesterday, had nothin to lose.. i wrapped my external hard disk in tissue, handkerchiefs, plastic, a resealable foil container and an air-tight tupperware thing..(i know, overkill... ) just to keep moisture out, put my hard disk in the freezer for 3 hours and took it out... left it alone for like 3 minutes and plugged it in.. my hard disk came to life, i recovered all my files... i plugged it in again today and it still seems to be workin fine... haha... but i dont trust the hard disk as much anymore though...i have an imation apollo 500gb.... yeah! i just tried this yesterday, had nothin to lose.. i wrapped my external hard disk in tissue, handkerchiefs, plastic, a resealable foil container and an air-tight tupperware thing..(i know, overkill… ) just to keep moisture out, put my hard disk in the freezer for 3 hours and took it out… left it alone for like 3 minutes and plugged it in.. my hard disk came to life, i recovered all my files… i plugged it in again today and it still seems to be workin fine… haha… but i dont trust the hard disk as much anymore though…i have an imation apollo 500gb….

]]> By: Caleb http://chris.pirillo.com/hard-disk-in-the-freezer/#comment-555662 Caleb Wed, 07 Nov 2007 23:26:22 +0000 http://chris.pirillo.com/2002/04/18/hard-disk-in-the-freezer/#comment-555662 Just my luck my dell latitudes' hard drive went out and i put it in the freezer and worked for about a week and then got knocked off the couch! Everything is fine except the hard drive, after it gets very warm it wont read the drive (primary hard disk drive 0 not found) So idk I'm just getting a new hdd Just my luck my dell latitudes’ hard drive went out and i put it in the freezer and worked for about a week and then got knocked off the couch! Everything is fine except the hard drive, after it gets very warm it wont read the drive (primary hard disk drive 0 not found) So idk I’m just getting a new hdd

]]> By: KellyVerge http://chris.pirillo.com/hard-disk-in-the-freezer/#comment-530320 KellyVerge Thu, 06 Sep 2007 20:19:43 +0000 http://chris.pirillo.com/2002/04/18/hard-disk-in-the-freezer/#comment-530320 Unfortunately, there's no consistency to this method. Occasionally it works, and when it does, the user posts to blogs where the freezer technique is/was mentioned. This is just anecdotal evidence without any statistical validity. I've tried it on several "junk" drives with no luck. If your drive has data that matters, send it to a drive recovery company. JMO. Unfortunately, there’s no consistency to this method. Occasionally it works, and when it does, the user posts to blogs where the freezer technique is/was mentioned. This is just anecdotal evidence without any statistical validity.

I’ve tried it on several “junk” drives with no luck.

If your drive has data that matters, send it to a drive recovery company.

JMO.

]]> By: UFOMystic » Hard Drive Dead - Long Live Bob Wilson! http://chris.pirillo.com/hard-disk-in-the-freezer/#comment-149847 UFOMystic » Hard Drive Dead - Long Live Bob Wilson! Sun, 14 Jan 2007 17:05:24 +0000 http://chris.pirillo.com/2002/04/18/hard-disk-in-the-freezer/#comment-149847 <!--%kramer-ref-pre%-->[...] Two things Greg. If it’s not being recognized, you might try the old ‘Hard Drive in the Freezer‘ trick… [...]<!--%kramer-ref-post%--> [...] Two things Greg. If it’s not being recognized, you might try the old ‘Hard Drive in the Freezer‘ trick… [...]

]]> By: SMART erorr! Please help! - Computer Forum http://chris.pirillo.com/hard-disk-in-the-freezer/#comment-30426 SMART erorr! Please help! - Computer Forum Sun, 20 Aug 2006 20:42:05 +0000 http://chris.pirillo.com/2002/04/18/hard-disk-in-the-freezer/#comment-30426 <!--%kramer-ref-pre%-->[...] nope: http://www.gusperez.com/archives/200...drive_dead.php http://geeksaresexy.blogspot.com/200...over-data.html http://chris.pirillo.com/2002/04/18/...n-the-freezer/ Make sure it goes into a plastic baggy tho. __________________ Processor: AMD Athlon64 3200+ S939 OC:2.2ghz Ram: 2x 1GB PC3200 Corsair DDR @dual Channel Video Card: PCI express ATI Radeon X800XL 256mb DDR3 Motherboard: MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum Drive: LG 16x16 DL DVD±RW w/Light Scribe Hard Drive: Sata 120GB 7200rpm Western Digital Hard Drive: 2x Seagate 320GB 7200RPM 16MB SATA II Sound: Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty FPS Power Supply: Enermax 460W/33A [...]<!--%kramer-ref-post%--> [...] nope: http://www.gusperez.com/archives/200…drive_dead.php http://geeksaresexy.blogspot.com/200…over-data.html http://chris.pirillo.com/2002/04/18/…n-the-freezer/ Make sure it goes into a plastic baggy tho. __________________ Processor: AMD Athlon64 3200+ S939 OC:2.2ghz Ram: 2x 1GB PC3200 Corsair DDR @dual Channel Video Card: PCI express ATI Radeon X800XL 256mb DDR3 Motherboard: MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum Drive: LG 16×16 DL DVD±RW w/Light Scribe Hard Drive: Sata 120GB 7200rpm Western Digital Hard Drive: 2x Seagate 320GB 7200RPM 16MB SATA II Sound: Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty FPS Power Supply: Enermax 460W/33A [...]

]]> By: Anonymous http://chris.pirillo.com/hard-disk-in-the-freezer/#comment-2146 Anonymous Sun, 21 Apr 2002 16:14:53 +0000 http://chris.pirillo.com/2002/04/18/hard-disk-in-the-freezer/#comment-2146 I've also had this "trick" work for me, once even in a dire situtation: <a href="http://www.mrbarrett.com/mt/archives/2002_02_10.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.mrbarrett.com/mt/archives/2002_02_10.html</a> I've also had this “trick” work for me, once even in a dire situtation: http://www.mrbarrett.com/mt/archives/2002_02_10.html

]]> By: Anonymous http://chris.pirillo.com/hard-disk-in-the-freezer/#comment-2145 Anonymous Thu, 18 Apr 2002 20:21:25 +0000 http://chris.pirillo.com/2002/04/18/hard-disk-in-the-freezer/#comment-2145 OH....i just read Bens post. Yep looks like you kno what your talkin about ben. And almost always u need to replace the drive. But rarely it is fixed. OH….i just read Bens post. Yep looks like you kno what your talkin about ben. And almost always u need to replace the drive. But rarely it is fixed.

]]> By: Anonymous http://chris.pirillo.com/hard-disk-in-the-freezer/#comment-2144 Anonymous Thu, 18 Apr 2002 20:19:59 +0000 http://chris.pirillo.com/2002/04/18/hard-disk-in-the-freezer/#comment-2144 Guys, its VERY logical. And i can explain. Usually when a person has a problem with a hard drive its either a bearing wearing out or one of the actual platters becoming misallined. When the hard drive is put in a very cold place all of the parts shrink (the opposite happens when something is heated) this can either give a person time to backup the data while it is cold, OR it could allow the parts of the hard drive to fall back into the place they fell out of. Permanently fixing the drive. Hopefully that makes sense to you guys! :) Guys, its VERY logical. And i can explain. Usually when a person has a problem with a hard drive its either a bearing wearing out or one of the actual platters becoming misallined. When the hard drive is put in a very cold place all of the parts shrink (the opposite happens when something is heated) this can either give a person time to backup the data while it is cold, OR it could allow the parts of the hard drive to fall back into the place they fell out of. Permanently fixing the drive.
Hopefully that makes sense to you guys! :)

]]> By: Anonymous http://chris.pirillo.com/hard-disk-in-the-freezer/#comment-2143 Anonymous Thu, 18 Apr 2002 19:20:38 +0000 http://chris.pirillo.com/2002/04/18/hard-disk-in-the-freezer/#comment-2143 Ben, That sounds logical! Ben,
That sounds logical!

]]> By: Anonymous http://chris.pirillo.com/hard-disk-in-the-freezer/#comment-2142 Anonymous Thu, 18 Apr 2002 17:06:46 +0000 http://chris.pirillo.com/2002/04/18/hard-disk-in-the-freezer/#comment-2142 It certainly is innovative, thinking-out-of-the-box style troubleshooting, Though I still think my "Enraged-Monkey-Wrench-Bashing-Spree" method works best. It certainly is innovative, thinking-out-of-the-box style troubleshooting, Though I still think my “Enraged-Monkey-Wrench-Bashing-Spree” method works best.

]]> By: Anonymous http://chris.pirillo.com/hard-disk-in-the-freezer/#comment-2141 Anonymous Thu, 18 Apr 2002 15:42:16 +0000 http://chris.pirillo.com/2002/04/18/hard-disk-in-the-freezer/#comment-2141 Ben, You are completely right!!! I have used this recommendation for years and that is the same explanation I was given and have given to my users. Like you said it is only temporary and you need to be careful of the condensation and how you put it in the freezer. It also won't fix controller problems for say.... although I have heard of it temporarily fixing controller errors where the problem is the chips overheating. Ben,
You are completely right!!! I have used this recommendation for years and that is the same explanation I was given and have given to my users. Like you said it is only temporary and you need to be careful of the condensation and how you put it in the freezer. It also won't fix controller problems for say…. although I have heard of it temporarily fixing controller errors where the problem is the chips overheating.

]]> By: Anonymous http://chris.pirillo.com/hard-disk-in-the-freezer/#comment-2140 Anonymous Thu, 18 Apr 2002 15:06:07 +0000 http://chris.pirillo.com/2002/04/18/hard-disk-in-the-freezer/#comment-2140 I'll give it a whirl, I've heard why it works before but let me try and explain. Usually the problem this fixes is the hard drive has stopped spinning or slowed down too much, the bearings are locked up. By putting it through temperature extremes the internal components and lubrication expand and contract loosening them up and redistributing the lubrication. In any event, it's not a permanent fix! You're hard drive still has problems and needs to be replaced, it just gives you some time to recover your data first. make no mistake, your hard drive is FAILING if you have to do this and needs to be replaced! --Ben Franske CCNA I'll give it a whirl, I've heard why it works before but let me try and explain.
Usually the problem this fixes is the hard drive has stopped spinning or slowed down too much, the bearings are locked up. By putting it through temperature extremes the internal components and lubrication expand and contract loosening them up and redistributing the lubrication.
In any event, it's not a permanent fix! You're hard drive still has problems and needs to be replaced, it just gives you some time to recover your data first. make no mistake, your hard drive is FAILING if you have to do this and needs to be replaced!
–Ben Franske
CCNA

]]> By: Anonymous http://chris.pirillo.com/hard-disk-in-the-freezer/#comment-2139 Anonymous Thu, 18 Apr 2002 12:31:48 +0000 http://chris.pirillo.com/2002/04/18/hard-disk-in-the-freezer/#comment-2139 Okay. It obviously does work. Now can someone explain why?!? Okay. It obviously does work. Now can someone explain why?!?

]]> By: Anonymous http://chris.pirillo.com/hard-disk-in-the-freezer/#comment-2138 Anonymous Thu, 18 Apr 2002 06:45:35 +0000 http://chris.pirillo.com/2002/04/18/hard-disk-in-the-freezer/#comment-2138 <a href="http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&q=lockergnome+hard+drive+freezer" rel="nofollow">http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&q=lockergnome+hard+drive+freezer</a> Wow! http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&q=lockergnome+hard+drive+freezer
Wow!

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