hard disk failure - now what?

[George Davidovich]

On Wed, Aug 26, 2009 at 08:07:41PM +0200, Roland Smith wrote:
> On Tue, Aug 25, 2009 at 11:46:50PM -0600, Kelly Martin wrote:
> > plugging the drive in and accessing it, I heard those tell-tale
> > signs of hard drive failure: clicks and pops and other unusual
> > noises, so I know that it has some damage. I hate those sounds,
> > having heard them on failing drives too many times before.
> 
> If the drive is that bad, it is doubtfull if dd or ddrescue will be
> able to get a good copy.

Probably true.  I hesitate to suggest this, but sticking the drive in a
freezer (preferrably in a ziplock bag) for a few hours or overnight
might help.  Stories from people claiming "I swear it works!" go back
years.  

To the exent it does work, it might give Kelly enough time to attempt
recovery.  If more time is required, he can try and find a creative
workaround for the 5 meter max length for USB cables.  Also,
experimenting with dry ice or acetone baths might prove to be
interesting, or at least educational. ;-)

-- 
George