Copying A Disk

[Pete Holsberg]

Brian McKee has written on 7/12/2008 3:31 PM:
> On Sat, Jul 12, 2008 at 2:36 PM, Pete Holsberg <pjh42 at pobox.com> wrote:
>   
>> Brian McKee has written on 7/12/2008 2:19 PM:
>>     
>>> On Sat, Jul 12, 2008 at 1:25 PM, Derek Broughton <news at pointerstop.ca> wrote:
>>>
>>>       
>>>> Pete Holsberg wrote:
>>>>         
>>>>> sudo fdisk /dev/sdb
>>>>>
>>>>> Unable to read /dev/sdb
>>>>>
>>>>>           
>>>> oops.  Sounds like it's _really_ toasted.
>>>>
>>>>         
>>> As a *last resort*  - and don't expect it to work - Sometimes
>>> (have I put enough qualifiers in here yet?)
>>>
>>> put the harddrive in a ziplock bag with as little air as possible.
>>> Stick it in the freezer for at least a couple hours so it's completely
>>> cold-soaked.
>>>
>>> Take it back out and try again - maybe with one of those gel cold paks
>>> on top if it to help keep it cold while you are using it.
>>>
>>> Twice now I've gotten quite a bit more data off a drive this way then
>>> when it was hot.
>>>
>>> Of course there's been another 4 or 5 attempts where this made no
>>> difference at all.  So, YMMV...
>>>       
>> Thanks. The drive which is not in any enclosure of any kind is cool to
>> the tough after being powered on all night.
>>     
>
> I wasn't saying it was overheating.  Making the drive extremely cold
> can sometimes restore it to life temporarily.  The cold can free stuck
> parts, help insulate failing circuits etc etc.  No guarantees, but
> it's worth trying if all else fails.
>   

My error. Sure, I have room in the freezer!