Hard Disk Drive Myths Debunked!

Discussion in 'Reviews & Articles' started by Adrian Wong, Mar 16, 2004.

  1. matterbatter

    matterbatter Newbie

    I got two that I would be very happy to know if they are true or not.

    1)Not having the HDD attached to the inside of your PC makes it more vulnerable to shock and overall damage. If that doesn't make any sense I mean like my HDD sits on my desk without the side panel on my PC.

    2)Touching the bottom of the board on the hard drive can make a static shock fry it if you don't take proper precautions. (Such as grounding yourself, using rubber gloves, static wristbands, etc; )



    I would be very happy if i knew the answer to these because I get different answers from different people, so it would help clear it up for alot of people :)
     
    Last edited: Sep 5, 2010
  2. matterbatter

    matterbatter Newbie



    I just read this and I was wondering if freezing it caused frost to get into the drive could water from condensation cause a shock and possibly fry your whole computer?


    Sorry for the double post :oops:
     
  3. Adrian Wong

    Adrian Wong Da Boss Staff Member

    1. It doesn't matter if you mount them in the PC or leave it outside. What matters is you don't subject the drives to shock or excessive vibration while they are running.

    2. It is a BAD idea to touch the exposed PCB at the bottom of the drive before grounding yourself. PCBs can be damaged by static.
     
  4. Adrian Wong

    Adrian Wong Da Boss Staff Member

    Generally, if you are looking to freeze a drive, you should do so with the drive wrapped in a sealed plastic bag, which should not be removed until the temperature has equalized.
     
  5. matterbatter

    matterbatter Newbie

    Okay cool thank you :)
     
  6. Adrian Wong

    Adrian Wong Da Boss Staff Member

    No problem. :beer:
     
  7. Adrian Wong

    Adrian Wong Da Boss Staff Member

    Hard Disk Drive Myths Debunked! Rev. 4.1

    This guide was written in response to the numerous fallacies about the hard disk drive that are still being propagated in many forum discussions.

    As you read through this guide, you may think that some of these myths may have been made up. We wished that was true. We collected these myths from various discussions we heard or read over time.

    So, let's get down to basics and examine some of these common fallacies or myths and debunk them!

    In this update, we added two new myths to the list. We now have 35 myths in this article!

    [​IMG]

    Link : Hard Disk Drive Myths Debunked! Rev. 4.1
     
  8. I have to weigh in on the side of freezing too. In my computer service business, I've had a number of otherwise "dead" drives revive under the influence of cooling or freezing, long enough to extract data.

    It may have been mentioned, but some PC components--motherboards, video cards, etc.--occasionally respond to freezing or cooling. You can purchase freeze spray in electronics' component stores specifically for this purpose--or just flip canned air upside down and freeze the crap out of the computer chips causing the problem.

    There are at least a few components on hard drives that MAY respond to freezing: semiconductor chips, solder joints, and maybe failing bearings (depending upon the type). I can speak with certainty about WHICH components ought to be frozen. I can only state from experience that freezing failing hard drives helps around 25%-50% of the time.

    I understand that subjective accounts are not quite as valuable as an objective experiment, but until someone performs a double-blind study on failing hard drives and freezing, anecdotal accounts are about all you will get. The problem is that it doesn't always work--it's an option of last resort--and it doesn't work consistently.

    My experience with this was the result of hearing the anecdotal evidence. Someone suggested the idea to me years ago along with their own miraculous account, and I tried it on a drive that I could not get working in any other way. Nothing else changed but the temperature of the drive, but suddenly data was available until the drive heated up again. Repeated freezing seemed to help until it finally gave up the ghost.

    Since then I've done this many, many times, and it works sometimes and doesn't other times. Obviously, there is a specific type of component failure that is temporarily "fixed" by cooling.

    Like I said, it doesn't always work, but it works often enough to make it worth considering as an option of last resort.

    To properly cool the drive, I place it in a freezer for about 15-30 minutes. Since drives warm up quickly, I've found that applying a towel (for moisture), then an ice pack on top helps keep it running for awhile.


    JohnBoyTheGreat
     
  9. Generally you shouldn't use the freezing method on a good hard drive. Who knows what kind of damage it does while helping a person to retrieve data? As you noted, water condensation is probably not good for a drive.

    However, when you've tried retrieving the data off a drive using every tool you have, and your only other choice is to ship it off to a clean room at $1500 or more, freezing it seems like an inexpensive option.

    Even better, it actually does work some of the time...
     
  10. On #1, it seems to me that the vulnerability to shock and damage to a HDD would be in relation to WHERE it is placed, whether inside a case or outside.

    For instance, if your case is constantly shaking from say...a subwoofer perhaps, then it might be better to have an external drive not actually in contact with the vibrating surface.

    On the other hand, if the computer is vibrating as much as the desktop the HDD is sitting--assuming that the only difference is that it is outside rather than inside the computer--then it's going to get the same vibrations in either position, and therefore will get the same type of damage...EXCEPT...

    HDD sitting freely on a desktop might vibrate so much that the move a perceptible distance into the air--maybe 1/32" or so--whereas an HDD mounted in a case will only move the distance that the case would move, which might be less due to the mass of the case and components.

    Therefore, it might be that an HDD would receive less destructive vibrations if mounted in a case, but only marginally so. On the other hand...

    There are numerous vibration-damping materials available. Laboratories use them all the time. An HDD placed inside or outside the computer in material that will reduce any shocks or vibrations SHOULD theoretically be less vulnerable to damage from shock.

    Heck you could probably just "mount" it with a few pieces of cardboard as spacers (to allow airflow to cool the HDD) and a huge wad of toilet paper (un-used, of course) and get a satisfactory anti-shock platform for the drive. Your imagination is the only limit...

    On two marginally-related subjects (i.e. the reliability of components based on design), it has always baffled me why computer component manufacturers have (A) Left out air filters for the average computer case, and (B) Design semi-conductor chips that only function in a narrow range of temperatures so that we have to cool them down to "human-range" temperatures to keep them running efficiently. Both are poor design issues, in my opinion.


    JohnBoyTheGreat
     
  11. Anything's possible, but a short in a hard drive would be at a low-voltage level that would at worst pass back through the bus at a level normally experienced by the support chips. I wouldn't think it would fry anything, unless it was a voltage spike as from a failing hard drive motor (although that shouldn't propagate through the bus in any fashion, I would think).

    Most likely it would just short out the drive and cause it to quit, without harming the rest of the computer.

    Realistically, only the power supply can kill the computer in the manner you are suggesting, by producing voltage spikes which burn through the semiconductors inside a chip, which can take out many components in a computer.

    (It's also slightly possible that something like a fan--if rotated by canned air or something similar, could send back a power spike into the system. Many computer fans act like tiny generators when forced to spin at high speed with canned air.)

    Other than power supplies, I haven't ever seen another computer component take another through voltage spikes or shorts. (Power CAN pass through a motherboard to damage hard drives, I believe. However, the direct cause of the damage would be from the power supply, not the motherboard itself. Normally, both are fried when that happens.)

    Anyway, in my experience, freezing doesn't make any perceptible NEGATIVE difference to hard drives. Any damage caused by freezing must be rather minimal, because I've frozen new drives to test them (I like to experiment), and have had them running for years since with no issues....


    JohnBoyTheGreat
     
  12. Chai

    Chai Administrator Staff Member

    A good PSU supply should cut off power immediately if short circuit is detected. Happens to me a couple of times.
     
  13. Adrian Wong

    Adrian Wong Da Boss Staff Member

    Yup.. the power supply should be smart enough to detect a short. I've had my PC power supply refusing to boot the system at all when I accidentally left a screw stuck under the motherboard - it was shorting a circuit on the motherboard.

    Hmm.. The freezing method sure is very interesting. Logically, it shouldn't help drives that die from head crashes or static-fried PCBs. But perhaps it might work for some other causes.

    My brother-in-law's HDD just died for no apparent reason. I'm going to take a chance and see if freezing works for his dead HDD. However, it's going to be pretty dangerous as it's really hot and humid here. Condensation will be a major problem... :think:
     
  14. No doubt that is true... But how many power supplies are actually good? Few, in my experience.

    In our area, voltage spikes and power outages kill computers on a regular basis. Now if it were simply the power supply failing, that would be one thing. However, motherboards and hard drives (and other components) often die with them on a regular basis. The only possible explanation is power surge. Under-voltage conditions don't destroy semi-conductors like surges do.

    Voltage spikes can cause open circuits or shorted circuits. They can do the first by placing too much voltage on a circuit until the circuit "evaporates" from the heat generated by resistance. In the other case, the overvoltage can burn through a normally insulating circuit to short it. Neither are good when it comes to the billions of circuits in the average computer.

    Good power supplies should protect against that, but even good ones have limits. Close lightning strikes, for instance, can even kill those "$150,000 guarantee" power strips, and completely kill a computer.

    I'm sure you knew all that. It was just for those that don't know why surges can kill computers...


    JohnBoyTheGreat
     
  15. Try taking several ice-packs to it. Keep it dry with a towel.

    Test it warm before freezing, then after freezing, so you have a baseline.

    Remember, I guestimate less than half respond to that "freezing" therapy, so if it doesn't work, at least give it a chance with a few others.


    JohnBoyTheGreat
     
  16. Just a comment...my original post was referring to voltage spikes from outside the computer, not shorts within it. However, even an internal short--such as a screw under the motherboard--CAN fry a computer. Granted the power supply and other components should shut it down, but sometimes shorts occur across higher voltages, in which case a semi-conductor can fry before the power supply can shut down the voltage.

    Look at modern motherboards that use several voltages. 12 volts will kill most CPUs, but the ATX 12-volt line is often fairly close to the CPU. Most semi-conductors have a failure at somewhere around maybe 6 volts or so. If the circuits connect--KABLOOEY!!! The power supply is useless in that case.


    JohnBoyTheGreat
     
  17. Adrian Wong

    Adrian Wong Da Boss Staff Member

    Hard Disk Drive Myths Debunked! Rev. 4.2

    This guide was written in response to the numerous fallacies about the hard disk drive that are still being propagated in many forum discussions.

    As you read through this guide, you may think that some of these myths may have been made up. We wished that was true. We collected these myths from various discussions we heard or read over time.

    So, let's get down to basics and examine some of these common fallacies or myths and debunk them!

    In this update, we added three new myths, and updated Myth #26 on anecdotal testimonies that freezing hard disk drives that do not spin up can get them working again. We now have 38 myths in this article!

    [​IMG]

    Link : Hard Disk Drive Myths Debunked! Rev. 4.2
     
  18. Adrian Wong

    Adrian Wong Da Boss Staff Member

    Hard Disk Drive Myths Debunked! Rev. 4.3

    This guide was written in response to the numerous fallacies about the hard disk drive that are still being propagated in many forum discussions.

    As you read through this guide, you may think that some of these myths may have been made up. We wished that was true. We collected these myths from various discussions we heard or read over time.

    So, let's get down to basics and examine some of these common fallacies or myths and debunk them!

    In this update, we added two new myths, and updated Myths #5, #24 and #37. We now have 40 myths in this article!

    [​IMG]

    Link : Hard Disk Drive Myths Debunked! Rev. 4.3
     
  19. ET3D

    ET3D Newbie

    First time I've read it, and I like this guide.

    Only thing that I didn't understand was in myth 40: why a larger platter means a lower random access time.
     
    1 person likes this.
  20. Adrian Wong

    Adrian Wong Da Boss Staff Member

    Whoops! What a typo. I meant a smaller platter. Correcting it right away. Thanks for spotting that! +rep! :beer:
     

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