[NCLUG] Hard disk failure

[Michael Dwyer]

----- Original Message -----
From: "dobbster" <dobbster at dobbster.com>
To: <nclug at nclug.org>
Sent: Tuesday, May 15, 2001 4:36 PM
Subject: [NCLUG] Hard disk failure


> I've encountered disaster. :-(  Fortunately, it happened to a fairly
unimportant
> machine.  This system is mainly used for backups and storing mp3s.

MP3s gone?  That is certainly disaster... :)

Anyway, I have to ask the obvious question:  is the drive spinning?
Is it making noises?  Is it making strange noises?  Is there a chip
LED on the actual drive that is flashing... uh.. abnormally?

If you can't get to any of the master block thingies, it could be
because the physical drive is dead.  If that is the case, I know
of no reasonable way of recovering.  There are some unreasonable
ways, but most of them are silly in this day and age... (eg, drop
the drive on the bench to unstick the heads, or open the drive and
manually kick-start to platters.)

You might also grab a S.M.A.R.T. tester from one of the drive
manufacturers.  They can be found at Western Digital, at the
very least -- theirs even runs online.  Strange.

Good luck!