HDD wont spin up, died while friend had it

[GrimX9]

Well I let my friend borrow my old Athlon XP 2400+ system that had been sitting next to me here, and the very day after he gets it, the HDD dies. I had already gotten all the important stuff off of it, but I would like to know if there is any hope of getting it to work. When I apply power, it doesnt spin up, so I looked at a guide where it said to try to put it in the freezer for a hour then try it. Right now its chillin in the freezer, and if that doesnt work, Im going to try to take off the cover and try to bump the spindle to see if that starts it. Any other suggestions?

[Randyman...]

Sounds like a "stuck" head. I'd say giving the drive a solid/firm "thwack" against the countertop would be safer than removing the cover. The freezer trick might be enough to get you going.

:cool:

[deadlysyn]

Taking off the cover, unless you are in a clean room, with the best climate control, you are more likely to destroy the data on it than fix it. I would recommend smacking it on a table or something solid, and if that doesn't do it, try the freezer trick. If neither of those are of any help, you may be looking into replacing the drive. I am sure you could find a replacement for it pretty cheap in the classies.

[GrimX9]

alright im gonna go try it :)

[GrimX9]

Hard drive was EXTREMELY cold! Painful to touch even! I wiped off the thin layer of frost (it was in a ziploc bag) and plugged it in. Nothing. No noise, notta. I gave it a savage beating, everything short of breaking it, and still nothing. Gonna beat it some more and try it again.

[GrimX9]

Nope still Nothing. I dont need a replacement (but I want one anyways). He has a 200GB drive that I gave to him a while ago.

[deadlysyn]

I gave it a savage beating, everything short of breaking it, and still nothing. Gonna beat it some more and try it again.

Try a bigger hammer! :screwy:::p I would be guessing at this point that it is dead. I used to take them apart and use the platters for some good old target practice.

[Randyman...]

Which way are you "thwacking" the drive (as in which orientation)? Try holding the drive perdindicular long-ways to the striking surface so the inertia would be likely to have maximum effect on the actuator arm in the lateral axis (parallel to the platter - like you are forcing the actuator arm to move as the servo would usually move it across the platters). If you've already taken it too far, then it's done. Generally, a solid but not overwhelming "Thwack" will do the trick or the drive has other issues (frozen bearings, toasted spindle motor, etc). There is also a chance the condensation shorted out the controller board...

If you have the data, write it off and move on. Target practice sounds like a fun idea :D

:cool:

[imposter]

are you sure the pcb anit dead?

[GrimX9]

are you sure the pcb anit dead?

PCB as in motherboard? No, that still works. Everything works except the HDD. I figure since the HDD wont even spin, that there is something wrong with internal power regulation. No its not any of my PSU's.

[visbits]

The hard drive pcb (printed circuit board), the part power and data go through, sometime they go bad. I know some companys dont use actual wires and just use touch clips to power the motor from the pcb, try removing the pcb and reinstalling it if thats the case.


Have fun beating on it :D

[GrimX9]

Its no biggie, probably not worth replacing it. I had all important stuff off of it.