How fragile is a HDD?

grs · 02-08-07, 06:44 AM

I'm having trouble with a 10GB Maxtor HDD, I found a PIII in a skip yesterday brought it home, works great, loaded Linux Xubuntu on it and all was well. I then was tinkering around inside the PC and I had to remove the HDD, it came out smothly with no trouble, I placed it down and after a while put it back in and now the PC can't see the HDD. Just says "Operating System Not Found" Maybe I have the ribbon cable in wrong, it should be red side to pin 2 (next to power supply and jumpers)

Jon · 02-08-07, 06:53 AM

I've destroyed a few with static in my time. Have to watch what you touch on the bottom of them sometimes.

SeasonalEclipse · 02-08-07, 06:56 AM

Check the jumpers! If the little pin thing fell out then that could be why. If it doesnt have a pin on the jumpers then its probably set for cable select which means I believe you put the IDE connector at the end on the ahrd drive.. for master.. I beleive..

grs · 02-08-07, 07:01 AM

Sorry, false alarm, the ribbon cable wasn't in right.

Jon · 02-08-07, 07:08 AM

grs · 02-08-07, 07:23 AM

Also, I have a Iomega 250MB Zip drive. When the HDD wasn't working I tried reinstalling Xubuntu, the HDD wasn't see but the Zip drive was (theres a disk in it which I haven't been able to eject yet!) Now I have the HDD working, I can't see the Zip drive in Xubuntu's file manager, why not? Can I remove a zip disk with the power off?

Mr.Guvernment · 02-08-07, 08:14 AM

i have dropped some HD's and they still work!

doublejack · 02-08-07, 10:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr.Guvernment

i have dropped some HD's and they still work!

HD's can survive many G's of force, especially if they are off. The read/write head is programmed to park in a safe area while the drive is shutting down. It's way easier to kill a drive with electricity (static or otherwise) than it is to kill one by dropping it.

Mr.Guvernment · 02-09-07, 08:25 AM

especially laptops drives!

emceepecks · 02-09-07, 09:20 AM

I've dropped my iPod on cement so many times because I'd forget it's on my lap as I get out of the car. After all the abuse, it still works fine. I'd be more concerned about static.

kyleslater · 02-11-07, 10:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr.Guvernment

i have dropped some HD's and they still work!

Yeah... I've dropped them about 4 feet onto cement and chipped the cement and still had them working... Only way I found to destroy them for sure was to take them and purposely smash them on a table or something flat so that the platters would shatter...
Oh wait... You were trying to find out if the hdd was still okay not how to kill them...

spiritedandy · 02-11-07, 10:46 AM

glad all ok

ive had water dripping on hdd so bad that you could shake it out !!!

few hours on radiator and all was well

doublejack · 02-13-07, 12:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kyleslater

Yeah... I've dropped them about 4 feet onto cement and chipped the cement and still had them working... Only way I found to destroy them for sure was to take them and purposely smash them on a table or something flat so that the platters would shatter...
Oh wait... You were trying to find out if the hdd was still okay not how to kill them...

Many platters don't shatter easily. Sometimes they are made out of glass and will break, but usually it's aluminum. When you kill a drive by slamming it down, the damage that causes failure is likely to the read/write head.

T'wolves · 02-13-07, 01:22 PM

My dad was nervous about throwing out our old HDD when they bought the laptop...so I eased his ming with the sledge hammer. They can't take that many G's...lol.

02-08-07, 06:44 AM	Thread Starter #1
grs Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Dublin, Ireland	How fragile is a HDD? I'm having trouble with a 10GB Maxtor HDD, I found a PIII in a skip yesterday brought it home, works great, loaded Linux Xubuntu on it and all was well. I then was tinkering around inside the PC and I had to remove the HDD, it came out smothly with no trouble, I placed it down and after a while put it back in and now the PC can't see the HDD. Just says "Operating System Not Found" Maybe I have the ribbon cable in wrong, it should be red side to pin 2 (next to power supply and jumpers)
	QUOTE Thanks

02-08-07, 06:53 AM	#2
Jon Just Another Retired Moderator Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Lawrenceville, GA	I've destroyed a few with static in my time. Have to watch what you touch on the bottom of them sometimes. __________________ theHTPC.net CheapCritic.com
	QUOTE Thanks

02-08-07, 06:56 AM	#3
SeasonalEclipse Member Join Date: Feb 2006	Check the jumpers! If the little pin thing fell out then that could be why. If it doesnt have a pin on the jumpers then its probably set for cable select which means I believe you put the IDE connector at the end on the ahrd drive.. for master.. I beleive.. __________________ The Beast(Main)- P5QL/EPU, Q9550, 4GB DDR2 800, 2X320GB Perp, 750GB Cavalier,8800GT(for now) Corsair 750 Watt PSU, Enermax server case, 2x Dell 1908WFP, Vista Home http://heatware.com/eval.php?id=51210
	QUOTE Thanks

02-08-07, 07:01 AM	Thread Starter #4
grs Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Dublin, Ireland	Sorry, false alarm, the ribbon cable wasn't in right.
	QUOTE Thanks

02-08-07, 07:08 AM	#5
Jon Just Another Retired Moderator Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Lawrenceville, GA	__________________ theHTPC.net CheapCritic.com
	QUOTE Thanks

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02-08-07, 07:23 AM	Thread Starter #6
grs Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Dublin, Ireland	Also, I have a Iomega 250MB Zip drive. When the HDD wasn't working I tried reinstalling Xubuntu, the HDD wasn't see but the Zip drive was (theres a disk in it which I haven't been able to eject yet!) Now I have the HDD working, I can't see the Zip drive in Xubuntu's file manager, why not? Can I remove a zip disk with the power off?
	QUOTE Thanks

02-08-07, 08:14 AM	#7
Mr.Guvernment Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Costa Rica - and toronto sometimes	i have dropped some HD's and they still work! __________________ ¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸© Poor Planning On Your Part Does Not Constitute An Emergency On My Part ©¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸ ¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸© The trouble with life is there’s no background music ©¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸ ¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸© Life isnt short, you're just dead for too long©¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸ ADD YOUR STEAM ID TO THE LIST FOR HOURS OF FUN!
	QUOTE Thanks

02-09-07, 08:25 AM	#9
Mr.Guvernment Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Costa Rica - and toronto sometimes	especially laptops drives! __________________ ¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸© Poor Planning On Your Part Does Not Constitute An Emergency On My Part ©¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸ ¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸© The trouble with life is there’s no background music ©¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸ ¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸© Life isnt short, you're just dead for too long©¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸ ADD YOUR STEAM ID TO THE LIST FOR HOURS OF FUN!
	QUOTE Thanks

02-09-07, 09:20 AM	#10
emceepecks Member Join Date: Dec 2006	I've dropped my iPod on cement so many times because I'd forget it's on my lap as I get out of the car. After all the abuse, it still works fine. I'd be more concerned about static.
	QUOTE Thanks

02-11-07, 10:46 AM	#12
spiritedandy Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: England (middlesbrough)	glad all ok ive had water dripping on hdd so bad that you could shake it out !!! few hours on radiator and all was well
	QUOTE Thanks

02-13-07, 01:22 PM	#14
T'wolves Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Plymouth, MN	My dad was nervous about throwing out our old HDD when they bought the laptop...so I eased his ming with the sledge hammer. They can't take that many G's...lol.
	QUOTE Thanks

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