[mdlug] Recovering damaged EXT2

[Robert Adkins]

If you already have a damaged hard drive, taking it apart to put it into a
temporary second drive just to rip data off of it, could prove to be
significantly less expensive than a data recovery shop would charge.

I wouldn't recommend or even mildly suggest that one continue to use the
hardware that has been opened up and swapped around. Just rip the data and
destroy the disks and toss them out.

-Rob

> -----Original Message-----
> From: mdlug-bounces at mdlug.org 
> [mailto:mdlug-bounces at mdlug.org] On Behalf Of Aaron Kulkis
> Sent: Wednesday, September 16, 2009 2:42 PM
> To: MDLUG's Main discussion list
> Subject: Re: [mdlug] Recovering damaged EXT2
> 
> Robert Adkins wrote:
> > "They" like to say that you need a cleanroom setup to do this work.
> > 
> > If you have a relatively dust free environment and do not 
> care whether 
> > or not you will ever be able to use the current busted or 
> "recovery" 
> > drive, you can do this at home. (Granted the proper skills, steady 
> > hands, etc.)
> > 
> > I have heard of it being done and I have even seen the results of 
> > someone taking it upon themselves to open up a perfectly 
> working HD by 
> > removing the cover, machining a window into that cover, 
> cleaning that 
> > cover nicely and inserting a clear plexiglass window into 
> the cover, 
> > adding led lights into the drive, putting it back together and then 
> > using the modded drive without problem... For a while at least.
> 
> "a while" to be sure.  "A long time" only with great luck.
> 
> Not something I would advise.
> 
> The "flying height" of a read/write head is LESS than the 
> diameter of even a particle of cigarette smoke, and many 
> other airborne contaminants that are too small to be filtered 
> even by HEPA filters.
> 
> HEPA filters are good to about 3 microns (3 x 10^-6 m) 
> wherease disk head flying height is on the order of 5 x 10^-9 m.
> 
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