[mdlug] Recovering damaged EXT2

[Aaron Kulkis]

Robert Adkins wrote:
> 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 agree there.

That's why I agreed with your "a while" comment.

One key here is to get another drive OF THE SAME MODEL.
Anything else, and a less than 1% chance of doing anything
other than destroying a perfectly good hard drive.

> 
> 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.
>>