Hard Disk Comment

[ChrisD]

I've had a bad week with computers and amongst the problems are that the hard disk on the laptop has suffered mechanical failure! I gather that this is an extremely rare occurrence.

The person repairing the computer tells me that ALL the information on this disk is most probably lost.

Apparently the disk internals are light sensitive which is something I was not aware of - I knew that they were magnestic but I didn't realise that light could apparently destroy the data

How does a disk work then?

[BillScarab]

Hard disks aren't light sensitive as far as know, I've worked in IT for 25 years and never heard that before. They're magnetic devices so I'm not sure how light would affect them.

Depends what you mean by mechanical failure as well. There are ways of recovering data from just about anything. It just tends to cost a lot. For instance depending on ht has failed it is sometimes possible to remove the circuit board from the drive and replace it with a good one from an identical model and get it working again.

[shanno_2k]

So long as the HDD power/spins up most of the time you can save the Data

if there is data on the hdd that you need pm me im sure we can work somethin out

[Kitform]

I've had a bad week with computers and amongst the problems are that the hard disk on the laptop has suffered mechanical failure! I gather that this is an extremely rare occurrence.

The person repairing the computer tells me that ALL the information on this disk is most probably lost.

Apparently the disk internals are light sensitive which is something I was not aware of - I knew that they were magnestic but I didn't realise that light could apparently destroy the data

How does a disk work then?

If that's what your computer repair man is telling you, then it would be the last job he ever got. (Not that I use repair men myself)
Disk drives do fail but very rarely these days, laptop drives are usually in a rubber sleeve to absorb occasional knocks.
If he thinks that light can destroy a hard drive then his diagnostic skills would also be suspect, Just because the laptop won't boot doesn't mean the hard drive is at fault.

[Satancom]

I Have used a company called Disklabs before. They are used by plod for recovering data off smashed / burned hard disks etc.. Theres always a way to get the data back if the disc itself is intact, just it can be expensive!

[JayHoe]

You have got backups... haven't you?

[Satancom]

You have got backups... haven't you?

We had one in work the other day where the hard drive killed itself.. We sia dits no problem because all the shared drives and user folders are backed up daily and are network rsouces anyhow..

"But I save all my work to the hard drive, for the last three years" :rolleyes:

[jazzyjeph]

Hi all i'm a newbie to Land Rovers (and this forum) but not to computing and i've got to agree with others here that your technicians skills are sorely lacking in the IT department. The hard disk drive in a computer basicaly resembles a record player with an arm travelling over a disk/platter an interesting fact is that the distance between the arm and platter is less than a few molecules of smoke (ish) which is why they are sensitive to having their covers removed, not because they are light sensitive :D
I have recovery tools and an external caddy to test hard drives, if your stuck you could post it to me for a diagnosis if that helps.
Geoff

[seriesowner]

"But I save all my work to the hard drive, for the last three years" :rolleyes:

...not any more, you won't!

[Satancom]

Oh im Fairly sure they will continue to do so when they get it back!

[ChrisD]

You have got backups... haven't you?

About 97% only, SWMBO's photographs NOT among them!

However,

Repair man been back on, he's found another fault which he has cured (at no cost!) and this has re-activated the hard drive so he's copied everything to an alternative base and will re-setup the computer.

I'll see what it's like when it returns

[ChrisD]

We had one in work the other day where the hard drive killed itself.. We sia dits no problem because all the shared drives and user folders are backed up daily and are network rsouces anyhow..

"But I save all my work to the hard drive, for the last three years" :rolleyes:

Mind you, when we had a network problem (@Network Rail, of course) due to the destruction by fire of a large number of fibre optic circuits at Manchester we were left unable to access our work for several days and were reduced to taking CD-Roms down to Crewe station and handing them over to the drivers of Southbound trains saying "You'll be met at Euston!" Information was returned by the reverse process.

We were unable to convince either the lowerarchy or IT that we should keep information locally and "synchronise" with the central storage on a regular basis. IIRC it is possible to do this automatically each time you close a revised file. The lowerarchy were spending too much time wittering about 'Elfansafety and the Environment rather than doing some useful work!

[Satancom]

IIRC it is possible to do this automatically each time you close a revised file. The lowerarchy were spending too much time wittering about 'Elfansafety and the Environment rather than doing some useful work!

Yes we use a Distributred File System (DFS) in work. So if you save a file in wales on your user drive its stoed to your local server and then copied to our london server within a few mins (and all other depots).

If the Server in Wales fails users are automatically reconnected to the next available server, its a bit slower but everything is still available. Or if the line goes down they still work locally as normal.

Take s abit of setting up but its worth its weight in gold. Also it keeps shodow copies, so for a specific file you wil have the last 10 versions of it available in case you save over it without haveing to delve into the backups!

Belts n braces is the order of the day here!

[shifty]

I've had a bad week with computers and amongst the problems are that the hard disk on the laptop has suffered mechanical failure! I gather that this is an extremely rare occurrence.

The person repairing the computer tells me that ALL the information on this disk is most probably lost.

Apparently the disk internals are light sensitive which is something I was not aware of - I knew that they were magnestic but I didn't realise that light could apparently destroy the data

How does a disk work then?

Complete and utter b.....ks. They are not light sensitive.

I have come accross three h/d failures in total 1 ide, 1 sata and 1 laptop.

If it is not spinning the circuit board on the casing can be replaced...expensive though.

On one occasion I actually used a corldess drill to spin it whilst it was connected to my desktop via usb.

There is always a way.

There is also a little known industry secret of putting in a sealed bag and then leaving in a freezer for over 24 hours.

I used this method once and slowly but surely retrieved all data.

[jazzyjeph]

Quote "On I one occasion I actually used a corldess drill to spin it whilst it was connected to my desktop via usb." now that's funnier than the light sensitive drive :)

[shifty]

Quote "On I one occasion I actually used a corldess drill to spin it whilst it was connected to my desktop via usb." now that's funnier than the light sensitive drive :)

Damn....you spotted it....