You know the unmistakable “click of death” a failing hard drive whispers in its final moments. You usually hear it just before the drive’s owner tells you he or she hasn’t backed up their data in years. Before you send the drive off for an expensive extraction, try this last-ditch effort. It actually works about half of the time.
Steps
- Remove the drive. Place it in a double ziplocked freezer bag so zero moisture can penetrate.
- And tuck it safely in your freezer for about 12 hours.
- Remove the drive and let it acclimate for few minutes.
- Then connect it to an IDE/SATA to USB Adapter (USB 2.0 or 3.0) and cross your fingers.
It may start up long enough for you to collect the data.
If the drive is in really bad shape, this process can further corrupt the data. So proceed with caution. And never attempt it on your boss’ drive because it might cause data loss or create a security risk.
