On Sat, Feb 24, 2024, 9:41 AM Rick Bensene via cctalk <cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote:
> > Another trick was for drives whose read/write amplifiers (which were > typically situated within the sealed chamber, thus not replaceable except > in a clean-room facility) had become flakey, and the drive would start > getting lots of I/O errors. > > I would take the drive and put it inside a large ziplock bag, along with a > bag of desiccant(this part is really important to suck up moisture in the > air in the bag), and a small battery-powered digital thermometer. I'd put > it in the freezer until the drive had reached roughly 42F, and then take it > out, and immediately hook it up to an archival system and power it up while > it was still cold. > > This would allow me to get the data off without I/O errors as long as I > could get what I needed before the drive warmed up enough that the weakness > in the amplifiers again became a problem. I found out about this trick > somewhere on USENET many moons ago. It worked for me a number of times. > This jogged some brain cells. I vaguely recall placing a container full of ice on top of a drive to keep it cool enough during operation for its bearings to not start screaming before I was able to copy all the data of of it. Sellam >
