Power Management PM7500

[Tim Seufert]

On Dec 29, 2003, at 12:38 PM, Michael Torrie wrote:

> I
> understand a nice freezer and a six-inch drop can get them moving
> again.

Please never tell anybody to do that again.  It's terrible advice.  A 
6" drop onto a hard surface will dramatically exceed the maximum shock 
spec on most 3.5" drives.  Yeah, you're probably only hoping to pull 
the data off and then trash the drive, but you'll have a much better 
chance of doing so if you don't beat up the drive in the process of 
unsticking it.

A better method is to impart some rotational whiplash while holding the 
drive in your hand with the platters roughly parallel to your palm.  
I.E., rotate your wrist in one direction and then sharply back in the 
other -- you're trying to give the platters some rotational momentum 
and then suddenly reverse direction to break them free.  That's still 
got some potential for damage because debris may be generated when the 
heads rip free, but at least you'll be applying the energy in a 
directed fashion and limiting the shock pulse.