Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Why freezing a hard drive isn’t going to get you your data faster

Data Recovery Specialist
Some so-called experts recommend putting your data in the freezer in the freezer to recover data from a failed internal or external hard drive. Once it starts to click, experts recommend putting the drive in a zip lock bag. To protect the drive from the cold, “experts” recommend placing a drive in two or three plastic bags. Sticking a hard drive in the freezer for three hours will not help retrieve data for any laptop hard drive or desktop computer hard drive.

Why is this method of recovering data not the best way to get data off a failing hard drive? The cold is not kind to hard drives. Even if your hard drive manages to avoid being encased in ice, there is also another reason why this “trick” isn’t a reliable way to get your files back. There are better ways to protect your data so that you can retrieve your files. Did you know that the cold can cause condensation to form on the disk heads?  This also means that the cold can cause the read/write heads to corrode faster because they have gotten wet.

Possibly only minutes to retrieve Data

It is better to consult a data recovery loss expert and skip the freezer. Putting a driver in freezer exposes the metal heads to condensation and water can cause those heads to fail. Can you get the files off your computer in minutes after you pull a drive out of the freezer? If you cannot, you lose your files and there is no possibility of retrieving files. Once a drive gets wet, even data recovery specialists cannot reverse the process to retrieve files. It is adios to your hard drive.  Once thawed, data on any hard drive is not retrievable.

Though some people swear by this unconventional method, you may be better off taking your failing hard drive to a professional first.  If a data loss recovery specialist cannot recover any data loss, then you can try the freezer trick. Why is it hard to retrieve data, if you drive isn’t harmed by condensation, freezing can certainly make a hard drive useless. The cold from the freezer will cause data heads to shrink. This is why retrieving data can be problematic, at best. You may not be able to copy files that you need to save data.

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