Tom's Hardware: Topic Hard disk error need help
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Okay I think one of my HD is dead but I'm not sure. Here's what happened. I used to have to many IDE devices for my PC so I used to switch em all the time. Now at the time i did this i didn't realise you are supposed to fully unplug the pc/switch off the Powersupply when changing compnonents, cause there is some kind of low level votage still running? Anyway, I used to just turn the computer off with the switch at the front and then switch the drives. Then after awhile one of my drives started going on the blink. It wouldn't be detected in BIOS everytime i turned it on. Sometimes it would sometimes not. But if I just used one device it would always be detected. I figured the IDE cable was just bent or something so I replaced it but the problem still occured. Then one day i had a head crash on the drive and lost a bit of data but the drive still occansinaly worked. Then one day it stopped working completely. When I plug it in it doesn't even spin. Now what i want to know is there some way i can fix the drive it is power relay (Or whatever you call it) is shorted out? Or is there someway i can recover the data on the disk? I used to have both my hd's just sitting ontop of each other too with no space between them. I have since learned that 1. They should have some air between them. 2. You need to power down fully before switching power cables 
Hopefully it won't happen again, but i hope there is someone who can help me recover that data? This was about 2 years ago and I'm a lot more careful these days.
When you power an ATX supply off (on the front case button) it still supplies a 5V standby voltage. But this does not reach the harddrives, so it should be safe to change the drives even if the mains power isnt disconnected. However, static electricity can damage electronic components even if the power is completely disconnected. If you change the drives sufficiently often, you may once or twice have been unlucky and discharged some static electricity. Static electricity doesnt necessarily kill a drive immediatly. But it can weaken components so they fail at a later time.
I have all my computer equipment earthed. And I never disconnect the mains cord when changing components. This insures that, by touching the case, I dont have any static charge buildup before touching any electronic devices.
What drive was it that died? It shouldnt happen to be an IBM 'deathstar' 
. Anyway if the motor doesnt spin, there is not much you can do to recover data. I once had an IBM that died. Also here, the motor stopped spinning. I was able to recover the data since I had an additional identical drive. I swapped the controller board of the two drives in order to get the dead drive up and running. After recovering data I swapped the boards back and RMAed the dead drive.
<i><b>Artificial intelligence will never be a match for natural stupidity</b></i>
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