This could be really bad

[carbonel]

I'd been meaning to back up the external hard drive that all my music is on -- all the CDs I ripped, all the LPs and tapes that I'd converted myself, everything. I finally got a large enough additional hard drive to put it on. And now my music hard drive, the one that hasn't been backed up, seems to have totally died. The light goes on, but there are no vibrations.

Is there anything that can be done that won't be hideously expensive?

Comments

[mizzlaurajean.livejournal.com]

Beth, This does not sound like fun.

Josh, What is this, the computer equivalent of Chinese water torture, or an attempt to save a (computer) life exposed to extreme weather?

[guppiecat]

Not exactly.

Step 1 tests for over/under voltage that is causing an immediate shutdown of the drive.

Steps 2-4 test for poor lubrication and will, in some cases, temporarily resolve the issue. Once the drive starts spinning, it should continue to spin just fine until it's turned off. That should be good enough to get a copy.

Steps 5 and 6 test for electronic damage and work by replacing the parts most likely to have failed.