[NBLUG/talk] dd_rescue help

Allan Cecil ac at sonic.net
Wed Feb 16 11:51:30 PST 2011


Just to get this out there the freezer trick only has the potential to help in very specific types of failures.  The most common failure type (that of foreign material causing damage to the head or platter) is generally unaffected by temperature changes.

Look at the destination where you're telling dd_rescue to put the files; if that hasn't grown in size give up and try a different approach.  The 2.2 TB partition size is concerning and is indicative of a corrupt partition table but dd_rescue is going to copy *everything* (including any bunk partition information) but that can likely be worked around later.

I'm not up to speed on the latest tools (Kyle can probably chime in) but dd_rhelp may be a better tool for you as it will look at the areas that are readable first rather than wasting time on what can't be read.

Best of luck,

A.C.
******

On 02/16/2011 11:31 AM, gandalf at sonic.net wrote:
> I've had the freezer bag work on a failing drive. Also putting something real cold on top of the drive may extend the time of working. I used a canned air that was blown dry and thus got real cold, but an ice pack or two would probably also work fine. When cold the bearings run tighter and then they loosen up as they get warmer. In my experience you have 15 or 20 minutes of good use before they warm up. Keeping them cold can extend this.
>
> It's a great help if you know the particular files you need to get off the drive. Instead of copying the whole thing try specific targets. You might have to repeat the process although dedregration is highly probable. The problem with the freeze method is that it causes condensation inside the drive which can be very bad.
>
> Sorry don't know about dd_rescue, but it sounds like such a program is taking a long/everything approach which may lead to further wear on the drive.
>
> (imagine a cute or dirty tagline here)
>
>   On Wed 16/02/11 10:58 AM , Howard Schnirman howardas at pacbell.net sent:
>> I've been running dd_recue on a notebook sata 160gb drive attached by USB
>> case. dd_rescue has been running for over 24hrs. But I have a feeling that
>> I should halt the program because errs and bad blocks are the same, and the
>> far right says succxfer 0.0K%. So it basically looks like the whole drive
>> is toast and dd_recue is skipping everything.
>> Can some one confirm for me that this process thus is useless for my
>> drive.One more thing Disk Utility in Ubuntu is showing the drive as a 2.2 TB
>> drive.Can that be the problem or is there any way to fix this.
>>
>> I'm close to doing the last resort of the old freezer bag trick I've read
>> some where on line.
>> Howard
>>
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