hard drive data recovery

From: Allison J Parent <allisonp_at_world.std.com>
Date: Wed Jul 15 08:50:46 1998

< Alright for some :-). Alas most of us don't have access to a clean room.
< Even if I was working at a place which had one, I can't believe they'd be
< too happy if I wandered in with an HDA and started stripping it.

Majorly true.

I worked in pharmaceuticals and though they didn't use super clean rooms
(class 10,000 worst case) the equipment was under a laminar airflow curtain
with a flow of 100 linear feet per minute and the air under there was class
100. The air flow was obvious ly of the the machine then into the room
where super clean was less important.

< I would have thought looking for backscattered light would be more
< sensitive and easier to set up. Still not sensitive enough for a clean
< box, of course (in this form).

The air flow and the sensing area cross section are important. Using a
light source like a laser is helpful in getting the backscatter brighter.

This is the problem of how many Angeles can dance on the end of a pin.
You build a clean box and use a good HEPA filter. With 100-200cfm of
incomming clean air once the dust in the box has been blown out it will be
clean especially if gloved hands are the only thing inside.

I'e heard a lot of "good luck", "it will not last" and "too dirty" from
those that haven't. I've done it, when RD53s and 54s were in desperately
short supply here and it does work without the clean box with some care.
Obvious tricks like wearing nylon gloves to avoid finger prints, a canister
of dry air to blow things off and keeping the unit covered when possible
all reduce risk.


Allison
Received on Wed Jul 15 1998 - 08:50:46 BST