That sounds like a good plan. I think it should work since they say most
drive failures are due to electronics not the platters.

Good Luck,
- Mike

"Jaz" wrote in message
...
"Michael Kennedy" wrote:
What? are you saying Geek Squad does data recovery?!

Oh by the way.. I think the auto mechanic anaology is kind of a good /
bad.
There used to be auto mechanics that would rebuild break calipers,
mastercylleders, alternators, starters, etc rather than replace the entire
part. Now days this isn't usually cost effective and any big business like
a
dealership won't have any knowledgeable mechanics working for them.. I
feel
the same is true with comptuer repair. It used to be if you went in to a
computer shop they'd have an oscilloscope, soldering station, crt tester,
etc.. I think it is just the advent of throw away equipment, cars and
electronics.

Years ago I would make an enjoyable weekend of replacing the 5th
piston in my '63 Buick Wildcat -- it had a cracked cylindar wall and
the rings would eventually get gummed up by watery oil. Much more
recently I drove an '87 Quattro and used to take it to the dealer or
one of the bigger reputible shops because I wanted it fixed right.
After 3-4 visits I realized they didn't know how to fix cars and I
resorted to being my own mechanic again.

So in regards to the this disk drive, I can understand the need for
clean-rooms and delicate instruments. But since I belive this is a
controller problem I'll try tackling it myself before I send it off to
somebody. Here in Boston there is TechFusion, but they want $850 for a
best case scenario. The folks in the UK are a bit cheaper and have a
no-fix/no-pay policy.

I did find a seller of a same-model drive who claims the controller
model # matches, so I'll try this before the freeze spray method.

Stay tuned!

"John" wrote in message
...
Michael Kennedy wrote:
In my experience computer shops don't do any work like this.. They
only can change entire drives..

I have been in some shops that are no more than automobile mechanics.
There are also some that are owned by very knowledgeable individuals.
Data
recovery specialists are more and more in demand and is a worthwhile
endeavor. Local corporations that do not have a specialists on staff are
more and more inclined to use these for quick turn around. I learned
this
first hand in desperation needing to recover a project due ASAP.
Computer
Geeks from Bestbuy is an example of the house call needs of more than
small businesses.






(Please excuse the 'burp' when replying (b))