t.hoehler wrote:
Myself, I tend to agree that some connection or the IC inside the disk
was being effected by the cold enough to allow an otherwise weak signal
to be read. It is hard to understand how a mechanical function could be
effected by the cold that would give the same results. However, I am
always willing to learn new things.


Last time I opened a bad hard drive, there was an IC right on the flex
ribbon that goes to the heads. If that is the read / write amplifier, that's
one component you cannot swap out by changing the pcb. Maybe it was a
thermal problem in that IC. Since you have recovered the data, tear the
cover off that bad boy and take a look see.
Regards,
Tom



I have already done so, and I did not see anything that could be
construed as a bad solder connection. After having listened to all the
postings so far, I tend to lean in the direction of the temperature
having an impact on the conductivity of the IC you mentioned. However,
I am still open to theories as to what the impact of cold has on a HD.
What I think is happening, is that the reading of the disk is improved
by the fact that some analog signals that would not reach the level of
the read amplifier are now accepted where they would not be if at a
lower temp. Just a theory however.