HDD Burned on gas stove, can it be recovered?

[FatRaccouunn]

My brother burned my HDD on the gas stove for about 5 minutes with the cover open, can data be recovered from it?

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[northwind]

If he was trying to get revenge about something you did, he's good at it.

Short answer: No.

Long answer:
Most important thing is if Curie point has been reached and magnetic properties have been lost. If so, it's not a hard drive anymore, data is gone and you should move on.
But even if it didn't reach Curie point I think it's game over anyway, the surface is heavily damaged.

[FatRaccouunn]

[quote="northwind"]

I'm reading about curie points and I found that cobalt which is the magnetic coating on the surface of the platter has a curie of 1100c,
while butane gas burns at 1900c, however the aluminum platter with a melting point of 600c hasn't melted, so maybe it didn't reach the curie?
Not sure how heating and melting works.

I have a backup of my work from the HDD but it is a few weeks earlier so I have lost some progress.

[pepe]

the problem is probably not the Curie temp, but the disintegration of the surface lubricant layer (perhaps others too)
It would be an interesting experiment though

pepe

[FatRaccouunn]

I have been reading about the curie temperatures and how it can affect the magnetized data, and I found that the curie of cobalt which seems to be the magnetic layer on the platter is 1100c, butane/propane gas burns at 1900c, however since the platter which is aluminum with a melting point of 600c hasn't melted, can this mean the data is still ok?

[pepe]

the question is what amount the data is worth, nobody will try it for free and on success it will cost you a nice (ugly?) sum for sure.
If you want a proper opinion, somebody has to investigate the thing a bit more precisely than just looking at a blur photo...
I would say, the chances are slim but not 0 at this point.

pepe

[Doomer]

I have been reading about the curie temperatures and how it can affect the magnetized data, and I found that the curie of cobalt which seems to be the magnetic layer on the platter is 1100c, butane/propane gas burns at 1900c, however since the platter which is aluminum with a melting point of 600c hasn't melted, can this mean the data is still ok?

No, because it's not cobalt layer but different oxides of different metals.
As I've been told by HDD manufacturer - if plastic inside the HDD has melted then data is already gone.

[HaQue]

I am more interested in the story around why he would do this!

[FatRaccouunn]

I have been reading about the curie temperatures and how it can affect the magnetized data, and I found that the curie of cobalt which seems to be the magnetic layer on the platter is 1100c, butane/propane gas burns at 1900c, however since the platter which is aluminum with a melting point of 600c hasn't melted, can this mean the data is still ok?

No, because it's not cobalt layer but different oxides of different metals.
As I've been told by HDD manufacturer - if plastic inside the HDD has melted then data is already gone.

What is the curie of the magnetic metals, and which metals are they, if you happen to know?

Also which HDD manufacturer told you that?

[FatRaccouunn]

Which manufacturer told you that if the plastic is melted then the data is gone?

As for the story, my brother is a bit of a pyromaniac and we had a fight, he says he didn't mean to destroy work

[bunty]

Where can I get more technical details of fly height & actual head photos / videos .
I have read that fly height is 7nm & educate customers but I dont know how actual heads looks like & how they look like after crash or electronic damage .
I have downloaded many ontrack videos where they have shown following cases & whether data recovery is possible or not -
1) if hdd is fallen
2) water logged
3)burnt
4) subjected to high voltage
They have shown platter scratches under microscope as well. But I want more details so that I can upgrade my knowledge and update customers properly.
Thank you

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[Doomer]

Which manufacturer told you that if the plastic is melted then the data is gone?

I worked at Seagate, so - Seagate

[fzabkar]

Where can I get more technical details of fly height & actual head photos / videos.
I have read that fly height is 7nm ...

Your "particles" image indicates that the fly height is 0.0038 micrometres (= 3.8nm).

The average distance between 2 molecules of air at 1atm and 25C is 0.0034 micrometres (= 3.4nm).

https://www.google.com/search?q=cube+root+%281+mole+x+24.465+litres+per+mole+%2F+avogadro%27s+number%29+in+micrometres

I don't know what happens in aerodynamics at the molecular level, but superficially this would suggest that a disc head flies on an air bearing that is only 1 molecule thick.

[pepe]

molecule distance != molecule size...

the pressure must be higher than atmospheric, in order to keep the head flying, we could calculate that from spring force and area of slider. So the molecular distance under the slider is probably significantly lower than at atm pressure.
yeah, it would be an interesting trip...

[unknown]

Can anyone guess the drive model from the OP's posted photo?

[fzabkar]

molecule distance != molecule size...

I didn't mean to suggest that. My statement was ambiguous.

[Doomer]

Can anyone guess the drive model from the OP's posted photo?

it's an old WD
could be anything between 80GB and 1TB

[Lardman]

it's an old WD
could be anything between 80GB and 1TB

Are you sure it's not a quantum fireball ?
( I know - terrible, but I couldn't resist )

[unknown]

40-80 GB
Sabre/Mammoth

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[bunty]

Where can I get more technical details of fly height & actual head photos / videos.
I have read that fly height is 7nm ...

Your "particles" image indicates that the fly height is 0.0038 micrometres (= 3.8nm).

The average distance between 2 molecules of air at 1atm and 25C is 0.0034 micrometres (= 3.4nm).

https://www.google.com/search?q=cube+root+%281+mole+x+24.465+litres+per+mole+%2F+avogadro%27s+number%29+in+micrometres

I don't know what happens in aerodynamics at the molecular level, but superficially this would suggest that a disc head flies on an air bearing that is only 1 molecule thick.

Thanks fzabkar
Though hesitant (due to lack of actual practical knowledge) I use to educate customers for hdd design precision. But your post is intresting to note.
Here are some more images

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z_q_flyingheight.gif (15.34 KiB) Viewed 8330 times