Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!husc6!m2c!wpi!ear
From: ear@wpi.wpi.edu (Eric A Rasmussen)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.hardware
Subject: Re: Dead Rodime drive
Message-ID: <5105@wpi.wpi.edu>
Date: 28 Oct 89 15:12:24 GMT
References: <16379@dartvax.Dartmouth.EDU>
Reply-To: ear@wpi.wpi.edu (Eric A Rasmussen)
Distribution: comp.sys.mac.hardware
Organization: Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA. USA
Lines: 12

At the last place I worked, one of the computers had a Seagate HD that had to
be left on all the time or it would stop working.  The problem is that if you
left it turned off for more than 1/4 of an hour, it would not spin up. I
(being the super genius that I am) did manage to discover how to get it to
spin again, though.  Being very careful not to shake the drive up and down,
which could potentially cause a head crash, you must remove the hard drive,
hold the drive level and attempt to spin the case around the platters, thus
breaking them free so they will be able to spin.  The idea is that the mass of
the platters will be enough to hold them still (through momentum) as you spin
the case around them.  Obviously, you must do this in quick short motions. 
After a few tries by several people, this worked with our drive, and, after
being reinstalled, it worked perfectly, and we didn't even lose any data.