As we become more attached to our computing devices, the lengths of what we will do to prevent a complete loss of data or functionality are becoming more interesting and ingenious.
Two of the most unusual repair techniques associated with modern computers involve using kitchen appliances as a desperate measure to salvage the device or at least the data contained therein.
[su_note note_color=”#F4f4f4″]Computer owners should keep in mind that the two situations described herein are anecdotal, which means that they should not be attempted at home due to the strong likelihood of total loss.[/su_note]
Cooking a MacBook
There was a time when Apple products were thought to be infallible, at least when compared to Windows PCs, due to their operating systems being coded into the hardware architecture. In reality, this did not preclude problems that any computing device can experience; plus, Apple eventually changed its hardware architecture to resemble the rest of the personal computer market.
One problematic Apple device was the 15-inch MacBook Pro released in 2011. That luxurious laptop became notorious for having several problems with its video display not working correctly and eventually locking up the entire system. We are talking about a piece of hardware that many people paid $2,500 for when it hit the market.
[su_note note_color=”#F4f4f4″]It so happened that this MacBook would only get worse if users tried safe boots and data recovery procedures. Eventually, some tech-savvy users determined that the most efficient way of fixing this problem was taking the machine apart, remove its logic board component, wrapping it in aluminum foil, and placing it into a conventional oven preheated to 170 degrees Celsius or 325 Fahrenheit. After seven minutes, the surface of the logic board will be slightly toasted, but it would actually solve the problem once reassembled.[/su_note]
A Frosty Hard Drive
The tale of data being recovered from a failed hard drive after being placed in the freezer for 12 hours goes back to 2010.
A typical hard drive failure is caused by the disk becoming warped and causing friction against the read/write component. Removing the hard drive and placing it inside two zip-lock bags so that it can spend the night in the freezer would shrink the disk surface at least for a few hours, hopefully long enough to recover some data.
[su_note note_color=”#F4f4f4″]The most incredible aspect of the aforementioned repair attempts is that they were figured out by users who did not have proper backups or did not think about a data recovery option. If your computing device in Apple Valley is on the brink of failure, don’t try any of the two dubious repairs above; bring it to PC Performance Pros instead.[/su_note]
