but older hard drives like the ones I’ve shown above are remarkably tolerant of being opened. That’s not to say I would leave it operating without the cover for an extended period of time, but for quick data recovery purposes in a decently clean environment, it’s fine.
The airflow while the platters are spinning keeps dust off them, and as long as particles don't stick and cause excessive "thermal asperity", the heads will still work. The latter is what makes transient bad sectors appear.
The airflow while the platters are spinning keeps dust off them, and as long as particles don't stick and cause excessive "thermal asperity", the heads will still work. The latter is what makes transient bad sectors appear.