Depends what's wrong with the drive.. I had one that overheated in a couple of seconds before I could get data off it. I put it in a plastic bag, sealed it up, and put it in a bowl of ice water, with the open end of the bag just out of the water, and the cables coming out the top. It ran long enough for me to get my data, then I chucked it in the bin. It was a bit last ditch, but it worked.
Joe, November 2005
