Hard Drive Data Recovery – Why Not DIY?

December 24, 2019 by Zoe Skyforest 53 Comments

Hard drive failures can be tough to bear, particularly for the average person who doesn’t back up. When it comes to data recovery, there’s always those bleating from the sidelines that it’s a job that must be left to the professionals. However, this is Hackaday, not HireSomeoneADay, so [Matt]’s video on do-it-yourself hard drive repair is just what we like to see.

The video begins with plugging the non-functional drive into an external caddy, and using a microphone to listen to the sounds it makes. Upon analysis, [Matt] concludes that the drive is not spinning up, and suspects the heads may be stuck, causing the problem. When tapping the drive fails to unstick the heads, the next step is disassembly.

Despite the best advice from armchair commentators, this can be achieved at home without a clean room. [Matt] opens the drive carefully, and notes that the head is indeed stuck to the platter, instead of sitting in its home position. Using a screwdriver, the platters are rotated in their usual direction while gentle pressure is applied to pull the head away, being sure to use a light touch to avoid ripping the heads off entirely. With this done, the drive is reassembled and powered up. Amazingly, the repair is successful, and data is able to be recovered!

It’s important to note that this is a highly risky procedure, and not guaranteed to succeed. Truly valuable data should be left to the professionals, but if you’re skint or simply unbothered, it doesn’t hurt to have a go yourself. Be sure to avoid dust entering the drive, and take care not to touch the platters themselves. Of course, if you brick the device, you can always scavenge it for parts. Video after the break.

Continue reading “Hard Drive Data Recovery – Why Not DIY?” →

Replacing A Non-Replacable Laptop Keyboard

December 23, 2019 by Zoe Skyforest 30 Comments

Spilling a drink on a laptop is a terrifying experience. If you’re lucky you’ll ruin just a keyboard, and if not, your entire machine could go up in smoke. Assuming you’ve just suffered the latter, you can still be out of luck, as many laptops come with fancy integrated keyboards that are not designed to be removable. It’s not always the case however, as this ingenious hack from [InsideMyLaptop] bears out.

The hack begins with removing the top case assembly from a HP Pavilion laptop. The keyboard is riveted into the top plate assembly, along with the trackpad, which would normally necessitate their replacement as a total unit. However, if properly armed with a soldering iron, these plastic rivets can be melted to allow the backing plate and keyboard to be removed. A replacement part can then be sourced, and the remaining rivet stubs can be remelted to hold the new part in place.

It’s a simple hack, but one that goes to show one shouldn’t always take “No User Servicable Parts Inside” as an answer. We’ve seen other useful work from [InsideMyLaptop] before – like this power jack repair way back in 2011.

Slack, Now On Windows 3.1

December 23, 2019 by Zoe Skyforest 20 Comments

Slack is either an online collaboration tool, or a religion, depending on who you talk to. Naturally, it’s accessible across all manner of modern platforms, from Windows and MacOS to smartphones. However, some prefer to go further back. At a recent company hackathon, [Yeo Kheng Meng] decided to create a Slack client for Windows 3.1.

This is how you learned to program before the Internet.

Programming for an older OS, in this case, Windows For Workgroups 3.11, requires setting up a viable development environment. Visual C++ 1.52 was pressed into service in this case, being the last version capable of targeting Windows 3.11. The development environment is run on a Windows 2000 virtual machine running on a Mac laptop. This was chosen for its ability to run 16-bit apps, and its Samba compatibility with both Windows 3.11 and Windows 10 and modern Macs.

There were several challenges to face along the way. Old school Windows simply isn’t capable of dealing with HTTPS, necessitating a proxy to handle the exchange of packets with Slack servers. Additionally, memory management was a hassle due to the limits of the 16-bit architecture. Thankfully, an old programming manual from the era was of great help in this regard.

At the end of the hackathon, a usable Slack client was up and running, complete with garish colors from the early Windows era. There’s a few key features missing, such as the ability to resolve user IDs, but overall, the concept works. We’ve seen [Yeo]’s work with this vintage OS before too. Video after the break.

Continue reading “Slack, Now On Windows 3.1” →

Build A DSLR Photo Booth The Easy Way

December 22, 2019 by Zoe Skyforest 7 Comments

It’s a well-known fact in capitalist societies that any product or service, if being used in a wedding, instantly triples in cost. Wanting to avoid shelling out big money for a simple photo booth for a friend’s big day, [Lewis] decided to build his own.

Wanting a quality photo output, a Canon DSLR was selected to perform photographic duties. An Arduino Nano is then pressed into service to run the show. It’s hooked up to a MAX7219 LED matrix which feeds instructions to the willing participants, who activate the system with a giant glowing arcade button. When pressed, the Nano waits ten seconds and triggers the camera shutter, doing so three times. Images are displayed on a screen hooked up to the camera’s ~~USB~~ HDMI port.

It’s a build that keeps things simple. No single-board PCs needed, just a camera, an Arduino, and a monitor for the display. We’re sure the wedding-goers had a great time, and we look forward to seeing what [Lewis] comes up with next. We’ve seen a few of his hacks around here before, too.

Continue reading “Build A DSLR Photo Booth The Easy Way” →

Arcade Buttons Make A Great Multimedia Keyboard

December 22, 2019 by Zoe Skyforest 4 Comments

[Giovanni Bernardo] has a very important job – managing the audio for several Christmas events. Desiring a simple and effective control interface, he designed a dedicated media keyboard to run the show.

The project began with an Arduino Leonardo, commonly used in projects that aim to create a USB Human Interface Device. [Giovanni] then installed the HID-Project library from [Nicohood]. This was used to enable the device to emulate media buttons typically found on keyboards, something the standard Arduino HID libraries were unable to do. It’s a useful tool, and one that can be implemented on even standard Arduino Unos when used in combination with the HoodLoader2 bootloader.

For ease of use and a little bit of cool factor, arcade buttons were used for the media functions. Simple to wire up, cheap, and with a great tactile feel, they’re a popular choice for fun human interface projects. It’s all wrapped up in a neat plastic box with Dymo labels outlining the functions. It’s a neat and tidy build that should make running the Christmas show a cinch!

Numitron Clock Is A Tidy ’70s Throwback

December 20, 2019 by Zoe Skyforest 13 Comments

As far as hacker clock builds go, the more obscure the parts involved, the better. By this yardstick, [sjm4306] has a great piece on his hands with this Numitron-based build.

The Numitron was a type of display popular in the 1970s, and often used in aircraft avionics and other high-end hardware. The display is a 7-segment type, but using filaments instead of LEDs. [sjm4306] was able to lay his hands on four of these devices, along with some bulbs to act as the digit seperator and AM/PM indicator. Due to being incandescent in nature, multiplexing wasn’t a practical option, with lower duty cycles drastically dimming the display. Instead, a 32-bit cascaded shift register was used to enable all the segments to be driven at the same time.

It’s a great build that uses some genuine original display hardware to create a clock with a compelling vintage aesthetic. This would make a great gift to a pilot from the era, or any hacker that likes the unusual display technologies of yesteryear. You can even build a Numitron watch, if you’re so inclined. Video after the break.

Continue reading “Numitron Clock Is A Tidy ’70s Throwback” →

Programming Arduinos With Voice Commands

December 20, 2019 by Zoe Skyforest 5 Comments

Programming is a valuable skill, though one that can be daunting to learn. Throw hardware in the mix, and things ratchet up another level again. However, there are many projects that have sought to reduce the level of difficulty for newcomers. HeyTeddy is a new project that allows users to program an Arduino with voice commands, and the help of on-screen tutorials.

It’s a system that initially sounds cumbersome, but through smart design, is actually quite streamlined. Users can talk to the system, which uses an Amazon Alexa device for natural language voice recognition. This enables HeyTeddy to respond to questions like “how do I use a flex sensor?” as well as direct commands, such as “Set pin 10 to 250”.

The demo video does a great job of demonstrating the system. While the system is not suited to professional development tasks, its has value as an educational tool for beginners. The system is able to guide users through both hardware setup on a breadboard, as well as guide them through tests when things don’t work. Once their experience level builds, code can be exported to the Arduino IDE for direct editing.

It’s a great tool that has plenty of promise to bring many more users into the hardware hacking fold. It’s out of the workshop of [MAKInteract], whose work we’ve seen before. Video after the break.

Continue reading “Programming Arduinos With Voice Commands” →