When I was a kid, I'd load executables into a text editor or hex editor to see what was inside. I quickly figured out how to identify uncompressed graphics and audio data by sight, and to identify various opcodes by their ASCII interpretation. It made ripping and patching a lot quicker since I could eyeball it first before deep diving, and made it trivial to find encrypted portions in the executable.
I still do it sometimes.
Another, less useful skill (now) was the ability to detect a failing floppy disk by resting my hand on top of the drive while it was reading. I also resurrected a couple of seized hard drives by opening the case and spinning up the platter with my finger, much to the shock and dismay of onlookers.
When I was a kid, I'd load executables into a text editor or hex editor to see what was inside.
So did I. I got stuck on a text adventure that came on a magazine's cover disk so I cracked open the executable to see what verbs I could use.
It had lots of swear words it could detect (which I recognized) including "c--t" (which I didn't recognize). In a matter of fact way I asked my parents, "What does c--t mean?" I seem to recall the magazine sending us a free copy of Wing Commander shortly thereafter ;-)
You just need to get the drive spinning. The motor will set it to a constant speed, but when the drive has seized, it can't start the platter spinning to begin with.
However, once you open the drive, you have VERY limited time to copy the data off since it's designed to run in clean room conditions (internally).
I still do it sometimes.
Another, less useful skill (now) was the ability to detect a failing floppy disk by resting my hand on top of the drive while it was reading. I also resurrected a couple of seized hard drives by opening the case and spinning up the platter with my finger, much to the shock and dismay of onlookers.