Hard drive crash?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Brad W
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Brad W

My hard drive is pretty much not working, I mean not being recognized. It
is not making funny sounds though and sounds like it is spinning normally.
It just stopped working after I installed an update for windows, maybe it
was a virus, I wasn't paying 100% attention to what I clicked.

Do crashed hard drives always make weird sounds? Is there any viruses
going around lately that have made the HD inaccessible?

Thanks
Brad
 
Brad said:
My hard drive is pretty much not working, I mean not being
recognized. It is not making funny sounds though and sounds like it
is spinning normally. It just stopped working after I installed an
update for windows, maybe it was a virus, I wasn't paying 100%
attention to what I clicked.
Do crashed hard drives always make weird sounds? Is there any
viruses going around lately that have made the HD inaccessible?
Click to expand...



Stop using the hard drive. Unplug it. Download a diagnostic utility from the
maker of your hard drive. Maxtor has Powmax, Seagate has Seatools. Create
the floppy. Connect the hard drive as slave. Run the diagnostics. Your hard
drive may only have a corrupted MBR, which is easy enough to fix.
 
I have a maxtor drive. I downloaded the powermax software as you suggested
and ran the tests.

Test 1. Installation confirmation. PASSED
Test 2 Basic Quick 90 second, "Must run Advanced Full Scan Test"
Test 3 Runs for about a minute and says "Failed, Back up your data and
consult our website with this 8 digit diagnostic code"

I go to the website and it says that the 8 digit number is to be used as an
RMA number if it is under warrenty.

I assume that the problem you were referring to which was a corrupted MBR is
ruled out because of this? Now I'm pretty sure I will have to send the
drive to a data recovery company. Can you people please reccomend some you
may have used? I would really appreciate it. Or any other advice/comments
are welcome as well. I am a poor college student and can't imagine spending
$1,500 dollars to get my data back, $500.00 is going to be pushing it so
thats the number i'm aiming for.

I think I learned my lesson about backing stuff up. I always thought the
stupid SMART stuff was suppose to warn you before a crash though. I guess
its not totally reliable.

Thanks
Brad C.
 
brad-cook said:
I have a maxtor drive. I downloaded the powermax software as you
suggested and ran the tests.

Test 1. Installation confirmation. PASSED
Test 2 Basic Quick 90 second, "Must run Advanced Full Scan Test"
Test 3 Runs for about a minute and says "Failed, Back up your data
and consult our website with this 8 digit diagnostic code"

I go to the website and it says that the 8 digit number is to be used
as an RMA number if it is under warrenty.

I assume that the problem you were referring to which was a corrupted
MBR is ruled out because of this? Now I'm pretty sure I will have
to send the drive to a data recovery company. Can you people please
reccomend some you may have used? I would really appreciate it. Or
any other advice/comments are welcome as well. I am a poor college
student and can't imagine spending $1,500 dollars to get my data
back, $500.00 is going to be pushing it so thats the number i'm
aiming for.

I think I learned my lesson about backing stuff up. I always thought
the stupid SMART stuff was suppose to warn you before a crash though.
I guess its not totally reliable.
Click to expand...

Before shipping the drive out, you can try this:

-remove the hard drive from the computer
-place it in an anti-static bag.
-place that bag inside a freezer bag.
-place the drive in a deep freeze. It can be left there. Don't jar it.
-get a copy of an imaging program, like Symantec Drive Image, Ghost, or
Acronis True Image.
-take the drive out of the bags and place it as a slave to a working hard
drive.
-take an image of the defective drive. Save the image to the working drive.

You can then retrieve data from the image.


Hard to say if your drive has a mechanical or logical problem. In the case
of the latter, swapping the PCB might do the trick. You could always try
local computer shops to find an *exact* replacement drive. All part numbers
and the firmware revision of the drive must match. Have someone
knowledgeable with electronics swap the logic board for you. If this does
work, get the data off and shelve the drive. Look in to a backup strategy in
the future.

If this fails, try a recovery service.

http://www.stellarinfo.com/
http://www.ontrack.com/desktop/
http://www.datarecoverygroup.com/
 
thanks for all the info. How risky is the freezer method? Is there a
website that gives more details on it such as, "Do i take it directly out of
the freezer and plug it in, or do i let it go back to room temp?

Thanks
Brad
 
Also,

Do you know of a website that has all or some of this good hard drive info
that you know?

I really appreciate your help.

Thanks
Brad
 
brad-cook said:
thanks for all the info. How risky is the freezer method? Is
there a website that gives more details on it such as, "Do i take it
directly out of the freezer and plug it in, or do i let it go back to
room temp?
Click to expand...

The freezer method isn't risk at all. There's no guarantee of results, but
it is worth a shot.

Take it from the deep freezer to the PC. Install it as a slave, meaning
don't try booting from it. Then, take an image of the hard drive as quickly
as possible. Perhaps have a knowledgeable friend help. At the very least
practice this a few times with working drives. Time is rather critical as
you do not want the drive to warm up. If it warms, it expands in all three
dimensions and you're back at square one.

If you can not recover the data yourself, call these folks for a quote:
http://www.ontrack.com/datarecovery...covery+Solutions&buttonName=Request+for+Quote
http://www.drivesavers.com/why_drivesavers/index.html

Both are well known and have good reputations.

Post back to the group with your results.
 
What about freezing it, and then having it sit in a little portable rerig
that my roommate has to extend the "coolness"? I'll post my detailed
results back to the group when I get this done, probably on Sunday or so.

Thanks
Brad
 
News said:
What about freezing it, and then having it sit in a little portable
rerig that my roommate has to extend the "coolness"? I'll post my
detailed results back to the group when I get this done, probably on
Sunday or so.
Click to expand...

Do what you can. Wrap the outside freezer bag with several layers of
newspaper, towels or even one of those insulated lunch bags. The idea is to
keep the drive cold for as long as possible.
Be familiar with the function of the imaging app. Work as quickly as
possible.
See you Sunday.
 
Well I just froze my hard drive like was suggested to me and it did not
work. The drive made the same sounds as it had before and acted the same
way. It would spin up and keep spinning and then every 2 or 2.5 seconds it
would make a sound like the arm was moving to find something on the
platters, like it was searching for a file, but I would not classify it as a
"click" as most people describe sounds.

Does this tell you anymore information? Is there anything else I can try
besides the data recovery compnay? My friend is an electrical engineer,
maybe he could help me install the board? Only problem is that the hard
drive came from a sony playstation 2 linux kit that I formatted w/ NTFS. I
know it is a maxtor and I know the exact model number, but I think the
drives were manufactured specifically for sony. The model is 4D040H2 which
can be pulled up on the Maxtor website.

Thanks
Brad
 
Brad said:
Well I just froze my hard drive like was suggested to me and it did
not work. The drive made the same sounds as it had before and acted
the same way. It would spin up and keep spinning and then every 2 or
2.5 seconds it would make a sound like the arm was moving to find
something on the platters, like it was searching for a file, but I
would not classify it as a "click" as most people describe sounds.

Does this tell you anymore information? Is there anything else I can
try besides the data recovery compnay? My friend is an electrical
engineer, maybe he could help me install the board? Only problem is
that the hard drive came from a sony playstation 2 linux kit that I
formatted w/ NTFS. I know it is a maxtor and I know the exact model
number, but I think the drives were manufactured specifically for
sony. The model is 4D040H2 which can be pulled up on the Maxtor
website.
Click to expand...

Perhaps you can call Maxtor to learn if different revisions of the drive
exist and how you might go about purchasing one.

As long as the sounds made were seeking noise and not loud clicking or head
to platter contact, you should be OK to try replacing the logic board.
 
Well I just froze my hard drive like was suggested to me and it did not
work. The drive made the same sounds as it had before and acted the same
way. It would spin up and keep spinning and then every 2 or 2.5 seconds it
would make a sound like the arm was moving to find something on the
platters, like it was searching for a file, but I would not classify it as a
"click" as most people describe sounds.

Does this tell you anymore information? Is there anything else I can try
besides the data recovery compnay? My friend is an electrical engineer,
maybe he could help me install the board? Only problem is that the hard
drive came from a sony playstation 2 linux kit that I formatted w/ NTFS. I
know it is a maxtor and I know the exact model number, but I think the
drives were manufactured specifically for sony. The model is 4D040H2 which
can be pulled up on the Maxtor website.
Click to expand...

I have a Maxtor 4D040H2, it was purchased retail a little
under 2 years ago, certainly not a Sony-unique drive.

It works fine, if you are interested in buying it, let me
know.
 
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