HDD problem

[Garry Beattie]

Hi guys.

My HDD crashed and took with it some very important data which I need to
recover.

The drive, when placed into a computer is dead. Dead to the point that it
locks up the computer.

It is a 40g Seagate drive. I have an identical drive to it as a spare and
was wondering if I could somehow remove the data disc's from the faulty
drive and insert them into the good drive?
I know I run the risk of losing both drives, however that is a risk I am
willing to take.
I believe it is the circuit board that has given out on my faulty drive, not
the data disc's themselves.
Perhaps I could swap circuit boards?

Any advice or idea's?????

Best regards

--
Garry Beattie
Ocean Spirit Marine Imports
and
Ocean Spirit Trailer Sailer &
Small Yacht Cruising E-Magazine.
www.ocean-spirit.com
(e-mail address removed)
(e-mail address removed)
(e-mail address removed)

 

[kony]

Hi guys.

My HDD crashed and took with it some very important data which I need to
recover.

.... and of course there are no backups.

The drive, when placed into a computer is dead. Dead to the point that it
locks up the computer.

We need specifics.
It could not "lock up" the computer unless you attached drive to system
while system was running. Is this what you did? If not, what, exactly,
did you do, and what, exactly, happened.

Have you tried just plugging in the power supply plug to see if you can
hear drive spinning (if that was audible previously), if (whatever it was
doing previously) the system then works properly albeit without the drive
in question being seen since the data cable isnt' attached.

It is a 40g Seagate drive. I have an identical drive to it as a spare and
was wondering if I could somehow remove the data disc's from the faulty
drive and insert them into the good drive?

In theory, yes, but in reality, no, it's a sure way to contaminate the
platter and crash heads.

I know I run the risk of losing both drives, however that is a risk I am
willing to take.
I believe it is the circuit board that has given out on my faulty drive, not
the data disc's themselves.
Perhaps I could swap circuit boards?

Any advice or idea's?????

Why do you think it's the circuit board?
If you think it's the circuit board, why would you want to switch the
"data discs"?

You can remove the circuit board from the drive, attach power cable to
it. If system won't POST at all, odds are the circuit board is fried. If
it will POST, when it wouldn't while attached to rest of drive, odds are
motor coil is shorted or other serious mechanical damage of PCB contact
with body of drive (less likley since, presumably the drive wasn't
disturbed prior to it's failure else you'd have mentioned it).

Yes, you can swap the circuit board. On some drives that can work, though
I don't know about that particular drive. You might contact Seagate and
inquire about it, having model, PCB revision, etc, numbers of both drives
available.

Presumably you've tried the basics, like checking voltage levels of power
supply, trying a different data cable, etc.

 

[philo]

Hi guys.

My HDD crashed and took with it some very important data which I need to
recover.

The drive, when placed into a computer is dead. Dead to the point that it
locks up the computer.

It is a 40g Seagate drive. I have an identical drive to it as a spare and
was wondering if I could somehow remove the data disc's from the faulty
drive and insert them into the good drive?
I know I run the risk of losing both drives, however that is a risk I am
willing to take.
I believe it is the circuit board that has given out on my faulty drive, not
the data disc's themselves.
Perhaps I could swap circuit boards?

Any advice or idea's?????

if you use a reasonable amount of care, you should find it fairly simple to
replace the
electronics...
if the drive spins up there is a chance of recovering your data

 

[Trent©]

Hi guys.

My HDD crashed and took with it some very important data which I need to
recover.

The drive, when placed into a computer is dead. Dead to the point that it
locks up the computer.

When? At what stage?

It is a 40g Seagate drive. I have an identical drive to it

And you weren't doing clone backups? Shame on you!

as a spare and
was wondering if I could somehow remove the data disc's from the faulty
drive and insert them into the good drive?
I know I run the risk of losing both drives, however that is a risk I am
willing to take.

Then take it.

I believe it is the circuit board that has given out on my faulty drive, not
the data disc's themselves.

Then why are you suggesting removing the data disks?

Perhaps I could swap circuit boards?
Perhaps

Any advice or idea's?????

We have no idea of your manual dexterity. Only you can decide if you
want to chance it or not.

If you've got the money, I'd send it out to a professional...if the
data is really that important.

Good luck.


Have a nice week...

Trent©

Dyslexics of the world ... UNTIE !

 

[Garry Beattie]

Thankyou for your responses guys and yes, I hold my head in shame for not
doing regular backups.
I have been told I should "shadow" or "clone" the drive but I have no idea
how to do that.
I did do a back up just before I changed the disc's, using the WinXP backup.
The file is safely on another drive but when I try and run it WinXP says it
needs to know what file to run it with. I have no idea and have not been
able to find where I backed it up from since. (The file software which ran
the backup in the first place)

Anyway, from your responses I realise that my initial post was too vague and
has resulted in lots of questions. I'll be a bit more specific.

How and when did it die?
I was using a new disc caddy system and tried the drive in an old caddy
which I had already tested to see if it would fit, which it did. However
when I placed the old caddy (with drive installed) into the new caddy holder
and turned the computer on a "zzzztttttt" noise was heard and the computer
shut off immediately. I replaced the caddy with another caddy which came
with the caddy holder and tried to boot but the computer would not start. I
switched it off at the wall, then back on again a couple of minutes later
and it worked and booted up OK with another disc installed.
I then turned off the computer, placed the other disc (faulty disc) into the
correct caddy and tried to boot up but the computer locked up soon after
turning it on. It didn't even get to the part where I can hit "del" to go to
set up.
I swapped disc's a couple times more and the computer booted fine off the
good disc, but locked up on the faulty disc.

I then changed the faulty disc over to a slave unit and plugged it in
elsewhere. The computer still locked up even when trying to boot from the
good disc. As long as the faulty disc was plugged in, the computer locked
up.

I then booted the computer up with an identical disc to the faulty one as a
slave unit. Once running, I tried to do a "hot swap" of the good disc for
the bad. The computer locked up immediately the bad disc was plugged in.

The reason I thought of changing data plates rather than circuit boards was
that I thought data plates may have been a better, less risky option. After
talking to a number of people I now believe it could be the other way
around??

Thanks for your help so far. Any further help, suggestions, idea's would be
greatly appreciated.

Best regards

Garry

 

[kony]

On Wed, 2 Jun 2004 07:33:36 +1000, "Garry Beattie"

I was using a new disc caddy system and tried the drive in an old caddy
which I had already tested to see if it would fit, which it did. However
when I placed the old caddy (with drive installed) into the new caddy holder
and turned the computer on a "zzzztttttt" noise was heard and the computer
shut off immediately. I replaced the caddy with another caddy which came
with the caddy holder and tried to boot but the computer would not start. I
switched it off at the wall, then back on again a couple of minutes later
and it worked and booted up OK with another disc installed.

I then turned off the computer, placed the other disc (faulty disc) into the
correct caddy and tried to boot up but the computer locked up soon after
turning it on. It didn't even get to the part where I can hit "del" to go to
set up.

So basically it sounds as though the two had the power rails in different
positions, and yes, it's probably the circuit board that's fried, unless
there is a fuse, 0-ohm resistor, etc, that can be replaced to restore
board to operating state.

The reason I thought of changing data plates rather than circuit boards was
that I thought data plates may have been a better, less risky option. After
talking to a number of people I now believe it could be the other way
around??

Swapping platters is not easy nor likely to work except if done by a
professional with precision equipment in a clean room. They'd have
experience doing it and change a lot of $$$$.

Thanks for your help so far. Any further help, suggestions, idea's would be
greatly appreciated.

Contant Seagate, ask about potential of both drives having compatible PCB,
or if they don't, which PCBs would be compatible and if they have a source
for it.

Swapping PCB is relatively safe and easy.

 

[Trent©]

How and when did it die?
I was using a new disc caddy system and tried the drive in an old caddy
which I had already tested to see if it would fit, which it did. However
when I placed the old caddy (with drive installed) into the new caddy holder
and turned the computer on a "zzzztttttt" noise was heard and the computer
shut off immediately. I replaced the caddy with another caddy which came
with the caddy holder and tried to boot but the computer would not start. I
switched it off at the wall, then back on again a couple of minutes later
and it worked and booted up OK with another disc installed.

Another disk?...or another caddy?

Have you tried the drive WITHOUT being in a caddy? As the
master?...as the slave?...or both?

If the drive is a system disk, set it as master and boot it from the
primary controller...to see if that works. If its not a bootable
disk, set it to master on the secondary controller...and try that.
DON'T use the caddy.

I then turned off the computer, placed the other disc (faulty disc) into the
correct caddy and tried to boot up but the computer locked up soon after
turning it on. It didn't even get to the part where I can hit "del" to go to
set up.

You need to by-pass the caddy...to see if the problem is actually with
the DRIVE! DON'T use the caddy...until you determine that the drive
is indeed bad.

I swapped disc's a couple times more and the computer booted fine off the
good disc, but locked up on the faulty disc.

Locked on the faulty disc?...or locked with a disc in the caddy?

I then changed the faulty disc over to a slave unit and plugged it in
elsewhere. The computer still locked up even when trying to boot from the
good disc. As long as the faulty disc was plugged in, the computer locked
up.

I then booted the computer up with an identical disc to the faulty one as a
slave unit. Once running, I tried to do a "hot swap" of the good disc for
the bad. The computer locked up immediately the bad disc was plugged in.

You can't do a hot-swap like that.

The reason I thought of changing data plates rather than circuit boards was
that I thought data plates may have been a better, less risky option. After
talking to a number of people I now believe it could be the other way
around??

You do not have the expertise to do that. Don't even consider it.

Thanks for your help so far. Any further help, suggestions, idea's would be
greatly appreciated.

Re-test everything...but DON'T use any caddy.

Good luck...let us know.


Have a nice week...

Trent©

Dyslexics of the world ... UNTIE !

 

[Garry Beattie]

Hi guys.

Thanks Kony & Trent for the advice.

Kony: Yes I now agree that I believe it is the circuit board. An experienced
electronics technician friend is coming around tomorrow to firstly check the
circuit board for possible replacement of parts OR replacement of entire
circuit board.

Trent: Yes I tried to use the faulty disc in various ways. In the caddy, out
of the caddy, as a slave and also as a secondary master. No good.
As soon as it is plugged in anywhere, the computer refuses to go past the
initial checks on start up. As soon as the drive is disconnected, the
computer boots up just fine.

As far as the drives go, the faulty drive is a Seagate Barracuda ATA IV
model number ST340016A.
The other identical drive I have is the exact same, with same model number
etc. It works fine.

Both are 40gig drives. My other drives in the computer are 1x 120gig and 2x
80gig.

I'll let you know how it goes after the delicate operation tomorrow.

Best regards

Garry

 

[Jeff]

I did do a back up just before I changed the disc's, using the WinXP backup.
The file is safely on another drive but when I try and run it WinXP says it
needs to know what file to run it with. I have no idea and have not been
able to find where I backed it up from since. (The file software which ran
the backup in the first place)

As I understand it, you backed up disk A (the one that eventually
failed) onto disk B using the Windows XP backup program, and that disk B
is still OK. In that case you should be able to retrieve everything
that is in that backup file that you wrote to disk B.

If the file was created with Windows XP Backup, the file will have a
name with a *.bkf extension. Windows is apparently complaining that it
doesn't know what that is because when you boot from disk B, the backup
program is not installed. The backup program is not installed on a
default Windows XP Home installation, but is available on the Windows XP
Home cdrom. To install it you need to open the ntbackup.msi file in the
\valueadd\msft\ntbackup folder of the cdrom. Once you have installed
it, you should be able to run Windows XP Backup and restore what you
need from the backup file.

Jeff Bean

 

[Garry Beattie]

Thanks Jeff.

It worked.... sort of.
When I ran backup I was using XP Pro. Now I am using XP Home.
It restored the files to the wrong disc but I think with a little playing
around I should be OK.

Thanks again. Your a life saver.
Why Windows does not automatically load backup onto your computer during
install is beyond me.

I would never have thought to look on the CD where you said to look. In fact
I would never have known it was there.

I wonder what other useful tools are on the CD that they don't tell you
about???

Best regards

Garry

 

[dungo]

Hi guys!
SAD PART:
I found your topic on google because i had the same problem with a
SEagate Barracuda 40GB HDD. Just stopped then i could't even start my
computer when the HDD was connected! I think there was a lighning
strike or something which blew my HDD and VGA card too!
I didn't have any backup of my work so you can imagine ... OK, OK i
know i'm stupid.
HAPPY PART:
After i realized that i can't do anything because i'm very bad in
electronics i gave up ...
But today I decided that i'll do a mess :twisted: on PCB because i
didn't wanted to recover any data just to destroy it! I picked up a
multimeter and i tried to do some measurements on that f**g PCB. So
when I check the fT317 on the PCB(near the 12V PS) i realized that it
was short circuited. I removed that and now i'm backing up the whole
drive!
I thought that some people may consider this helpful so ...
I don't aspect the HDD to work from now on but at least I backed up
the data ...

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[student]

I found your topic on google because i had the same problem with a
SEagate Barracuda 40GB HDD. Just stopped then i could't even start my .....
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troubleshooting newsgroups.

I'm new to this group and have a similar problem with my 2-year old IBM 40
Gb Deskstar disk. One afternoon, it just wouldn't spin up (after working
fine just an hour before).

When it is connected (either as master or slave on the primary IDE) I can't
even boot into Win 95 OSR DoS (from a clean system floppy, no references to
any system files on the disk). During boot-up it just starts to spin up and
then stops, and repeats that indefinitely, until I switch off the PC.

If you had the same problem, please explain to me what you did or whom I
should ask for help about this because I had a lot of data on that disk.

(Yeah, I know - backups. The thing is, another PC broke down and I was using
my disk for backup

 

[Noozer]

I'm new to this group and have a similar problem with my 2-year old IBM 40

Gb Deskstar disk. One afternoon, it just wouldn't spin up (after working
fine just an hour before).

They aren't called "Deathstars" for nothing... The drive is almost certainly
dead.

Download a test utility from IBM (or the company currently making the
drives) and test it. Hope it's got some warrant left.

 

[Flareon]

Here's another one for you

I also have a broken ST340016A.

This time I have no important data I need to retrieve from it
fortunately.

The disk is broken because I rather stupidly (don't ask) managed to
connect the molex connector the wrong way round, therefore shoving
12V up the 5V line. Gotta have fried something...

Anyway, the disk does absolutely nothing now. It doesn't confuse the
computer in any way or even spin up.

I'm guessing it fried a PCB chip? None of the components are visibly
damaged after a quick survey.

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