ST3320620AS Not Responding

  • Thread starter Thread starter Rod
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Rod

I purchased a new ST3320620AS SATA hard drive to replace another failing
Seagate hard drive. I transferred the information from the old hard drive to
this new one before I sent the hard drive back to Seagate for warranty
replacement. I have used this hard drive in a Windows XP Pro environment for
less than a month and yesterday my computer blue screened and rebooted. At
this point, the hard drive was still somewhat functional because Windows was
trying to check that drive letter for errors. Then the computer locked up
and I had to turn it off. When I turned it back on, the computer would no
longer recognize this hard drive. I have 3 SATA hard drives in this computer
and this is the only drive it would not recognize during the bootup process.
I tried other cables, power connections, and ports on the SATA controller
card without success. I even took it to another computer and it would not
recognize the drive either. The drive spins up and is not making any strange
noises but the system just does not recognize it.

When I bought this drive, I also bought another identical drive. I thought
that maybe the interface card on the drive had gone bad. I have the tool to
remove the 6 screws that hold the interface card onto the bottom of the
drive. I was surprised to find that all the screws were just finger tight. I
swapped the interface cards on the 2 drives and cleaned the contacts on the
bad drive but it did not make any difference on the bad drive as the system
still would not recognize it. However, when I put the interface card from
the bad drive on the good drive, the good drive still worked. I don't know
what else it could be as the card is the only visible electronics on the
drive. I even tried putting the drive into the freezer for about 10 minutes
to see if that might make a difference.

I really need the data off of this drive since I had not made a backup of
the drive since it was installed. Does anyone have any idea if the data on
this drive might still be intact and how I could get the drive working long
enough to get the data off of the drive? Has anyone had any good luck with
any commercial hard drive recovery services that are reliable and
affordable?

I used to hate Maxtor drives because I had so much trouble with them but in
the last couple of years, I have personally had about 4 or 5 Seagate hard
drives go bad. I'm not very impressed with Seagate hard drives these days.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Rod
 
I purchased a new ST3320620AS SATA hard drive to replace another failing
Seagate hard drive. I transferred the information from the old hard drive to
this new one before I sent the hard drive back to Seagate for warranty
replacement.
Click to expand...

Did you get the replacement from Seagate?
I have used this hard drive in a Windows XP Pro environment for
less than a month and yesterday my computer blue screened and rebooted. At
this point, the hard drive was still somewhat functional because Windows was
trying to check that drive letter for errors. Then the computer locked up
and I had to turn it off. When I turned it back on, the computer would no
longer recognize this hard drive. I have 3 SATA hard drives in this computer
and this is the only drive it would not recognize during the bootup process.
I tried other cables, power connections, and ports on the SATA controller
card without success. I even took it to another computer and it would not
recognize the drive either. The drive spins up and is not making any strange
noises but the system just does not recognize it.
Click to expand...

I suppose it could be the drive's fault, but I would wonder
if this drive model is just a little more susceptible to
problems like overheating (due to case placement) or power
problems, if either of these two issues are present... which
they might not be, but we can't see the system.


When I bought this drive, I also bought another identical drive. I thought
that maybe the interface card on the drive had gone bad. I have the tool to
remove the 6 screws that hold the interface card onto the bottom of the
drive. I was surprised to find that all the screws were just finger tight.
Click to expand...

Depends on what you mean, that you can turn them only using
your fingers, or using a tool in your fingers. There is no
need for massive torque on a circuit board, but maybe your
particular drive just didn't have the screws as tight as
others do.


I
swapped the interface cards on the 2 drives and cleaned the contacts on the
bad drive but it did not make any difference on the bad drive as the system
still would not recognize it. However, when I put the interface card from
the bad drive on the good drive, the good drive still worked. I don't know
what else it could be as the card is the only visible electronics on the
drive. I even tried putting the drive into the freezer for about 10 minutes
to see if that might make a difference.
Click to expand...

There's probably another chip or two inside the drive
cavity, but were there any odd mechanical noises? Was the
drive spinning?


I really need the data off of this drive since I had not made a backup of
the drive since it was installed. Does anyone have any idea if the data on
this drive might still be intact and how I could get the drive working long
enough to get the data off of the drive? Has anyone had any good luck with
any commercial hard drive recovery services that are reliable and
affordable?
Click to expand...

I would expect a recovery service to be able to get the data
off. As for "affordable", that is relative but I would say
no, they're all pricey... enough that it is in your best
interests from now on to back up any valuable data. Since
this model of drive seems problematic for you, I would not
make only one backup to the same model drive.


I used to hate Maxtor drives because I had so much trouble with them but in
the last couple of years, I have personally had about 4 or 5 Seagate hard
drives go bad. I'm not very impressed with Seagate hard drives these days.
Click to expand...

I never had much trouble with Maxtors, only their first-gen
7K2 RPM series, might've been Diamondmax Plus 8, seemed
poor. Since then I've had roughly as many Seagates fail as
Maxtors, but it still makes Seagate preferrible in my mind
since the warranty period is longer - except if the price
difference exceeds the value of the warranty.

Barring any other evidence, I think I would not use that
model of drive for anything of value, unless you determine
it to be a system heat or power problem.
 
This was one of 2 brand new drives I purchased from Newegg.com. It was just
a replacement for another drive I had.

I staggered the 3 drives in the case so that they were not right on top of
one another and had case fans for cooling. I don't think they were getting
too hot.

In reference to the screws being finger tight, what I meant was that I have
a small bit that was supposed to be used with a wrench or a handle and the
screws were loose enough that I did not have to use the handle for the bit
to loosen the screws. I just took the bit between my thumb and finger and
was able to remove the screws. I tightened them back the same way.

There were no unusual mechanical noises and the drive was spinning. There
was nothing unusual about the way the drive ran or sounded other than the
fact that the controller card can no longer see the drive.

I know I should have had another recent backup just like I tell everyone
else but when I successfully copied the data off of the old hard drive onto
the new one, I thought I would be OK for a little while. Then I sent the old
IDE drive back to Seagate so I don't even have my old drive to fall back on.

Rod
 
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