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Electronics Repair (sci.electronics.repair) Discussion of repairing electronic equipment. Topics include requests for assistance, where to obtain servicing information and parts, techniques for diagnosis and repair, and annecdotes about success, failures and problems. |
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#1
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Sources of info to retrieve data off failing (failed) hard drives.
Anyone know of any great web sites or discussions boards for reviving hard
drives which have failed fir data retreival? I have two hard drives which failed within 2 weeks of each other before backups could be made of certain data. I'd like to research the best ways to recover the data. In each case, it's a hardware failure and NOT accidentally deleted or otherwise corrupted data. I'd appreciate any discussion boards where some experts might hang out or maybe some COMPREHENSIVE websites dedicated to this. So far I've found a lot of information but it's all pretty basic and none of it worked. The more information I can get, the better chance I have. Let me mention just ONE of the cases here, just in case in addition to information, someone here has some adivce: The first drive is a 40GB Western Digital, 2-1/2 years old. It's been used a lot in the past couple years. Last weekend it quit spinning up. I'd like to get it to spin up JUST ONCE to get the data off. Right now, you can often feel the drive 'jerking' in an attempt to start. Just a little vibration here and there, sometimes hard enough to feel the drive try to rotate in your hand. I've tried twisting the drive as fast as I could by hand to get the platters to spin. While this caused more 'jerking', it didn't spin up. I tapped it as hard as I dared without wanting to cause damage. I put it in the freezer for a while in a static bag without change. Naturally I've tried different power connectors and a different power supply. It behaves the same whether the drive is hooked up to a contoller or just to a power supply alone. I just need ONE good spin-up. Any ideas and any sources of such info appreciated (and desperately craved)!!! P.S. The other hard drive is a stranger situation. I didn't want to dilute the issues by mentioning both at the same time; I will mention the other situation if someone of considerable expertese responds to this post. |
#2
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Sources of info to retrieve data off failing (failed) hard drives.
"Stellijer" wrote in message ... Anyone know of any great web sites or discussions boards for reviving hard drives which have failed fir data retreival? I have two hard drives which failed within 2 weeks of each other before backups could be made of certain data. I'd like to research the best ways to recover the data. In each case, it's a hardware failure and NOT accidentally deleted or otherwise corrupted data. I'd appreciate any discussion boards where some experts might hang out or maybe some COMPREHENSIVE websites dedicated to this. So far I've found a lot of information but it's all pretty basic and none of it worked. The more information I can get, the better chance I have. Let me mention just ONE of the cases here, just in case in addition to information, someone here has some adivce: The first drive is a 40GB Western Digital, 2-1/2 years old. It's been used a lot in the past couple years. Last weekend it quit spinning up. I'd like to get it to spin up JUST ONCE to get the data off. Right now, you can often feel the drive 'jerking' in an attempt to start. Just a little vibration here and there, sometimes hard enough to feel the drive try to rotate in your hand. I've tried twisting the drive as fast as I could by hand to get the platters to spin. While this caused more 'jerking', it didn't spin up. I tapped it as hard as I dared without wanting to cause damage. I put it in the freezer for a while in a static bag without change. Naturally I've tried different power connectors and a different power supply. It behaves the same whether the drive is hooked up to a contoller or just to a power supply alone. I just need ONE good spin-up. Occasionally you can make a drive like this work by swapping the circuit board with an identical drive, the newer the drive is the less likely this'll work though. |
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Sources of info to retrieve data off failing (failed) hard drives.
"Ian Stirling" wrote in message ... Stellijer wrote: Anyone know of any great web sites or discussions boards for reviving hard drives which have failed fir data retreival? I have two hard drives which failed within 2 weeks of each other before backups could be made of certain data. I'd like to research the best ways to recover the data. The best way is to pay a professional recovery company to do it. Well that's a given, but the data has to be very valuable to make that worthwhile, professional recovery is big $$$. |
#4
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Sources of info to retrieve data off failing (failed) hard drives.
James Sweet wrote in message news:HmKBb.301225$Dw6.1003940@attbi_s02... Occasionally you can make a drive like this work by swapping the circuit board with an identical drive, the newer the drive is the less likely this'll work though. Is this likely to be the case when the drive fails to spin up, however? Seems to me that's more likely a mechanical issue; I don't see how the drive would TRY to spin and have it be in the circuit board. As for age; it's 2-1/2 years old. |
#5
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Sources of info to retrieve data off failing (failed) hard drives.
Ian Stirling wrote in message ... Stellijer wrote: Anyone know of any great web sites or discussions boards for reviving hard drives which have failed fir data retreival? I have two hard drives which failed within 2 weeks of each other before backups could be made of certain data. I'd like to research the best ways to recover the data. The best way is to pay a professional recovery company to do it. Oh, yeah - and they say "$500-$1000 is our minimum fee". While that may be the BEST way, it's not a realistic one. The only way a recovery company would be worth it is if you are a company with project data on the drive (and any such company would be foolish to not run backups regularly on mission critical data). I'm hoping there's a way to get the drive working just long enough to retrieve the data. |
#6
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Sources of info to retrieve data off failing (failed) hard drives.
The appropriate NG for this question is:
comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage "Stellijer" wrote in message ... Anyone know of any great web sites or discussions boards for reviving hard drives which have failed fir data retreival? I have two hard drives which failed within 2 weeks of each other before backups could be made of certain data. I'd like to research the best ways to recover the data. In each case, it's a hardware failure and NOT accidentally deleted or otherwise corrupted data. I'd appreciate any discussion boards where some experts might hang out or maybe some COMPREHENSIVE websites dedicated to this. So far I've found a lot of information but it's all pretty basic and none of it worked. The more information I can get, the better chance I have. Let me mention just ONE of the cases here, just in case in addition to information, someone here has some adivce: The first drive is a 40GB Western Digital, 2-1/2 years old. It's been used a lot in the past couple years. Last weekend it quit spinning up. I'd like to get it to spin up JUST ONCE to get the data off. Right now, you can often feel the drive 'jerking' in an attempt to start. Just a little vibration here and there, sometimes hard enough to feel the drive try to rotate in your hand. I've tried twisting the drive as fast as I could by hand to get the platters to spin. While this caused more 'jerking', it didn't spin up. I tapped it as hard as I dared without wanting to cause damage. I put it in the freezer for a while in a static bag without change. Naturally I've tried different power connectors and a different power supply. It behaves the same whether the drive is hooked up to a contoller or just to a power supply alone. I just need ONE good spin-up. Any ideas and any sources of such info appreciated (and desperately craved)!!! P.S. The other hard drive is a stranger situation. I didn't want to dilute the issues by mentioning both at the same time; I will mention the other situation if someone of considerable expertese responds to this post. |
#7
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Sources of info to retrieve data off failing (failed) hard drives.
On Wed, 10 Dec 2003 13:47:02 -0500, "Stellijer"
wrote: Anyone know of any great web sites or discussions boards for reviving hard drives which have failed fir data retreival? Let me mention just ONE of the cases here, just in case in addition to information, someone here has some adivce: The first drive is a 40GB Western Digital, 2-1/2 years old. It's been used a lot in the past couple years. Last weekend it quit spinning up. I had another brand of drive freeze up on a client last year. It turned out that these drives were notorious for "stiction" problems where the platters would not be able to be spun up by the motor. Opening the platter enclosure and manually spinning the platters freed it up so I could run it and retrieve the data. While a "clean room" is desire able, if you've got a reasonably dust free environment it's worth a try. --------------------------------------------------------------- Alan Peterman al at scn.rain.com Tigard, OR As I grow older, the days seem longer and the years seem shorter. |
#8
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Sources of info to retrieve data off failing (failed) hard drives.
Many have advocated freezing the drive in a sealed plastic bag overnight,
then *immediately* powering up and copying. jak "Stellijer" wrote in message .. . Ian Stirling wrote in message ... Stellijer wrote: Anyone know of any great web sites or discussions boards for reviving hard drives which have failed fir data retreival? I have two hard drives which failed within 2 weeks of each other before backups could be made of certain data. I'd like to research the best ways to recover the data. The best way is to pay a professional recovery company to do it. Oh, yeah - and they say "$500-$1000 is our minimum fee". While that may be the BEST way, it's not a realistic one. The only way a recovery company would be worth it is if you are a company with project data on the drive (and any such company would be foolish to not run backups regularly on mission critical data). I'm hoping there's a way to get the drive working just long enough to retrieve the data. |
#9
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Sources of info to retrieve data off failing (failed) hard drives.
jakdedert wrote in message .. . Many have advocated freezing the drive in a sealed plastic bag overnight, then *immediately* powering up and copying. Tried that. No luck. |
#10
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Sources of info to retrieve data off failing (failed) hard drives.
Alan Peterman wrote in message ... On Wed, 10 Dec 2003 13:47:02 -0500, "Stellijer" wrote: Anyone know of any great web sites or discussions boards for reviving hard drives which have failed fir data retreival? Let me mention just ONE of the cases here, just in case in addition to information, someone here has some adivce: The first drive is a 40GB Western Digital, 2-1/2 years old. It's been used a lot in the past couple years. Last weekend it quit spinning up. I had another brand of drive freeze up on a client last year. It turned out that these drives were notorious for "stiction" problems where the platters would not be able to be spun up by the motor. Opening the platter enclosure and manually spinning the platters freed it up so I could run it and retrieve the data. While a "clean room" is desire able, if you've got a reasonably dust free environment it's worth a try. Did your drive "jerk" a little? It seems like the platters CAN spin, at least a little bit. They're certainly not stuck SOLID. I'm only being cautious becuase I know that opening the case invites, as you elude to, contamination from dust, no matter how clean the room normally seems. What kind of tool is used to open a drive, anyway? It looks like a Torx wrench but it's not of a size I've seen available before. A #10 was a little too large and the screws on top of the drive seem even a little smaller. I wish to know in case I do end up having to open the drive. P.S. As for a 'clean room' - I would probably try scrubbing my bathroom down as there's no carpet in there... then put the air filter in there for a day to hopefully remove any amibient particles. Probably any dust in the room would come in the door with me when I enter... |
#11
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Sources of info to retrieve data off failing (failed) hard drives.
Thanks! I will post this over there, too.
anon wrote in message news:9PKBb.16493$Yt4.5886@lakeread05... The appropriate NG for this question is: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage "Stellijer" wrote in message ... Anyone know of any great web sites or discussions boards for reviving hard drives which have failed fir data retreival? I have two hard drives which failed within 2 weeks of each other before backups could be made of certain data. I'd like to research the best ways to recover the data. In each case, it's a hardware failure and NOT accidentally deleted or otherwise corrupted data. I'd appreciate any discussion boards where some experts might hang out or maybe some COMPREHENSIVE websites dedicated to this. So far I've found a lot of information but it's all pretty basic and none of it worked. The more information I can get, the better chance I have. Let me mention just ONE of the cases here, just in case in addition to information, someone here has some adivce: The first drive is a 40GB Western Digital, 2-1/2 years old. It's been used a lot in the past couple years. Last weekend it quit spinning up. I'd like to get it to spin up JUST ONCE to get the data off. Right now, you can often feel the drive 'jerking' in an attempt to start. Just a little vibration here and there, sometimes hard enough to feel the drive try to rotate in your hand. I've tried twisting the drive as fast as I could by hand to get the platters to spin. While this caused more 'jerking', it didn't spin up. I tapped it as hard as I dared without wanting to cause damage. I put it in the freezer for a while in a static bag without change. Naturally I've tried different power connectors and a different power supply. It behaves the same whether the drive is hooked up to a contoller or just to a power supply alone. I just need ONE good spin-up. Any ideas and any sources of such info appreciated (and desperately craved)!!! P.S. The other hard drive is a stranger situation. I didn't want to dilute the issues by mentioning both at the same time; I will mention the other situation if someone of considerable expertese responds to this post. |
#12
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Sources of info to retrieve data off failing (failed) hard drives.
"Stellijer" bravely wrote to "All" (10 Dec 03 13:47:02)
--- on the heady topic of "Sources of info to retrieve data off failing (failed) hard drives." Some drives use a type of "Zebra strip" to connect the circuit board to the platter motor. This Zebra strip consist of an elastomere insulation into which are imbedded a row of very fine stiff wires. Pressure is applied by the circuit board ensuring contact. I've had my current drive fail to start up twice, years apart, and each time all it took to get it started again was to clean the circuit contact points for the motor's Zebra strip. I'm using this very drive right now. I found the problem crept up in the middle of summer when humidity and heat were both at their highest. Good luck! St From: "Stellijer" St Anyone know of any great web sites or discussions boards for reviving St hard drives which have failed fir data retreival? St I have two hard drives which failed within 2 weeks of each other St before backups could be made of certain data. I'd like to research the St best ways to recover the data. St In each case, it's a hardware failure and NOT accidentally deleted or St otherwise corrupted data. St I'd appreciate any discussion boards where some experts might hang out St or maybe some COMPREHENSIVE websites dedicated to this. So far I've St found a lot of information but it's all pretty basic and none of it St worked. The more information I can get, the better chance I have. St Let me mention just ONE of the cases here, just in case in addition to St information, someone here has some adivce: St The first drive is a 40GB Western Digital, 2-1/2 years old. It's been St used a lot in the past couple years. Last weekend it quit spinning up. St I'd like to get it to spin up JUST ONCE to get the data off. Right St now, you can often feel the drive 'jerking' in an attempt to start. St Just a little vibration here and there, sometimes hard enough to feel St the drive try to rotate in your hand. I've tried twisting the drive as St fast as I could by hand to get the platters to spin. While this caused St more 'jerking', it didn't spin up. I tapped it as hard as I dared St without wanting to cause damage. I put it in the freezer for a while St in a static bag without change. Naturally I've tried different power St connectors and a different power supply. It behaves the same whether St the drive is hooked up to a contoller or just to a power supply alone. St I just need ONE good spin-up. St Any ideas and any sources of such info appreciated (and desperately St craved)!!! St P.S. The other hard drive is a stranger situation. I didn't want to St dilute the issues by mentioning both at the same time; I will mention St the other situation if someone of considerable expertese responds to St this post. .... Resistance Is Futile! (If 1 ohm) |
#13
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Sources of info to retrieve data off failing (failed) hard drives.
I notice there are two points of contact from the PCB to the drive.
One, about 4 connectors which connect to the motor itself. These are little "prongs" which extend nearly horizontally over the several little 1/16" or so little squares of copper on the drive motor and make contact. Two, there are perhaps a couple dozen little tiny contacts in 2 rows which extend out of a formed plastic (maybe elastomeric) piece located at the corner of the drive. These stick out and contact the circuit board. Which do you say is the "Zebra strip"? The second, I would imagine, but the first looks like it carries more voltage and would more directly impact the motor. I will surely try cleaning them ALL. By the way - what do you most recommend for cleaning circuit board contacts? I know alcohol is one choice but I've heard it's not the best choice Asimov wrote in message ... "Stellijer" bravely wrote to "All" (10 Dec 03 13:47:02) --- on the heady topic of "Sources of info to retrieve data off failing (failed) hard drives." Some drives use a type of "Zebra strip" to connect the circuit board to the platter motor. This Zebra strip consist of an elastomere insulation into which are imbedded a row of very fine stiff wires. Pressure is applied by the circuit board ensuring contact. I've had my current drive fail to start up twice, years apart, and each time all it took to get it started again was to clean the circuit contact points for the motor's Zebra strip. I'm using this very drive right now. I found the problem crept up in the middle of summer when humidity and heat were both at their highest. Good luck! St From: "Stellijer" St Anyone know of any great web sites or discussions boards for reviving St hard drives which have failed fir data retreival? St I have two hard drives which failed within 2 weeks of each other St before backups could be made of certain data. I'd like to research the St best ways to recover the data. St In each case, it's a hardware failure and NOT accidentally deleted or St otherwise corrupted data. St I'd appreciate any discussion boards where some experts might hang out St or maybe some COMPREHENSIVE websites dedicated to this. So far I've St found a lot of information but it's all pretty basic and none of it St worked. The more information I can get, the better chance I have. St Let me mention just ONE of the cases here, just in case in addition to St information, someone here has some adivce: St The first drive is a 40GB Western Digital, 2-1/2 years old. It's been St used a lot in the past couple years. Last weekend it quit spinning up. St I'd like to get it to spin up JUST ONCE to get the data off. Right St now, you can often feel the drive 'jerking' in an attempt to start. St Just a little vibration here and there, sometimes hard enough to feel St the drive try to rotate in your hand. I've tried twisting the drive as St fast as I could by hand to get the platters to spin. While this caused St more 'jerking', it didn't spin up. I tapped it as hard as I dared St without wanting to cause damage. I put it in the freezer for a while St in a static bag without change. Naturally I've tried different power St connectors and a different power supply. It behaves the same whether St the drive is hooked up to a contoller or just to a power supply alone. St I just need ONE good spin-up. St Any ideas and any sources of such info appreciated (and desperately St craved)!!! St P.S. The other hard drive is a stranger situation. I didn't want to St dilute the issues by mentioning both at the same time; I will mention St the other situation if someone of considerable expertese responds to St this post. ... Resistance Is Futile! (If 1 ohm) |
#14
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Sources of info to retrieve data off failing (failed) hard drives.
An eraser would clean well
Stellijer wrote: I notice there are two points of contact from the PCB to the drive. One, about 4 connectors which connect to the motor itself. These are little "prongs" which extend nearly horizontally over the several little 1/16" or so little squares of copper on the drive motor and make contact. Two, there are perhaps a couple dozen little tiny contacts in 2 rows which extend out of a formed plastic (maybe elastomeric) piece located at the corner of the drive. These stick out and contact the circuit board. Which do you say is the "Zebra strip"? The second, I would imagine, but the first looks like it carries more voltage and would more directly impact the motor. I will surely try cleaning them ALL. By the way - what do you most recommend for cleaning circuit board contacts? I know alcohol is one choice but I've heard it's not the best choice Asimov wrote in message ... "Stellijer" bravely wrote to "All" (10 Dec 03 13:47:02) --- on the heady topic of "Sources of info to retrieve data off failing (failed) hard drives." Some drives use a type of "Zebra strip" to connect the circuit board to the platter motor. This Zebra strip consist of an elastomere insulation into which are imbedded a row of very fine stiff wires. Pressure is applied by the circuit board ensuring contact. I've had my current drive fail to start up twice, years apart, and each time all it took to get it started again was to clean the circuit contact points for the motor's Zebra strip. I'm using this very drive right now. I found the problem crept up in the middle of summer when humidity and heat were both at their highest. Good luck! St From: "Stellijer" St Anyone know of any great web sites or discussions boards for reviving St hard drives which have failed fir data retreival? St I have two hard drives which failed within 2 weeks of each other St before backups could be made of certain data. I'd like to research the St best ways to recover the data. St In each case, it's a hardware failure and NOT accidentally deleted or St otherwise corrupted data. St I'd appreciate any discussion boards where some experts might hang out St or maybe some COMPREHENSIVE websites dedicated to this. So far I've St found a lot of information but it's all pretty basic and none of it St worked. The more information I can get, the better chance I have. St Let me mention just ONE of the cases here, just in case in addition to St information, someone here has some adivce: St The first drive is a 40GB Western Digital, 2-1/2 years old. It's been St used a lot in the past couple years. Last weekend it quit spinning up. St I'd like to get it to spin up JUST ONCE to get the data off. Right St now, you can often feel the drive 'jerking' in an attempt to start. St Just a little vibration here and there, sometimes hard enough to feel St the drive try to rotate in your hand. I've tried twisting the drive as St fast as I could by hand to get the platters to spin. While this caused St more 'jerking', it didn't spin up. I tapped it as hard as I dared St without wanting to cause damage. I put it in the freezer for a while St in a static bag without change. Naturally I've tried different power St connectors and a different power supply. It behaves the same whether St the drive is hooked up to a contoller or just to a power supply alone. St I just need ONE good spin-up. St Any ideas and any sources of such info appreciated (and desperately St craved)!!! St P.S. The other hard drive is a stranger situation. I didn't want to St dilute the issues by mentioning both at the same time; I will mention St the other situation if someone of considerable expertese responds to St this post. ... Resistance Is Futile! (If 1 ohm) -- BFriedl A+ Certified Technician AIM: UACybercat ** Bear Down Arizona! ** ******* Go Cats! ******* |
#15
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Sources of info to retrieve data off failing (failed) hard drives.
Alan Peterman wrote in message ... I had another brand of drive freeze up on a client last year. It turned out that these drives were notorious for "stiction" problems where the platters would not be able to be spun up by the motor. Opening the platter enclosure and manually spinning the platters freed it up so I could run it and retrieve the data. While a "clean room" is desire able, if you've got a reasonably dust free environment it's worth a try. I peeled back the little seal on the drive in a pretty safe environment (plus I didn't open the whole thing). It appears the platters spin reasonably freely. The problem is that the motor "jerks" the platters only a small amount at a time. I'm very concerned that maybe the motor has burned out, in which case I'm not sure WHAT to do. |
#16
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Sources of info to retrieve data off failing (failed) hard drives.
http://www.computerworld.com/departm...ions/sharktank
Read the one bad idea after another article "Stellijer" wrote in message ... Anyone know of any great web sites or discussions boards for reviving hard drives which have failed fir data retreival? I have two hard drives which failed within 2 weeks of each other before backups could be made of certain data. I'd like to research the best ways to recover the data. In each case, it's a hardware failure and NOT accidentally deleted or otherwise corrupted data. I'd appreciate any discussion boards where some experts might hang out or maybe some COMPREHENSIVE websites dedicated to this. So far I've found a lot of information but it's all pretty basic and none of it worked. The more information I can get, the better chance I have. Let me mention just ONE of the cases here, just in case in addition to information, someone here has some adivce: The first drive is a 40GB Western Digital, 2-1/2 years old. It's been used a lot in the past couple years. Last weekend it quit spinning up. I'd like to get it to spin up JUST ONCE to get the data off. Right now, you can often feel the drive 'jerking' in an attempt to start. Just a little vibration here and there, sometimes hard enough to feel the drive try to rotate in your hand. I've tried twisting the drive as fast as I could by hand to get the platters to spin. While this caused more 'jerking', it didn't spin up. I tapped it as hard as I dared without wanting to cause damage. I put it in the freezer for a while in a static bag without change. Naturally I've tried different power connectors and a different power supply. It behaves the same whether the drive is hooked up to a contoller or just to a power supply alone. I just need ONE good spin-up. Any ideas and any sources of such info appreciated (and desperately craved)!!! P.S. The other hard drive is a stranger situation. I didn't want to dilute the issues by mentioning both at the same time; I will mention the other situation if someone of considerable expertese responds to this post. |
#17
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Sources of info to retrieve data off failing (failed) hard drives.
JW wrote in message ... Have you tried spinning it in your hand back and forth on the plane of disk rotation right after applying power? This method used to work for me, if it was a "stiction" problem. Yes, tried that. It causes the drive to "jerk" if it had otherwise stopped jerking. I'm thinking it's not "stiction" per se, since there's movement, just not the RIGHT movement. |
#18
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Sources of info to retrieve data off failing (failed) hard drives.
JW wrote in message ... On Thu, 11 Dec 2003 07:34:46 -0500 "Stellijer" wrote in Message id: : I peeled back the little seal on the drive in a pretty safe environment (plus I didn't open the whole thing). It appears the platters spin reasonably freely. The problem is that the motor "jerks" the platters only a small amount at a time. I'm very concerned that maybe the motor has burned out, in which case I'm not sure WHAT to do. Much more likely would be the motor controller on the PCB. That would probably be the best news since I could probably fix it by swapping out the PCB; an easy fix. Could that cause the motor to make a "skreee" sound ever 30-60 seconds or so, too? It's surely not a head sound since the drive wasn't spinning yet. It's like the motor's gone crazy. |
#19
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Sources of info to retrieve data off failing (failed) hard drives.
Yes... cute.
However I'm trying to get as much information to avoid exactly that problem. It's not that I'm EVER going to take this drive to a data-recovery company, though - this is NOT an example in the article where there's a ton of valuable information there. It's personally valuable to me to a degree but not to the tune of $1000 or more per drive. anon wrote in message news:ge%Bb.5$WQ3.4@lakeread05... http://www.computerworld.com/departm...ions/sharktank Read the one bad idea after another article "Stellijer" wrote in message ... Anyone know of any great web sites or discussions boards for reviving hard drives which have failed fir data retreival? I have two hard drives which failed within 2 weeks of each other before backups could be made of certain data. I'd like to research the best ways to recover the data. In each case, it's a hardware failure and NOT accidentally deleted or otherwise corrupted data. I'd appreciate any discussion boards where some experts might hang out or maybe some COMPREHENSIVE websites dedicated to this. So far I've found a lot of information but it's all pretty basic and none of it worked. The more information I can get, the better chance I have. Let me mention just ONE of the cases here, just in case in addition to information, someone here has some adivce: The first drive is a 40GB Western Digital, 2-1/2 years old. It's been used a lot in the past couple years. Last weekend it quit spinning up. I'd like to get it to spin up JUST ONCE to get the data off. Right now, you can often feel the drive 'jerking' in an attempt to start. Just a little vibration here and there, sometimes hard enough to feel the drive try to rotate in your hand. I've tried twisting the drive as fast as I could by hand to get the platters to spin. While this caused more 'jerking', it didn't spin up. I tapped it as hard as I dared without wanting to cause damage. I put it in the freezer for a while in a static bag without change. Naturally I've tried different power connectors and a different power supply. It behaves the same whether the drive is hooked up to a contoller or just to a power supply alone. I just need ONE good spin-up. Any ideas and any sources of such info appreciated (and desperately craved)!!! P.S. The other hard drive is a stranger situation. I didn't want to dilute the issues by mentioning both at the same time; I will mention the other situation if someone of considerable expertese responds to this post. |
#20
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Sources of info to retrieve data off failing (failed) hard drives.
"Stellijer" wrote in message ... JW wrote in message ... On Thu, 11 Dec 2003 07:34:46 -0500 "Stellijer" wrote in Message id: : I peeled back the little seal on the drive in a pretty safe environment (plus I didn't open the whole thing). It appears the platters spin reasonably freely. The problem is that the motor "jerks" the platters only a small amount at a time. I'm very concerned that maybe the motor has burned out, in which case I'm not sure WHAT to do. Much more likely would be the motor controller on the PCB. That would probably be the best news since I could probably fix it by swapping out the PCB; an easy fix. Could that cause the motor to make a "skreee" sound ever 30-60 seconds or so, too? It's surely not a head sound since the drive wasn't spinning yet. It's like the motor's gone crazy. That sounds like the bearings were failing, which probably overheated the motor driver and burned out one channel. You could probably just replace the motor driver IC, or swap boards. |
#21
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Sources of info to retrieve data off failing (failed) hard drives.
"JW" wrote in message ... On Wed, 10 Dec 2003 15:30:26 -0500 "Stellijer" wrote in Message id: : Alan Peterman wrote in message .. . On Wed, 10 Dec 2003 13:47:02 -0500, "Stellijer" wrote: Anyone know of any great web sites or discussions boards for reviving hard drives which have failed fir data retreival? Let me mention just ONE of the cases here, just in case in addition to information, someone here has some adivce: The first drive is a 40GB Western Digital, 2-1/2 years old. It's been used a lot in the past couple years. Last weekend it quit spinning up. I had another brand of drive freeze up on a client last year. It turned out that these drives were notorious for "stiction" problems where the platters would not be able to be spun up by the motor. Opening the platter enclosure and manually spinning the platters freed it up so I could run it and retrieve the data. While a "clean room" is desire able, if you've got a reasonably dust free environment it's worth a try. Did your drive "jerk" a little? It seems like the platters CAN spin, at least a little bit. They're certainly not stuck SOLID. Have you tried spinning it in your hand back and forth on the plane of disk rotation right after applying power? This method used to work for me, if it was a "stiction" problem. I haven't seen a drive suffer from stiction in probably 10 years, things have changed since then, platters and heads are much different now. |
#22
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Sources of info to retrieve data off failing (failed) hard drives.
Stellijer wrote: Anyone know of any great web sites or discussions boards for reviving hard drives which have failed fir data retreival? Well, i think its pretty much been established your motor is not spinning up. If your adventurous, you might try to ID the motor platter control chip on the PB board. Inspect it (and the whole board) for any suspicious solder connections. Try to find the chip's pin out on line and verify all the voltages are to it. Maybe you can try to hot-wire it to jump-start it. You need to find the data sheet (if you can at all) and see what fun you can do. There could even be a low value series resistor that has opened. Probably a wild goose chance, but with a scope, DVM and a pin out, you could amuse yourself for awhile. Bob -----= Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News =----- http://www.newsfeeds.com - The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! -----== Over 100,000 Newsgroups - 19 Different Servers! =----- |
#23
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Sources of info to retrieve data off failing (failed) hard drives.
On Thu, 11 Dec 2003 18:22:50 GMT, "James Sweet" wrote:
I haven't seen a drive suffer from stiction in probably 10 years, things have changed since then, platters and heads are much different now. One of my clients got 3 systems in 1999 with Samsung SV0432A drives in them. ALL three of those drives (made in 1999) failed in 2001-2002 due to stiction problems. And on each drive I managed to spin them up by hand and recover the data to a new drive. I'm still using one of them as a paperweight on my desk! --------------------------------------------------------------- Alan Peterman al at scn.rain.com Tigard, OR As I grow older, the days seem longer and the years seem shorter. |
#24
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Sources of info to retrieve data off failing (failed) hard drives.
) spoke, er, wrote:
jakdedert wrote in message .. . Many have advocated freezing the drive in a sealed plastic bag overnight, then *immediately* powering up and copying. Tried that. No luck. From a Brazilian hardware/electronics site: If the problem is on the heads/motors, try opening the HD on a clean room (as clean as possible), and "move" the heads to the right place, run IDE auto-detect from BIOS, and cross fingers. This will not last too much, but it will be enough to copy some data. (disclaimer: I've never tried that. If the HD quits working, it was "doomed" already) If the problem is on the logic part, try getting the circuit board from an IDENTICAL hard drive. (Sometimes this works; I've seen this done) -- Chaos Master® - From Porto Alegre - Brazil. Please ask for e-mail address, or even better, REPLY TO THE GROUP. il - Do ROT13 to the text before the @ and replace ..brazil with .br |
#25
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Sources of info to retrieve data off failing (failed) hard drives.
Chaos Master writes:
From a Brazilian hardware/electronics site: If the problem is on the heads/motors, try opening the HD on a clean room (as clean as possible), and "move" the heads to the right place, run IDE auto-detect from BIOS, and cross fingers. This will not last too much, but it will be enough to copy some data. (disclaimer: I've never tried that. If the HD quits working, it was "doomed" already) "Move" the heads to the right place??? There are several thousand tracks on a modern hard drive. Does he expect you to guess at the track location? Furthermore, any access sequence will start via the FAT and directory structure (on unix, the Inodes or whatever), not the "right place". --- sam | Sci.Electronics.Repair FAQ Home Page: http://www.repairfaq.org/ Repair | Main Table of Contents: http://www.repairfaq.org/REPAIR/ +Lasers | Sam's Laser FAQ: http://www.repairfaq.org/sam/lasersam.htm | Mirror Site Info: http://www.repairfaq.org/REPAIR/F_mirror.html Important: The email address in this message header may no longer work. To contact me, please use the following email address: . The Feedback Form at repairfaq.org is temporarily broken. Thanks. |
#26
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Sources of info to retrieve data off failing (failed) hard drives.
Sam ) spoke, er, wrote:
"Move" the heads to the right place??? There are several thousand tracks on a modern hard drive. Does he expect you to guess at the track location? Furthermore, any access sequence will start via the FAT and directory structure (on unix, the Inodes or whatever), not the "right place". I don't remember the exact text from the site. The site said about trying to "force" movement on the drive. (I.e. hitting the drive' side with something light, when it's trying to start up) -- Chaos Master® - From Porto Alegre - Brazil. Please ask for e-mail address, or even better, REPLY TO THE GROUP. il - Do ROT13 to the text before the @ and replace ..brazil with .br |
#27
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Sources of info to retrieve data off failing (failed) hard drives.
Chaos Master wrote in message ... ) spoke, er, wrote: jakdedert wrote in message .. . Many have advocated freezing the drive in a sealed plastic bag overnight, then *immediately* powering up and copying. Tried that. No luck. From a Brazilian hardware/electronics site: If the problem is on the heads/motors, try opening the HD on a clean room (as clean as possible), and "move" the heads to the right place, run IDE auto-detect from BIOS, and cross fingers. This will not last too much, but it will be enough to copy some data. (disclaimer: I've never tried that. If the HD quits working, it was "doomed" already) If the problem is on the logic part, try getting the circuit board from an IDENTICAL hard drive. (Sometimes this works; I've seen this done) How would moving the heads help when the motor is what's not spinning up? I'm curious how that could help. As for a new PCB, I'm trying to obtain one. It surely would be the least risky thing to try at the moment. I'm not sure if it's the problem or it's the motor but I'd rather spend $50 on a used drive (which I still might be able to resell) and try the circuit board first before trying to open the case. |
#28
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Sources of info to retrieve data off failing (failed) hard drives.
Chaos Master wrote in message ... Sam ) spoke, er, wrote: "Move" the heads to the right place??? There are several thousand tracks on a modern hard drive. Does he expect you to guess at the track location? Furthermore, any access sequence will start via the FAT and directory structure (on unix, the Inodes or whatever), not the "right place". I don't remember the exact text from the site. The site said about trying to "force" movement on the drive. (I.e. hitting the drive' side with something light, when it's trying to start up) Indeed. However twisting the hard drive as quickly as possible by hand and tapping it lightly have had little effect. Such actions make the drive "jerk" a little but not actually start. It's probably either a dead motor or in the motor control. I'm not sure if spinning the platters by hand at a decent speed would help at all but as I said before, I'd rather try the new controller board first. |
#29
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Sources of info to retrieve data off failing (failed) hard drives.
James Sweet wrote in message news:_B2Cb.22161$8y1.103731@attbi_s52... "JW" wrote in message ... On Wed, 10 Dec 2003 15:30:26 -0500 "Stellijer" wrote in Message id: : Alan Peterman wrote in message .. . On Wed, 10 Dec 2003 13:47:02 -0500, "Stellijer" wrote: Anyone know of any great web sites or discussions boards for reviving hard drives which have failed fir data retreival? Let me mention just ONE of the cases here, just in case in addition to information, someone here has some adivce: The first drive is a 40GB Western Digital, 2-1/2 years old. It's been used a lot in the past couple years. Last weekend it quit spinning up. I had another brand of drive freeze up on a client last year. It turned out that these drives were notorious for "stiction" problems where the platters would not be able to be spun up by the motor. Opening the platter enclosure and manually spinning the platters freed it up so I could run it and retrieve the data. While a "clean room" is desire able, if you've got a reasonably dust free environment it's worth a try. Did your drive "jerk" a little? It seems like the platters CAN spin, at least a little bit. They're certainly not stuck SOLID. Have you tried spinning it in your hand back and forth on the plane of disk rotation right after applying power? This method used to work for me, if it was a "stiction" problem. I haven't seen a drive suffer from stiction in probably 10 years, things have changed since then, platters and heads are much different now. Indeed. The platters in this drive seem to spin. What do you believe might be wrong, given that it jerks a little as if trying to start? Bad motor or bad controller? |
#30
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Sources of info to retrieve data off failing (failed) hard drives.
Alan Peterman wrote in message ... On Thu, 11 Dec 2003 18:22:50 GMT, "James Sweet" wrote: I haven't seen a drive suffer from stiction in probably 10 years, things have changed since then, platters and heads are much different now. One of my clients got 3 systems in 1999 with Samsung SV0432A drives in them. ALL three of those drives (made in 1999) failed in 2001-2002 due to stiction problems. And on each drive I managed to spin them up by hand and recover the data to a new drive. I'm still using one of them as a paperweight on my desk! What were the symptoms before the stiction occured? Would they jerk a little trying to start? Twisting this drive isn't helping. I'm not sure if manually spinning the platter at a decent speed would help jump start it. I'm trying to find someone who's had the same "occasional jerking" symptom that I have. |
#31
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Sources of info to retrieve data off failing (failed) hard drives.
James Sweet wrote in message news:jB2Cb.86499$_M.454302@attbi_s54... "Stellijer" wrote in message ... JW wrote in message ... On Thu, 11 Dec 2003 07:34:46 -0500 "Stellijer" wrote in Message id: : I peeled back the little seal on the drive in a pretty safe environment (plus I didn't open the whole thing). It appears the platters spin reasonably freely. The problem is that the motor "jerks" the platters only a small amount at a time. I'm very concerned that maybe the motor has burned out, in which case I'm not sure WHAT to do. Much more likely would be the motor controller on the PCB. That would probably be the best news since I could probably fix it by swapping out the PCB; an easy fix. Could that cause the motor to make a "skreee" sound ever 30-60 seconds or so, too? It's surely not a head sound since the drive wasn't spinning yet. It's like the motor's gone crazy. That sounds like the bearings were failing, which probably overheated the motor driver and burned out one channel. You could probably just replace the motor driver IC, or swap boards. You feel that burned out a motor component ITSELF, or a component on the circuit board? I'm not sure which one you mean. It would be INFINITELY better if a new controller board would help get this started, without having to open the case. How would you ever replace an IC on these boards? They look like you'd have to solder them with microscoping equipment! Also, I would have no idea where to get that same IC or know WHICH is the motor driver IC. |
#32
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Sources of info to retrieve data off failing (failed) hard drives.
see interspersed
BOB URZ wrote in message ... Stellijer wrote: Anyone know of any great web sites or discussions boards for reviving hard drives which have failed fir data retreival? Well, i think its pretty much been established your motor is not spinning up. Indeed. I just need to ascertain WHY it's not spinning up; bad controller or bad motor. And if bad motor, could I spin it up manually one time... If your adventurous, you might try to ID the motor platter control chip on the PB board. Inspect it (and the whole board) for any suspicious solder connections. I'm adventurous but I try to pick and choose my battles! :-) I'm not sure WHICH would be the right chip, anyway. Sounds a lot easier to try to obtain a used idential series drive off ebay. Try to find the chip's pin out on line and verify all the voltages are to it. Maybe you can try to hot-wire it to jump-start it. You need to find the data sheet (if you can at all) and see what fun you can do. Indeed... sounds like a pain. I'm not sure how I would solder things that small anyway. There could even be a low value series resistor that has opened. Probably a wild goose chance, but with a scope, DVM and a pin out, you could amuse yourself for awhile. So... you are of the belief that it's probably the motor CONTROLLER as opposed to the motor itself? I would hope it's the controller since it's external. I'm afraid of damage if I have to replace the motor itself. It looks like you have to unfasten all the platters and everything to get at the motor which exposes the platters to more risk than I care for. |
#33
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Sources of info to retrieve data off failing (failed) hard drives.
DaveC wrote in message al.net... On Fri, 12 Dec 2003 5:04:17 -0800, Stellijer wrote (in message ): I would hope it's the controller since it's external. I'm afraid of damage if I have to replace the motor itself. It looks like you have to unfasten all the platters and everything to get at the motor which exposes the platters to more risk than I care for. It's much more likely that the driver IC (on the PCB) or something else on the PCB has failed rather than the motor. Usually the semiconductors are the more-fragile component rather than the motor windings, in the motor drive circuit, in general. I've had good luck with changing the PCB on a drive (IBM). It seems that contributors have covered all your options. You need to make a chioce, now, and it seems that your only one left (reasonably) is to find a similar drive and swap PCBs. (I don't believe it has to be the *exact* drive; a series of HDAs (the mechanism) usually comes in several capacaties which used the same PCB. A PCB from any of these should work.) There is *no* possibility of replacing the motor if you don't have a real clean-room environment. At least, I'd not consider it. Yes, I believe the options have been covered; I'm just trying to gain as much knowledge as possible. I'm also seeing if anyone has experienced the "jerking" situation where there are these little pulses from the motor. That would go far towards IDing the problem. As for choices; my next avenue of action is clear, unless there is any more information which comes out in the mean time. That's to obtain a used drive and try swapping out the PCB. It's surely the least invasive solution. I'm keeping my eye out on eBay. There are plenty of drives of that MODEL, but finding the same SERIES may take a little while. As for series - I know two 80GB drives of WD make had notably different PCBs. MAYBE some would be interchangable but not knowing, my best option would be to hold out for the same series. I would imagine one would appear in no more than a few weeks. Indeed, swapping the motor out would be the LAST resort. Who knows; if it's the ONLY thing left to me at some future point, I may even find someone who has a clean room in his/her office I may get to use at some point. Anything is possible. In the mean time I'll keep learning as much as possible; especially when it comes to the other drive I spoke of. I'm just a little surprised there aren't more documents or websites that people have found valuable for this kind of information. Thanks for the added suggestions. |
#34
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Sources of info to retrieve data off failing (failed) hard drives.
In article ,
"Stellijer" wrote: --snip-- How would you ever replace an IC on these boards? They look like you'd have to solder them with microscoping equipment! Also, I would have no idea where to get that same IC or know WHICH is the motor driver IC. Getting the IC may be a problem, but replacing it with "ordinary" tools is only moderately difficult (assuming you can *see* the pins; if it's a ball-grid job, you're out of luck): 1) With a sharp hobby knife, cut through all the legs of the bad chip, right next to the body of the chip. Take care not to cut any traces on the board. The body may have a bit of stuff on the bottom to attach it; you may have to lever it up a bit to get it off. MAKE SURE you've cut all the legs before you do this. 2) Using a "solder sucker", you can melt the solder and "suck" the individual pins off the board. Work quickly. Make sure none just move somewhere else and get overlooked. 3)If the pads still have "bumps" of solder, use some solder wick to clean things. Clean the flux off with acetone. Put a little more solder on two opposite corner pads. 4) Orient the replacement chip (you *did* notice which way the broken one went, right?) and *making sure all the pins are directly above their appropriate pads*, tack down those two corner pads. 5) Re-check to make sure that no leg is bridging adjacent pads. 6) Using fine solder, just run a small iron around the chip, covering all pins with solder. Make sure every pin is attached to its pad. DO NOT WORRY about solder bridges at this time.Working quickly is more important. 7) Once again use the solder wick, this time to remove all solder bridges. Use a loupe, if you have one. 8) After you're confident that all legs are attached and there are no bridges, clean off any remaining flux with acetone. Isaac |
#35
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Sources of info to retrieve data off failing (failed) hard drives.
In article ,
"Stellijer" wrote: How would moving the heads help when the motor is what's not spinning up? I'm curious how that could help. A while back, some manufacturers (Sony was one) had compatibility problems between disk material and head material -- sometimes, when the drive was turned off for a while, they would stick together (really, cold-weld, I think). The motor starting torque was insufficient to break the bond, but a good whack could do it. I once had such a disk, but even whacking its did no good. Finally I really gave it a good shot. It started spinning but it was making an awful racket. Now that it was obviously no good, I took it apart, to find the offending head *still attached to the disk*. My final whack had ripped it right off its supporting arm. Isaac |
#36
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Sources of info to retrieve data off failing (failed) hard drives.
Isaac Wingfield wrote: In article , "Stellijer" wrote: --snip-- How would you ever replace an IC on these boards? They look like you'd have to solder them with microscoping equipment! Also, I would have no idea where to get that same IC or know WHICH is the motor driver IC. Getting the IC may be a problem, but replacing it with "ordinary" tools is only moderately difficult (assuming you can *see* the pins; if it's a ball-grid job, you're out of luck): 1) With a sharp hobby knife, cut through all the legs of the bad chip, right next to the body of the chip. Take care not to cut any traces on the board. The body may have a bit of stuff on the bottom to attach it; you may have to lever it up a bit to get it off. MAKE SURE you've cut all the legs before you do this. Carve up the chip with a hobby knife? Ugh! The proper way to remove surface mount chips is with chipquik and a strip of stainless steel like the ones dentists wrap around errant teeth. Working on one side of the chip at a time, flux the pins generously, set the soldering station to 350F, coat the pins with chipquik and keep it moving while very gently sliding the stainless strip between board and pins. Let it cool, pull the strip out, and repeat for remaining side(s). This technique allows you to remove chips intact, which is often the only way to obtain a replacement, and eliminates the risk of damage to the board. It also leaves the site nice and clean. 2) Using a "solder sucker", you can melt the solder and "suck" the individual pins off the board. Work quickly. Make sure none just move somewhere else and get overlooked. 3)If the pads still have "bumps" of solder, use some solder wick to clean things. Clean the flux off with acetone. Put a little more solder on two opposite corner pads. 4) Orient the replacement chip (you *did* notice which way the broken one went, right?) and *making sure all the pins are directly above their appropriate pads*, tack down those two corner pads. 5) Re-check to make sure that no leg is bridging adjacent pads. 6) Using fine solder, just run a small iron around the chip, covering all pins with solder. Make sure every pin is attached to its pad. DO NOT WORRY about solder bridges at this time.Working quickly is more important. 7) Once again use the solder wick, this time to remove all solder bridges. Use a loupe, if you have one. 8) After you're confident that all legs are attached and there are no bridges, clean off any remaining flux with acetone. Isaac |
#37
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Sources of info to retrieve data off failing (failed) hard drives.
Isaac Wingfield wrote in message ... In article , "Stellijer" wrote: How would moving the heads help when the motor is what's not spinning up? I'm curious how that could help. A while back, some manufacturers (Sony was one) had compatibility problems between disk material and head material -- sometimes, when the drive was turned off for a while, they would stick together (really, cold-weld, I think). The motor starting torque was insufficient to break the bond, but a good whack could do it. I once had such a disk, but even whacking its did no good. Finally I really gave it a good shot. It started spinning but it was making an awful racket. Now that it was obviously no good, I took it apart, to find the offending head *still attached to the disk*. My final whack had ripped it right off its supporting arm. LOL! Wow... what a whack that must have been! In my case, it's 99% not 'stiction', since the platters seem to rotate small amounts in a jerking pattern. It's surely in the motor control, the motor, or contact in between. |
#38
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Sources of info to retrieve data off failing (failed) hard drives.
Isaac Wingfield wrote in message ... In article , "Stellijer" wrote: --snip-- How would you ever replace an IC on these boards? They look like you'd have to solder them with microscoping equipment! Also, I would have no idea where to get that same IC or know WHICH is the motor driver IC. Getting the IC may be a problem, but replacing it with "ordinary" tools is only moderately difficult (assuming you can *see* the pins; if it's a ball-grid job, you're out of luck): 1) With a sharp hobby knife, cut through all the legs of the bad chip, right next to the body of the chip. Take care not to cut any traces on the board. The body may have a bit of stuff on the bottom to attach it; you may have to lever it up a bit to get it off. MAKE SURE you've cut all the legs before you do this. 2) Using a "solder sucker", you can melt the solder and "suck" the individual pins off the board. Work quickly. Make sure none just move somewhere else and get overlooked. 3)If the pads still have "bumps" of solder, use some solder wick to clean things. Clean the flux off with acetone. Put a little more solder on two opposite corner pads. 4) Orient the replacement chip (you *did* notice which way the broken one went, right?) and *making sure all the pins are directly above their appropriate pads*, tack down those two corner pads. 5) Re-check to make sure that no leg is bridging adjacent pads. 6) Using fine solder, just run a small iron around the chip, covering all pins with solder. Make sure every pin is attached to its pad. DO NOT WORRY about solder bridges at this time.Working quickly is more important. 7) Once again use the solder wick, this time to remove all solder bridges. Use a loupe, if you have one. 8) After you're confident that all legs are attached and there are no bridges, clean off any remaining flux with acetone. Wow. It's actually interesting to know how to do this but still it seems daunting, if you add to it the difficulty of obtaining the chip, too. I imagine my best shot is to find another working PCB and replace the whole thing. I only hope that the control chip (and thus the PCB) solve the problem... |
#39
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Sources of info to retrieve data off failing (failed) harddrives.
On Fri, 12 Dec 2003 00:07:57 -0200
Chaos Master wrote: If the problem is on the logic part, try getting the circuit board from an IDENTICAL hard drive. (Sometimes this works; I've seen this done) If its a quantum, all the Fireball TM models share the same logic (I know, I've done it and it worked). -- Spyros lair: http://www.mnementh.co.uk/ |||| Maintainer: arm26 linux Do not meddle in the affairs of Dragons, for you are tasty and good with ketchup. |
#40
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Sources of info to retrieve data off failing (failed) harddrives.
Ian Molton wrote in message ... On Fri, 12 Dec 2003 00:07:57 -0200 Chaos Master wrote: If the problem is on the logic part, try getting the circuit board from an IDENTICAL hard drive. (Sometimes this works; I've seen this done) If its a quantum, all the Fireball TM models share the same logic (I know, I've done it and it worked). It's a WD Caviar drive. I know for a fact at least their 80gb models have different logic boards. I know because I looked at different series versions of the same model and there was no question the logic board was different. How much that difference makes is unknown but it's not a good chance. Right now, I'd rather look around for the SAME exact series on eBay as opposed to risking purchasing one of a different series. It's not like I can just LOOK at them in this case since I'd be buying it off eBay. Now, *IF* I can't find the right series in a month or two, I may chance it and try a different one. Nonetheless, I have hopes of finding the right one given time. |
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