"Folkert Rienstra" wrote in message
reenews.net...
"Jaz" wrote in message

A have a Maxtor 20GB 2B020H1 which is doing the spin-up then spin-
down thing. The controller says ATHENA ATA2-PLUS, FBII 301430100.

I found this site http://www.hddtech.co.uk/MaxtorFailureSymptoms.htm
and my symptoms match precisely. So I bought a working 2B020H1 used.

I swapped the contoller but the drive isn't recognized at POST. I
swapped the controller back to the spare-parts drive and that one
works fine. Worth noting is that with the spare controller, the
original drive no longer spins down after spin up.

Then I noticed that the spare controller part number is slightly
different. The new one reads

"ATHEN II/POKER".

Apt name. Describes the process of recovery very neatly.

What's interesting is why this controller would not be detected by
the BIOS when attached to the old platter assembly. I verified
that the geometry and the Maxtor part numbers are both the same.

Anyway, aside from trying to find another spare controller that
matches exactly, and before I resort to an $800+ professional
recovery, is there anything else I should try?

Thanks.
Jaz
(Please excuse the 'burp' when replying (b))

Have you tried the freezer trick yet? It didn't work for me, but other
people have had success with it. When I tried it, the drive did respond
faster, even though it ultimately still did not get recognized properly by
the BIOS.

Put the drive in the freezer for an hour, then hook it up to the computer
and see what happens.

Todd