DIYbanter - View Single Post - Maxtor disk failed. Controller replacement?

Fabian Fuller wrote:
FWIW, a couple years ago I went through a situation similar to what
you're going through. During my Internet research I learned that
firmware versions of controller boards may vary between otherwise
identical looking drives, and this might result in a compatibility
problem. The person I learned this from commented that after he went
through swapping controller boards and discovered the firmware
difference, he made it his practice, when buying a new hard drive, to
always buy a second identical drive at the same time from the same
batch as the first (to ensure matching firmware) so he could
confidently swap the controller boards should he need to.

Makes a lot more sense to backup properly.

"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". 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))