"Gareth Magennis" ) writes:
"Someone" wrote in message
news:ejQMe.2911$ct5.1845@fed1read04...
The drive maybe still under warranty. Check "Warranty Check" at this page:

http://support.wdc.com/

It lets you enter the serial number and tell if it still under warranty.
Make sure that if they fix/replace it, the data remain intact.

If all else fails, buy the same exact model and replace the electronics,
don't open the hard drive where the storage disks are. If it doesn't work,
you could still put the electronics back to the new drive and use it.

If you don't find the drive at your local store, try eBay...




Hmm, I hadn't thought of that, good idea. Any idea what kind of percentage
of drive failures are electronic/mechanical?


I suspect the real issue is that given a spare board, it's relatively
easy to change that, just in case. Anything else is likely to
be beyond the end user. Witness recent threads here, people opening
up their hard drives, and letting the dust in. SOmeone wanting to
move the platters to another drive and wondering if alignment is all
that important.

Of course, someone a month or so ago wasn't successful changing boards,
which in retrospect makes sense since the boards are set to match the
state of the platters and ignore the bad sectors of those platters.
Change the board and that information doesn't match.

I suspect many of the home remedies, shaking the drive when in
operation, putting the drive in the freezer, swapping boards, may
have had more use when drives were smaller density, and before
they were IDE. People wanting to do these things may just
continue to do it with the hope of solving something, rather than
because they still apply. Given current density, there is a lot
less leeway for any fussing.

If someone is trashing a drive, it doesn't matter if they damage
anything, because they are trading the hope of salvaging something with
the fact that it's trash anyway. Anything they try may get results,
and that's better than tossing the drive out without trying anything.
Since the drive is unreliable, damaging it further will not affect
anything. Someone is far more willing to try to fix something they've
found in the garbage, or are about to throw out, than if it's something
they just bought for hundreds of dollars.

Of course, if anyone has hopes of having a drive professionally recovered,
money aside, then one has to think twice before they start trying home
remedies, because then they risk damaging the data that someone else
can revover.

Michael