dead hdd or not so dead

[Big Jim]

Have a hdd here that I can hear spin up but what SATA cable is connected it does nothing.
I have tried to connect it to pc via a usb adapter and via our sata docking bays (that are connected directly via sata)
and it is unresponsive, windows doesn't even recognise that it has been plugged in.
It isn't making any odd noise it sounds as though it is actually working normally.

The laptop it belongs to will not get past teh ACER splash screen with it connected (but does boot fine with a spare SSD we have in the shop)


Would you try and find a replacement controller board to get the data off or would you go straight to data recovery specialist ?

Cheers
James

 

[Metanis]

Sometimes you get lucky

Gently and with great regard to static electricity conditions, loosen the controller card on the bottom of the hard drive. Inspect for corrosion on the part of the board where it meets the connections to the drive heads. Gently clean if possible. Put it back together very carefully and pray!

Otherwise try and find a replacement controller if you want to dink around with it.

If the data is valuable disregard what I said and find a reputable data recovery firm.

 

[HCHTech]

Is it a Seagate Barracuda 7200? I've seen a couple of those lately that get "stuck in a busy state". Basically, the drive is fine, but there is no way to easily reset the damned thing. There is a procedure on the net about soldering on the interface board, but I didn't feel up to that task. On one, the customer elected to lose the data, the other one got sent out to 300ddr - who recovered it perfectly.

 

[PC Ops]

Did you only try it attached to a Windows machine? If so, try using the sata to usb adapter on a Linux distro. Start copying the data immediately if it is recognized.

If nothing: personally I wouldn't go searching for a replacement controller board but go for data recovery if the data is worth it.

 

[brandonkick]

If the data is worthwhile to them, send it out to the 300ddr service mentioned here.

If they will get the data back for $300, then let them do it and charge the customer $350. Your now the hero, and you made $50 for shipping a drive out.

If the data isn't worth $350 to them, junk the drive and be done with it.

I would not recommend trying to replace the controller board. I can see this sort of conversation going down:

You: I tried to recover the data, but the new controller didn't work at all.

Them: Oh, so I lose the data right?

You: Yeah, on top of that I have two hours of labor plus the cost of the controller in it.

Them: So I have to pay for this stuff even though it didn't work?


Save yourself that headache, you won't save them very much by trying a new controller that might not work.

 

[300DDR]

Thanks for the referrals guys! I really appreciate it!

Big Jim: what is the model hard drive? If you want an idea for our chances for recovering your data, you can fill out our Chances Form and I'll get back to you ASAP. www.300dollardatarecovery.com/chance.html

Please let me know if you have any further questions.
Brian

 

[lcoughey]

With modern drives, it is unlikely that a simple PCB swap will be simple without expensive data recovery tools and knowledge. With regards to the comment about the Barracuda 7200 series issues, those are desktop drives and definitely not for this drive.

It certainly would make a huge difference if Big Jim would post the exact model of the hard drive, as Brian has requested, to allow for a better diagnosis.

As you are in the UK, I recommend two labs who will give you a free assessment and very reasonable pricing. www.pcimage.co.uk (Sean) and www.databusters.co.uk (Andy).

 

[DocGreen]

Have a hdd here that I can hear spin up but what SATA cable is connected it does nothing.
I have tried to connect it to pc via a usb adapter and via our sata docking bays (that are connected directly via sata)
and it is unresponsive, windows doesn't even recognise that it has been plugged in.
It isn't making any odd noise it sounds as though it is actually working normally.

The laptop it belongs to will not get past teh ACER splash screen with it connected (but does boot fine with a spare SSD we have in the shop)


Would you try and find a replacement controller board to get the data off or would you go straight to data recovery specialist ?

Cheers
James

STOP WHAT YOU'RE DOING

You can't just swap the controller board. They are unique to the drive they're attached to. What you NEED to do right now is post the specific model#, part#, etc, etc. so the rest of us know what it is you're dealing with.

Gently and with great regard to static electricity conditions, loosen the controller card on the bottom of the hard drive. Inspect for corrosion on the part of the board where it meets the connections to the drive heads. Gently clean if possible. Put it back together very carefully and pray!

Otherwise try and find a replacement controller if you want to dink around with it.

If the data is valuable disregard what I said and find a reputable data recovery firm.

DO NOT do any of this unless you know exactly what you're doing and why you're doing it. I'm guessing by the original post, you don't. Just stop.

Is it a Seagate Barracuda 7200? I've seen a couple of those lately that get "stuck in a busy state". Basically, the drive is fine, but there is no way to easily reset the damned thing. There is a procedure on the net about soldering on the interface board, but I didn't feel up to that task. On one, the customer elected to lose the data, the other one got sent out to 300ddr - who recovered it perfectly.

ACTUALLY, I just fixed one of those this afternoon, and it was CAKE.
Didn't have to do any soldering whatsoever... just use a RS232 to TTL adapter to connect to the controller board. Seriously, it was the easiest data recovery I've ever done! Here's a link to the tool I used:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/280748167812?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649

And here's another link to the guide I used:
https://sites.google.com/site/seagatefix/

Literally took me all of 10 minutes to fix this from start to finish. Keep in mind, if you want to fix the drive PERMANENTLY, you need to fix the firmware. Pretty sure the info for that is in one of those guides.



As for the the OP... if you honestly don't know what you're doing... I'd recommend getting in touch with 300DDR as well. You can send the drive off to him, charge your customer a markup to cover shipping and a pizza, and you still look like a hero to your customer.

 

[Big Jim]

client decided not to proceed anyway.

For what its worth I am UK based anyway so 300DDR wouldn't be a viable option

 

[brandonkick]

Why wouldn't it be a viable option?

If someone has really important data, it's a very viable option.

If they don't want to wait, then tough nuggets. You can't have your cake and eat it too.

If your afraid of shipping it, just pack it really well. You'd be surprised what a proper pack job can survive.

 

[Big Jim]

Why wouldn't it be a viable option?

Why use someone in another country when there are companies right here in the UK who do exactly the same thing

 

[brandonkick]

They offer the same services for the same $300?

 

[lcoughey]

They offer the same services for the same $300?

I'm not taking the effort to look up shipping costs lately, but I will go with what I seen in the past. We'll think in USD, just for consistency.

Local UK Service
- shipping to and from the lab let's round up to about $40
- assessment fee, free
- if a project that is recoverable by 300DDR, it would likely be $500 or less by the lab...so, let's round up to $500. If it is a more difficult project, they will have the facilities to do so without having to refer to another lab, but we won't compare that price, as 300DDR doesn't offer that level of service

Worst case scenario: $40 for shipping
Best case scenario: $540 for recovery + shipping
Possibly a 10 - 20% discount for a resller could bring the price down to between $400 and $450 + shipping.

300DDR
- shipping to and from the lab would be about $250 (assuming that the data is important enough to ship AIR and not via a non tracking postal system)
- assessment fee, free (+ cost of parts for diagnosis, if needed?)
- cost of the recovery $300

Worst case scenario: $250 for shipping (+ cost of parts, if needed?)
Best case scenario: $550 for recovery + shipping

I admit, I could be off on the shipping prices and the UK fees.

But, it is also assuming that there is no internal damage that is the cause of this problem. Even though the OP doesn't report any unusual sounds, it does not rule out stuck/damaged heads and media damage.

 

[DocGreen]

$250 seems awfully high for shipping from UK to US... I've ordered plenty of things from overseas, every one of them with a tracking number... some of them <7 days shipping... and all of them under $25.

Just my $.02

 

[lcoughey]

As I said, it has been a while. But, a quick test for a 5LB FedEx shipment from the UK to 300DDR is as follows:

OverNight 8am: $218.58 USD
OverNight 10:30am: $120 USD
3 Day: $114.32 USD

So, my numbers weren't off by that much. This will not include any extra border brokerage fees & taxes that various governments charge on incoming shipments.