HDD out of sectors to replace, customer wants the data

[flemming]

I have a WD3200BEVT 2.5" that have a failure in smart that says that it used 149 of 149 sectors is replaced and -9/-9 sectors and srite error are also 49/49.

Problem is also that the mbr is gone. And not possible to make in windows again.

Tested the disk with hdd regenerator, and it fixed sectors but i stopped it because it came only 0.13% in 24 hours. I also have ontrack but finds some files quickly. (maybe the 0.13% that regenerator fixed?) then after a while just turn into a extremely slow procedure.

This is not my area of expertice, should I send the disk somewhere or get a quote, I am not that experienced on recovery, and already spent a day catching up and reading on the subject.

Feels like more then just some bad sectors?

Any advise or explanation whould be appreciated, if someone knows or are interested in doing this remotely thats also a alternative as the customer have the family photos on this drive and really wants them back.

Have a similar hdd but with never/different controllercard.

 

[Larry Sabo]

Have you tried cloning it with ddrescue or BootMed so you can work on the clone instead of the ailing patient? This is where a hardware imager saves the day. You've beat the poor thing to death with Spinrite and HDDRegenerator--two programs that spell doom to failing hard drives. Contact Brian at 300DDR or Luke at RecoveryForce for a last chance to recover the data.

 

[lcoughey]

I have a WD3200BEVT 2.5" that have a failure in smart that says that it used 149 of 149 sectors is replaced and -9/-9 sectors and srite error are also 49/49.

Problem is also that the mbr is gone. And not possible to make in windows again.

This is a good sign that the heads are starting to fail. The first step from here, if you insist on trying to do it yourself, would be to get a full sector-by-sector clone. If your client's data is of any value, you would be well advised to stop and seek professional assistance.

Tested the disk with hdd regenerator, and it fixed sectors but i stopped it because it came only 0.13% in 24 hours. I also have ontrack but finds some files quickly. (maybe the 0.13% that regenerator fixed?) then after a while just turn into a extremely slow procedure.

Any data lost from the sector remapping is lost for good. Never run tests or write to a failing drive, unless you are 100% sure that the data is backed up. Continuing to run the drive is only going to make things worse and it will likely fail before you copy the data off.

This is not my area of expertice, should I send the disk somewhere or get a quote, I am not that experienced on recovery, and already spent a day catching up and reading on the subject.

Theoretically, if the heads are all working, this project would cost you $280 at my company, Recovery Force Inc, and $300 at 300DDR. But, it is possible that this drive has head issues that require clean room work, which would cost more at my company and not doable by 300DDR. I'd say that it is a 50/50 chance, based on the information we have at the moment.

Feels like more then just some bad sectors?

My guess is that the laptop drive took a bump and the heads are starting to crash. The more you power it on, the more likely that it is going to get worse.

Any advise or explanation whould be appreciated, if someone knows or are interested in doing this remotely thats also a alternative as the customer have the family photos on this drive and really wants them back.

If it were just a logical issue, I would be able to assist remotely. However, the drive is too unstable and really should be properly diagnosed with professional data recovery facilities before any further assumptions are made.

Have a similar hdd but with never/different controllercard.

For PCB, it would have to be the same PCB (number on the PCB) and the ROM would need to be transferred from the original to the donor...but, this is definitely not a PCB issue. As for the heads, you would need a very close drive match, exact same model, same country of manufacture, close date code, preferably same firmware and DCM.

Anyway, I suggest you stop, check with your client that their data is worth at least the $300 price and then send it to me (Recovery Force) or 300DDR for a free assessment. As I said, your price at Recovery Force, for level 1 service is $280, which really is $350 retail less a 20% re-seller discount. It is my understanding that 300DDR doesn't give discounts, so $300 is his base price.

I encourage technicians to call for advice...preferably before taking the risk of killing the drive with programs like HDD Regen and Spinrite. But, that only comes with education. Anyway, feel free to give me a call toll free at 866-750-3169 if you have any further questions that I can answer about this specific project, or any others you might come across.

Luke

 

[lcoughey]

Have you tried cloning it with ddrescue or BootMed so you can work on the clone instead of the ailing patient? This is where a hardware imager saves the day. You've beat the poor thing to death with Spinrite and HDDRegenerator--two programs that spell doom to failing hard drives. Contact Brian at 300DDR or Luke at RecoveryForce for a last chance to recover the data.

Thanks for the recommendation Larry.

 

[HFultzjr]

1st: STOP
2nd: Try the professionals if data is important and customer willing to pay.

If you don't do the above, feel free to try my ddrsecue guide:

http://www.technibble.com/forums/showthread.php?t=49153

The guide can be downloaded if you go down a few messages in the thread.

Good luck.

 

[flemming]

Really appreciate the detailed answer, yes its somethimes hard to stop using time on a case that is new, like its fun to learn but the time with recovery faulty drives is a pain. Will do some quick checkup with customer tomorrow and find out next step. the .14% repairing sectors that the hdd regenerator did is working (looks like it to me). Photorec on ubcd is the software that finds files fastest. But dont want to use the drive to much either. smart data is unchanged still. Finding a similar hdd but 2 months production date apart. Im in europe so maybe asking convar for a quote. Sent a disk to another lab some years ago that had faulty bearings and pickups where scraping the surface. 8000 USD and the customer was very happy. But that was a company, this is a private family....
larry: the Sector copy is also extremely slow. So I dont think that is healthy either

But thanks again, will do some reading on the guide, and thank you for a very good answer lcoughey!

Will read the guide HFultzjr!

 

[Larry Sabo]

larry: the Sector copy is also extremely slow. So I dont think that is healthy either

What program did you use to attempt the sector-to-sector copy? If not ddrescue with appropriate time-out settings, it wasn't a good choice on such a seriously troubled drive. I don't understand the significance of your comment, "Have a similar hdd but with never/different controllercard." It's not going to help this drive, unless as a potential donor of read-write heads, which this drive is very likely to require. I'd leave the donor question to the DR pro who is tasked with recovering the data.

That's where a hardware imager shines. It can make a quick first pass, quickly skipping ahead when it encounters a bad sector and later scanning in reverse to pick up the readable sectors that follow it. The time-out settings are set to short values for the initial pass, and longer on each subsequent pass to dig out the tougher-to-get data. When things get bogged down, it can do soft and hard resets and power resets of the drive, and pick up from where things went so wrong that the drive or PC froze. It also turns off auto-relocation of bad sectors and SMART monitoring to make imaging faster and more likely feasible. All this while you go about your other work, i.e., no babysitting required. There's a good white paper by DeepSpar about imagers, but it's a rather long, technical read.

All this scanning is really hard on the drive and every attempt lessens the chances of further success. Besides committing the cardinal sin of writing to the patient drive, Spinrite and HDDRegenerator are really, really hard on the drive, because they keep trying and re-trying until they are either able to read the sector, or give up and move on. The repeated attempts to read the same sector can damage the heads because what may be minor media damage in that area will likely become irreparably damaged by the repeated attempts, possibly destroying that head and leading to a catastrophic head crash.

Let us know what the customer decided.

 

[flemming]

Still waiting for customers reply.

"Have a similar hdd but with never/different controllercard."

I was thinking of putting the plates over to the new disk incase customer says no to further cost or repair, just for an experiment.

But reading up, I find it very complicated and very hard reading. At least to make sense of all of this and remember. Maybe its just friday

But so much hdd fails I see maybe I should read and learn.

Customer cost is 1000 to 1600 usd max. Service here in Norway, and they have spare parts for the drive. 1 month turnaround. very busy at the time...
I guess they are sitting on a goldmine

Have a great weekend! Just past lunch here in Norway

 

[lcoughey]

The very last thing that even the most experienced data recovery technicians will ever do is platter transfer. So, to confirm, your client's data is not worth the $350CAD plus the cost of the shipping to Canada and back?

I don't recommend that you charge them for what you have done...especially considering that your efforts have likely caused more damage to the drive.

Just pass the drive back to them in the condition it arrived and suggest that they set it aside, just in case they change their minds and/or can afford to go further.