dead HDD question

[luthierwnc]

Hi everyone, I have been using a 1TB Barracuda HDD as my file storage drive on a desktop. Recently it started disappearing from the file manager and/or the disk manager. I could reboot and it would be there for a while and then vanish again. When it was available, it worked fine. then that stopped working too. I have a separate SSD for the OS and programs.

Unfortunately, the last backup failed as well and there are some files I'd like to retrieve. As part of a larger plan, I just built a new PC and moved the old spinner over in hopes that the new and improved UEFI would spot it. No dice.

The motor works fine and it spins quietly. My guess is the either the optical reader is shot or there is a problem with the SATA connection. I tried different ones on both the old and new mobo.

In researching this, most of what I've found is solutions for mechanical failures for the spinning apparatus but I haven't seen much for when it won't talk to the rest of the system. It wasn't dropped or unduly dirty. My guess is the media is fine since it would come and go. But that's a guess and my history with computer guesses is spotty

If anyone has some ideas on how to approach this, I'd like to hear them. Taking or sending it to a recovery services isn't out of the question but if these are symptoms of something less extreme, that's good too. thanks for thinking of this, Skip

 

[Darkbreeze]

Does the drive show up in the bios? If not, try a different cable or a different header. If you've already tried that, and it doesn't show up at all in the bios, then it's done. Recovery services are GROSSLY expensive for labs that actually do what they say they will and the ones that seem reasonably priced, generally don't recover anything except your money.

I'd evaluate how important that data is before even thinking about contacting one of the more reliable labs. Likely, unless you live close to one of them, you'll have to ship it via one of their couriers, which is usually included in the cost of the recovery. Last three drives I had to deal with for a client were about 1500 bucks, to start. And that is without any guarantee of recovery. The very best labs won't charge anything if they can't recover anything, but if they recover even part of the data, they'll want full payment.

 

[luthierwnc]

I've tried different computers, different cables, different SATA ports and I've plugged-in the spare SSD which works fine with any of them. The stuff on there isn't fifteen hundred bucks precious but it matters enough that I won't drop it in the trash just yet.

What gives me hope, and what seems to make this different than almost every dead drive thread I've found, is that I know the data is still fine because of the way the drive came in and out of the mix before it croaked. And the spinner spins clean. Most threads I've seen are for drives that sound like a bad wheel bearing or the data is corrupted or has a virus. This was purely storage. Makes me wonder if the physical disc could be swapped in a known working drive. Worth a shot and would justify buying a set of Torx drivers.

Thanks for your comments and if anything else comes to mind, I'll wait a couple days before deciding about using a recovery system. Cheers, sh

 

[Darkbreeze]

Unfortunately it doesn't work that way. Those platters can't even be removed from the assembly except in a 100% lab certified clean room. Normal airborne dust gets on the platters and they're ruined. I've seen at least three drives that were similar to your situation. All three would intermittently show the list of file names, but just because the directory file name list is intact doesn't mean that either the data is, or that is can be accessed.

Of course it's possible, in some cases, but again, there is NEVER, EVER, any cheap solution to recovering data on a drive that is gone enough that it does not show up in the bios. So far you've only talked about the drive being tried on different computers and showing up in Windows file explorer. That really doesn't matter because there are plenty of things that are NOT a failed drive, that can cause it to not show up or be accessible in Windows that have nothing to do with whether or not the drive shows up and initializes in the BIOS/UEFI or not.

 

[luthierwnc]

Thanks darkbreeze. I'll have some time to analyze the situation over the weekend and report back. Cheers, sh

 

[luthierwnc]

I took the PCB out and had a look. There is considerable scoring on one of the three traces from the reader (the spring contact) and quite a bit on most of the contacts of what I'm guessing is the SATA bridge. For laughs, I ordered an identical HDD on Ebay and plan to swap-out the PCB when it arrives in case that's it. If the new one is just as bad, I'll abrade the contacts and try it again. Sometimes touching them with a thin coat of silver solder brings them back to life. More when I get it,

On the restoration front, I have a 3TB Seagate external with most of the files that matter to me but they are scattered
around on several different backups dating within a year of each other plus and a system image. Since I only need some of what's on there, is there a tutorial you can recommend on how to cherry pick the contents? In addition to the parts HDD I ordered a new one to receive old and new files. Thanks, as always, sh

 

[Darkbreeze]

I really don't have a recommendation on that. I'd say get everything you can and sort it out later?

I'll cross my fingers for your success, but I haven't seen anybody have a lot of it when trying to salvage drives that have failed for whatever reason. Hard drives are delicate fickle creatures when it comes to trying to make one work that has decided it is done or has been abused in any way.

 

[fzabkar]

Seagate HDDs often become unresponsive during error correction activity. There is a relatively straightforward DIY solution, but it requires a USB-TTL serial adapter (US$5). You then need to send some simple commands via the drive's diagnostic port. This will usually stabilise the drive enough to recover your data. Note that recent models disable the diagnostic port.

For more information, visit hddguru.com or hddoracle.com.

 

[luthierwnc]

I've got an update, of sorts. The duplicate hard drive arrived and I changed the PCB out with mine. It made no difference.

I also got a SATA to USB 3.0 kit. Out of maybe 20 reboots I got it to recognize the drive in both the file explorer and Disk Management twice. It showed the correct size of the data but when I asked the machine for properties, either the file explorer or disk management went into a loop and crashed. Booting with the HDD on a SATA port gives me either a BSOD or the BIOS screen. Using the USB 3 port was where I saw traces of the files. Strangely, it only worked using its own power source and not the PSU lead on the computer.

fzabkar, I'm afraid what I found on the sites you mentioned is over my head. If there is a step-by-step tutorial that is more my speed.

I guess the next move is to see about having it professionally recovered.

 

[Darkbreeze]

I have had some luck using the second method here on drives that seemed totally corrupted. Not sure it will work in your case, but maybe worth an attempt.

https://www.easeus.com/partition-manager-software/file-or-directory-is-corrupted-and-unreadable.html

 

[fzabkar]

"Adaptives" -- why a straight PCB swap doesn't work in modern hard drives:
http://www.hddoracle.com/viewtopic.php?f=56&t=2600#p19090

@luthierwnc, purchase a USB-TTL serial adapter. Then execute the following commands at Level T:

• F"READ_SPARING_ENABLED",0,22
  F"WRITE_SPARING_ENABLED",0,22
  F"OFFLINE_SPARING_ENABLED",0,22
  F"DAR_ENABLED",0,22
  F"DISABLE_IDLE_ACTIVITY",1,22
  F"BGMS_DISABLE_DATA_REFRESH",1,22
  F"ABORT_PREFETCH",1,22
  F"READ_LOOKAHEAD_DISABLED_ON_POWER_UP",1,22
  F"READ_CACHING_DISABLED_ON_POWER_UP",1,22