Seagate 7200.12 Not Spinning, shows as 4.1gb BIOS

[geeky_stig]

Left my desktop off for a few weeks, when I turned it back on, went straight to BIOS , didn't boot. Hard drive only shows up as 4.1gb in the bios and is not spinning.

It's a Seagate ST3500413AS 7200.12 500GB. It is not spinning, and no clicking.

Could it be a problem with the PCB? Or is it a mechanical problem?

 

[Boogieman_WD]

Hey geeky_stig. Unfortunately it sounds like the drive might have failed. I'd recommend that you try it with different SATA and power connections or even better - a different computer. Once connected to a different computer (externally or internally) try recovering your most important data first (if it's recognized). You should also try to test the drive with the manufacturer's diagnostic tool to see what's the situation.
If nothing works, I'd suggest that you contact their customer support to see if they can help out or RMA (if the drive's still under warranty)

Hope that helps.
Boogieman_WD

 

[fzabkar]

Remove the PCB from the drive (Torx 6 screwdriver) and connect it on its own. Does it still detect as a 4GB drive?

Place a business card between the PCB and the preamp connector on the drive. Does the drive now spin up?

Purchase a serial TTL adapter and obtain a diagnostic log from the drive's terminal port. That should tell us a lot more about the problem. You can find instructions in various 7200.11 bug fix threads. Please DON't send any commands that write to the drive. The 7200.12 model can be bricked by some 7200.11 commands.