WD 320GB Data Recovery.

[Rossco_]

I have a WD 320GB Hard Drive that was in a small laptop, one day it just stopped booting, after the Bios screen it just goes blank.
The hard drive was replaced and now the laptop works fine.

But now I am trying to retrieve data from the hard drive.
I see alot of posts on here with great help but was unable to find anything that fits my scenario.

I have now plugged this hard drive into my desktop computer.
When I boot up the hard drive always spins, but doesn't always show up on the bios. When it does it also shows up under device manager, but not windows explorer.

Under device manager is shows as an 'Unallocated' drive. When I try to Initialize it, it gives me an I/O error.
I then downloaded the WD diagnostic test, the quick one fails straight away, and the extended gets so far and says ‘ Too many bad sectors’.
I downloaded a cloning tool, but it doesn’t show the drive as an option.
I did try one Data recovery freeware program ( I forget the name ) It was able to scan the drive, but says it finds no data.

What I am asking is – Is there any freeware that I can try to use to recover the data on here, it was mainly photo’s and some documents that have sentimental value.

I hope I have given as much detail as needed, thanks for your help!

 

[Rossco_]

Can you post a CrystalDiskInfo report of your drive?

That might give us a clue as to its physical condition.

I have the program, unfortunately I have night classes tonight so won't be back to very late, but will get it posted as soon as I can!

Can't thank you all enough for your help, a truly amazing website.

Have you tried "Power Data Recovery Software"?

Without trying it, why you are going for too bit depth analysis? Going too depth will recover your data? Or it will repair your damaged(?) HDD?

When I select find 'Lost partition recovery' this is the only time it finds the drive and the quick scan stops responding.

 

[Rossco_]

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
(3) WDC WD3200BPVT-22JJ5T0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Model : WDC WD3200BPVT-22JJ5T0
Firmware : 01.01A01
Serial Number : WD-WX81E71ZST02
Disk Size : 320.0 GB (8.4/137.4/320.0)
Buffer Size : 8192 KB
Queue Depth : 32
# of Sectors : 625142448
Rotation Rate : 5400 RPM
Interface : Serial ATA
Major Version : ATA8-ACS
Minor Version : ----
Transfer Mode : SATA/300
Power On Hours : 232 hours
Power On Count : 33 count
Temparature : 28 C (82 F)
Health Status : Good
Features : S.M.A.R.T., APM, 48bit LBA, NCQ
APM Level : 0060h [ON]
AAM Level : ----

-- S.M.A.R.T. --------------------------------------------------------------
ID Cur Wor Thr RawValues(6) Attribute Name
01 100 253 _51 000000000000 Read Error Rate
03 143 136 _21 000000000729 Spin-Up Time
04 100 100 __0 00000000002B Start/Stop Count
05 200 200 140 000000000000 Reallocated Sectors Count
07 200 200 __0 000000000000 Seek Error Rate
09 100 100 __0 0000000000E8 Power-On Hours
0A 100 253 __0 000000000000 Spin Retry Count
0B 100 253 __0 000000000000 Recalibration Retries
0C 100 100 __0 000000000021 Power Cycle Count
BF 100 100 __0 000000000000 G-Sense Error Rate
C0 200 200 __0 00000000001C Power-off Retract Count
C1 200 200 __0 000000000019 Load/Unload Cycle Count
C2 115 101 __0 00000000001C Temperature
C4 200 200 __0 000000000000 Reallocation Event Count
C5 200 200 __0 000000000000 Current Pending Sector Count
C6 100 253 __0 000000000000 Uncorrectable Sector Count
C7 200 253 __0 000000000000 UltraDMA CRC Error Count
C8 100 253 __0 000000000000 Write Error Rate

-- IDENTIFY_DEVICE ---------------------------------------------------------
+0 +1 +2 +3 +4 +5 +6 +7 +8 +9 +A +B +C +D +E +F
000: 42 7A 3F FF C8 37 00 10 00 00 00 00 00 3F 00 00
010: 00 00 00 00 20 20 20 20 20 57 44 2D 57 58 38 31
020: 45 37 31 5A 53 54 30 32 00 00 40 00 00 32 30 31
030: 2E 30 31 41 30 31 57 44 43 20 57 44 33 32 30 30
040: 42 50 56 54 2D 32 32 4A 4A 35 54 30 20 20 20 20
050: 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 80 10
060: 00 00 2F 00 40 01 00 00 00 00 00 07 3F FF 00 10
070: 00 3F FC 10 00 FB 01 00 FF FF 0F FF 00 00 00 07
080: 00 03 00 78 00 78 00 78 00 78 00 00 00 00 00 00
090: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 1F 1F 06 00 00 00 4C 00 40
0A0: 01 FE 00 00 74 6B 7D 09 61 23 74 69 BC 09 61 23
0B0: 20 7F 00 24 00 24 00 60 FF FE 00 00 00 00 00 00
0C0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 EA B0 25 42 00 00 00 00
0D0: 00 00 00 00 60 03 00 00 50 01 4E E2 5B AC 17 6D
0E0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 40 18
0F0: 40 18 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
100: 00 29 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 16 FE 01 67 00 00
110: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 04 00 00
120: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
130: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
140: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
150: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
160: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
170: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
180: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
190: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 70 35 00 00
1A0: 00 00 40 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
1B0: 00 00 15 18 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 10 1E 00 00
1C0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
1D0: 00 00 00 00 00 01 10 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
1E0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
1F0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 F9 A5

 

[fzabkar]

Bytes 0x100 and 0x101 (0x0029) appear to be suggesting that word #128 of the Identify Device data block is reporting that security is supported and that security is frozen. That is, it looks like the drive is protected by a password, and that the drive is in a state where a power reset is required before a password challenge can be initiated.

You could confirm this with a tool such as HD Sentinel which explicitly reports the drive's security status.

I confess that my initial thought was that the drive may have been password protected, but I discounted this because an ATA password should not prevent BIOS from detecting the drive. Now I suspect that the drive may have two problems.

BTW, the SMART data are showing no history of bad sectors, so that's a positive sign.

 

[Rossco_]

Bytes 0x100 and 0x101 (0x0029) appear to be suggesting that word #128 of the Identify Device data block is reporting that security is supported and that security is frozen. That is, it looks like the drive is protected by a password, and that the drive is in a state where a power reset is required before a password challenge can be initiated.

You could confirm this with a tool such as HD Sentinel which explicitly reports the drive's security status.

I confess that my initial thought was that the drive may have been password protected, but I discounted this because an ATA password should not prevent BIOS from detecting the drive. Now I suspect that the drive may have two problems.

BTW, the SMART data are showing no history of bad sectors, so that's a positive sign.

-- Physical Disk Information - Disk: #6: WDC WD3200BPVT-22JJ5T0 --

Hard Disk Summary
-------------------
Hard Disk Number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 6
Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : S-ATA II
Disk Controller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controller (ATA) [VEN: 8086, DEV: 1C08]
Disk Location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Channel 0, Target 0, Lun 0, Device: 0
Hard Disk Model ID . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : WDC WD3200BPVT-22JJ5T0
Firmware Revision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 01.01A01
Hard Disk Serial Number . . . . . . . . . . . . : WD-WX81E71ZST02
Total Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 305242 MB
Power State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Active
Current Temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 28 °C
Power On Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 9 days, 18 hours
Estimated Remaining Lifetime . . . . . . . . . . : more than 1000 days
Health . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : #################### 100 % (Excellent)
Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : #################### 100 % (Excellent)

The hard disk status is PERFECT. Problematic or weak sectors were not found and there are no spin up or data transfer errors.
No actions needed.

ATA Information
-----------------
Hard Disk Cylinders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 620181
Hard Disk Heads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 16
Hard Disk Sectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 63
ATA Revision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : ATA8-ACS
Transport Version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : SATA Rev 2.6
Total Sectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 78142806
Bytes Per Sector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 4096 [Advanced Format]
Buffer Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 8192 KB
Multiple Sectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 16
Error Correction Bytes . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 50
Unformatted Capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 305245 MB
Maximum PIO Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 4
Maximum Multiword DMA Mode . . . . . . . . . . . : 2
Maximum UDMA Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 300 MB/s (6)
Active UDMA Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 300 MB/s (5)
Minimum Multiword DMA Transfer Time . . . . . . : 120 ns
Recommended Multiword DMA Transfer Time . . . . : 120 ns
Minimum PIO Transfer Time Without IORDY . . . . : 120 ns
Minimum PIO Transfer Time With IORDY . . . . . . : 120 ns
ATA Control Byte . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Valid
ATA Checksum Value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Valid

Acoustic Management Configuration
-----------------------------------
Acoustic Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
Acoustic Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Disabled
Current Acoustic Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Default (00h)
Recommended Acoustic Level . . . . . . . . . . . : Default (00h)

ATA Features
--------------
Read Ahead Buffer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported, Enabled
DMA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
Ultra DMA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
S.M.A.R.T. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
Power Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
Write Cache . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
Host Protected Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
Advanced Power Management . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported, Enabled
Advanced Power Management Level . . . . . . . . : Intermediate power management levels with standby (96)
Extended Power Management . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
Power Up In Standby . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
48-Bit LBA Addressing . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
Device Configuration Overlay . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
IORDY Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
Read/Write DMA Queue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
NOP Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
Trusted Computing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
64-Bit World Wide ID . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 0150E24EAC5B6D17
Streaming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
Media Card Pass Through . . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
General Purpose Logging . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
Error Logging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
CFA Feature Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
CFast Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
Long Physical Sectors (8) . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
Long Logical Sectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
Write-Read-Verify . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
NV Cache Feature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
NV Cache Power Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
NV Cache Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
Free-fall Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
Free-fall Control Sensitivity . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
Nominal Media Rotation Rate . . . . . . . . . . : 5400 RPM

SSD Features
--------------
Data Set Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
TRIM Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
Deterministic Read After TRIM . . . . . . . . . : Not supported

S.M.A.R.T. Details
--------------------
Off-line Data Collection Status . . . . . . . . : Never Started
Self Test Execution Status . . . . . . . . . . . : Successfully Completed
Total Time To Complete Off-line Data Collection : 7080 seconds
Execute Off-line Immediate . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
Abort/restart Off-line By Host . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
Off-line Read Scanning . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
Short Self-test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
Extended Self-test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
Conveyance Self-test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
Selective Self-Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
Save Data Before/After Power Saving Mode . . . . : Supported
Enable/Disable Attribute Autosave . . . . . . . : Supported
Error Logging Capability . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
Short Self-test Estimated Time . . . . . . . . . : 2 minutes
Extended Self-test Estimated Time . . . . . . . : 73 minutes
Conveyance Self-test Estimated Time . . . . . . : 5 minutes
Last Short Self-test Result . . . . . . . . . . : Never Started
Last Short Self-test Date . . . . . . . . . . . : Never Started
Last Extended Self-test Result . . . . . . . . . : Never Started
Last Extended Self-test Date . . . . . . . . . . : Never Started
Last Conveyance Self-test Result . . . . . . . . : Never Started
Last Conveyance Self-test Date . . . . . . . . . : Never Started

Security Mode
---------------
Security Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
Security Erase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
Security Erase Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 72 minutes
Security Enhanced Erase Feature . . . . . . . . : Supported
Security Enhanced Erase Time . . . . . . . . . . : 72 minutes
Security Enabled . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : No
Security Locked . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : No
Security Frozen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Security Counter Expired . . . . . . . . . . . . : No
Security Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : High

Serial ATA Features
---------------------
S-ATA Compliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
S-ATA I Signaling Speed (1.5 Gps) . . . . . . . : Supported
S-ATA II Signaling Speed (3 Gps) . . . . . . . . : Supported
S-ATA Gen3 Signaling Speed (6 Gps) . . . . . . . : Not supported
Receipt Of Power Management Requests From Host . : Supported
PHY Event Counters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
Non-Zero Buffer Offsets In DMA Setup FIS . . . . : Not supported
DMA Setup Auto-Activate Optimization . . . . . . : Supported, Disabled
Device Initiating Interface Power Management . . : Supported, Disabled
In-Order Data Delivery . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
Asynchronous Notification . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
Software Settings Preservation . . . . . . . . . : Supported, Enabled
Native Command Queuing (NCQ) . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
Queue Length . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 32

Disk Information
------------------
Disk Family . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Scorpio Blue
Form Factor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 2.5"
Capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 320 GB (320 x 1,000,000,000 bytes)
Number Of Disks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 1
Number Of Heads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 2
Rotational Speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 5400 RPM
Rotation Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 11.11 ms
Average Rotational Latency . . . . . . . . . . . : 5.56 ms
Disk Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Serial-ATA/300
Buffer-Host Max. Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 300 MB/seconds
Buffer Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 8192 KB
Drive Ready Time (Typical) . . . . . . . . . . . : 4 seconds
Average Seek Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 12.0 ms
Track To Track Seek Time . . . . . . . . . . . . : 2.0 ms
Full Stroke Seek Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . : ? ms
Width . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 69.9 mm (2.8 inch)
Depth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 100.2 mm (3.9 inch)
Height . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 9.5 mm (0.4 inch)
Weight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 100 grams (0.2 pounds)
Acoustic (Idle) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 2.4 Bel
Acoustic (Min Performance And Volume) . . . . . : 2.6 Bel
Acoustic (Max Performance And Volume) . . . . . : 2.6 Bel
Required Power For Spinup . . . . . . . . . . . : 500 mA
Power Required (Seek) . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 2.5 W
Power Required (Idle) . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 2.0 W
Power Required (Standby) . . . . . . . . . . . . : 0.3 W
Manufacturer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Western Digital Corporation
Manufacturer Website . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : http://www.westerndigital.com/en/products

S.M.A.R.T.
------------
No. Attribute Thre.. Value Worst Data Status Flags
1 Raw Read Error Rate 51 100 253 000000000000 OK Self Preserving, Error-Rate, Performance, Statistica..
3 Spin Up Time 21 143 136 000000000729 OK Self Preserving, Performance, Statistical, Critical
4 Start/Stop Count 0 100 100 00000000002B OK (Always passing) Self Preserving, Event Count, Statistical
5 Reallocated Sectors Co.. 140 200 200 000000000000 OK Self Preserving, Event Count, Statistical, Critical
7 Seek Error Rate 0 200 200 000000000000 OK (Always passing) Self Preserving, Error-Rate, Performance, Statistical
9 Power On Time Count 0 100 100 0000000000EA OK (Always passing) Self Preserving, Event Count, Statistical
10 Spin Retry Count 0 100 253 000000000000 OK (Always passing) Self Preserving, Event Count, Statistical
11 Drive Calibration Retr.. 0 100 253 000000000000 OK (Always passing) Self Preserving, Event Count, Statistical
12 Drive Power Cycle Count 0 100 100 000000000021 OK (Always passing) Self Preserving, Event Count, Statistical
191 G-Sense Error Rate 0 100 100 000000000000 OK (Always passing) Self Preserving, Event Count, Statistical
192 Power off Retract Cycl.. 0 200 200 00000000001C OK (Always passing) Self Preserving, Event Count, Statistical
193 Load/Unload Cycle Count 0 200 200 000000000019 OK (Always passing) Self Preserving, Event Count, Statistical
194 Disk Temperature 0 115 101 00000000001C OK (Always passing) Self Preserving, Statistical
196 Reallocation Event Count 0 200 200 000000000000 OK (Always passing) Self Preserving, Event Count, Statistical
197 Current Pending Sector.. 0 200 200 000000000000 OK (Always passing) Self Preserving, Event Count, Statistical
198 Off-Line Uncorrectable.. 0 100 253 000000000000 OK (Always passing) Self Preserving, Event Count
199 Ultra ATA CRC Error Co.. 0 200 253 000000000000 OK (Always passing) Self Preserving, Event Count, Statistical
200 Write Error Rate 0 100 253 000000000000 OK (Always passing) Error-Rate

Transfer Rate Information
---------------------------
Total Data Read . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 0 MB, 0 MB since installation (22/10/2013)
Total Data Write . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 0 MB, 0 MB since installation
Average Reads Per Day . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 0.00 MB
Average Writes Per Day . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 0.00 MB
Current Transfer Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 0 KB/s
Maximum Transfer Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 0 KB/s
Current Read Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 0 KB/s
Current Write Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 0 KB/s
Current Disk Activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 0 %

 

[fzabkar]

Security Enabled . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : No
Security Locked . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : No
Security Frozen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Security Counter Expired . . . . . . . . . . . . : No
Security Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : High

HD Sentinel confirms that security is frozen. ISTM that your BIOS (or some software application) may have issued an ATA Security Freeze Lock command to the drive. That said, I wasn't aware that a desktop BIOS would do this. Furthermore, I would have thought that the Security Enabled bit should also be set, but I'm not certain.

Do you have any recollection of setting a password on your drive?

 

[Rossco_]

Security Enabled . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : No
Security Locked . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : No
Security Frozen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Security Counter Expired . . . . . . . . . . . . : No
Security Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : High

HD Sentinel confirms that security is frozen. ISTM that your BIOS (or some software application) may have issued an ATA Security Freeze Lock command to the drive. That said, I wasn't aware that a desktop BIOS would do this. Furthermore, I would have thought that the Security Enabled bit should also be set, but I'm not certain.

Do you have any recollection of setting a password on your drive?

This hard drive was out a notebook, I replaced the harddrive as I was told there was something wrong with this one, it is now plugged in my desktop, the only password I know of on the drive was the windows one.

 

[fzabkar]

Maybe I've misinterpreted the security status. Perhaps there is no password (Security Enabled -- No, Security Locked -- No), but the security status may be Frozen to prevent a rogue application from setting one. That probably makes more sense. Sorry for the red herring.

This then brings us back to the original problem. IIUC, you say that DMDE cannot access sector 0 or any subsequent sectors. Furthermore, your 320GB image file consists entirely of FF bytes (apart from the header information). This would suggest that all 600 million sectors are unreadable. Once again this points to an internal (physical) fault rather than a logical fault. I doubt that there is an easy DIY solution in such a case.

 

[Rossco_]

Maybe I've misinterpreted the security status. Perhaps there is no password (Security Enabled -- No, Security Locked -- No), but the security status may be Frozen to prevent a rogue application from setting one. That probably makes more sense. Sorry for the red herring.

This then brings us back to the original problem. IIUC, you say that DMDE cannot access sector 0 or any subsequent sectors. Furthermore, your 320GB image file consists entirely of FF bytes (apart from the header information). This would suggest that all 600 million sectors are unreadable. Once again this points to an internal (physical) fault rather than a logical fault. I doubt that there is an easy DIY solution in such a case.

Ah no.

I thought we were just making head way with all these tests.
I'm willing to spend some time trying to fix this, is there anything else worth trying?

 

[fzabkar]

The data recovery professionals will use their specialist tools to retrieve the drive's firmware resources from the System Area (SA). Often there will be one or more damaged firmware modules (MODs). If this is the case, and if this is the only problem, they will rewrite these MODs with compatible copies and they will then have access to your data.

There is a tool called "WDR 6.0" or "WDR 3.6" which is floating around the Internet ...

Otherwise there are NazYura's tools, but these are limited to readonly.

http://malthus.zapto.org/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=28&p=826

NazYura's tools require that you configure your SATA controller in BIOS for legacy IDE mode. This is because they look for drives on the old ISA ports.

 

[Rossco_]

The data recovery professionals will use their specialist tools to retrieve the drive's firmware resources from the System Area (SA). Often there will be one or more damaged firmware modules (MODs). If this is the case, and if this is the only problem, they will rewrite these MODs with compatible copies and they will then have access to your data.

There is a tool called "WDR 6.0" or "WDR 3.6" which is floating around the Internet ...

Otherwise there are NazYura's tools, but these are limited to readonly.

http://malthus.zapto.org/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=28&p=826

NazYura's tools require that you configure your SATA controller in BIOS for legacy IDE mode. This is because they look for drives on the old ISA ports.

WDR 6.0 just freezes when I try pull data from it.

Is there not something that I can use to disable to security?

 

[Rossco_]

Is it possibly worth me opening a new thread on how to disable the security?

I've just reread the posts, tell me if I am on the right track.

The HDD seems healthy and there seems to be data on there from the scans not showing 0's

The problem I have is for some reason the security on the HDD is not allowing me to access any of this, there doesn't seem to be a password more so that the fireware has been corrupt and now the security is staying locked.

 

[fzabkar]

I don't think the problem is a password issue. I believe that I misinterpreted the security bits.

AIUI, a drive would normally be vulnerable to a malware attack where the malware could set a password, thereby locking out the user. To prevent this from happening, the BIOS "freezes" the drive's security during the POST. This does not prevent access to the data -- it merely disables those security related ATA commands that could be exploited by the malware. This freeze remains in effect until the drive is powered off and on again.

I can't answer your questions regarding WDR except to say that your drive is a ROYL. Also WDR appears to run best under Windows XP and may not work with later OS-es.

FWIW, some people are trying to get an instructional thread going at HDD Guru:
http://forum.hddguru.com/viewtopic.php?t=27069&p=185526#p185526

I wouldn't be surprised if it is eventually deleted.

As for your statement that "there seems to be data on there from the scans not showing 0's", can you please clarify what you mean? If your 320GB image file consists of nothing other than FF bytes, then it contains no data. An "FF" byte consists of all ones. Do you see anything other than FF if you scroll down the image file with your hex editor?

IIUC, your image file looks like this:

<CIB header info> <FF FF FF ..... 320GB of FF bytes ......... FF FF FF>

Is this correct?

 

[Rossco_]

I don't think the problem is a password issue. I believe that I misinterpreted the security bits.

AIUI, a drive would normally be vulnerable to a malware attack where the malware could set a password, thereby locking out the user. To prevent this from happening, the BIOS "freezes" the drive's security during the POST. This does not prevent access to the data -- it merely disables those security related ATA commands that could be exploited by the malware. This freeze remains in effect until the drive is powered off and on again.

I can't answer your questions regarding WDR except to say that your drive is a ROYL. Also WDR appears to run best under Windows XP and may not work with later OS-es.

FWIW, some people are trying to get an instructional thread going at HDD Guru:
http://forum.hddguru.com/viewtopic.php?t=27069&p=185526#p185526

I wouldn't be surprised if it is eventually deleted.

As for your statement that "there seems to be data on there from the scans not showing 0's", can you please clarify what you mean? If your 320GB image file consists of nothing other than FF bytes, then it contains no data. An "FF" byte consists of all ones. Do you see anything other than FF if you scroll down the image file with your hex editor?

IIUC, your image file looks like this:

<CIB header info> <FF FF FF ..... 320GB of FF bytes ......... FF FF FF>

Is this correct?

The DD File contains only FF, the CIB file has about two lines before it goes to FF.

Is this not because of the security?

 

[fzabkar]

I'm not certain what the problem is, but what is clear is that neither of your image files have any data. The CIB file has a header that identifies the type of file that it is, but that's all.

I don't believe there is a security issue. My initial conclusion was wrong. If the drive were protected by a password, then its security status would be "locked", not merely "frozen".

I don't know what DIY options remain, but you would be wasting your time with the usual data recovery software.

 

[popatim]

The only time i've seen a Security Frozen status was from a drive pulled while the pc was asleep. Replacing the drive and booting back up resolved it not being able to be read. With the laptop working again, Have you tried this drive in it again?

 

[fzabkar]

@Rossco_, I would check whether all the drives in your desktop machine are security freeze locked. If so, then this should prove that your BIOS is responsible. It should also confirm that this is a red herring.

 

[Rossco_]

@Rossco_, I would check whether all the drives in your desktop machine are security freeze locked. If so, then this should prove that your BIOS is responsible. It should also confirm that this is a red herring.

The orignal notebook this drive was in is no longer with me, I replaced the drive and gave the notebook away,

That drive had no problems as I used it for a few months.

 

[Rossco_]

free one is not enough this time. 320G is a lot of stuff. you gotta buy a paid version whatever data recovery software you used. i prefer minitool power data recovery software, and recuva

I am very hesitant to buy such software as I don't want to spend money if its not going to work. None of the free trials I have tried for programs have recovered data, but I believe this to be because of the frozen security?

 

[Rossco_]

The only time i've seen a Security Frozen status was from a drive pulled while the pc was asleep. Replacing the drive and booting back up resolved it not being able to be read. With the laptop working again, Have you tried this drive in it again?

free one is not enough this time. 320G is a lot of stuff. you gotta buy a paid version whatever data recovery software you used. i prefer minitool power data recovery software, and recuva

Sorry for posting agian, but I thought this thread may have gotten a bit old to be solved.

Also we have found the problem to be security, so by highlighting that I was hoping someone who has had/fixed a similar issue would of seen it.

As I said in a previous reply the notebook is no longer with me, but I did try everything I could think of before replacing the drive, when ever I booted the notebook it went to bios then blank screen. Nothing ever happened. - I did however put the notebook to 'sleep' quite alot. If that is of any relevance

 

[fzabkar]

I'm not asking about the laptop drive. I'm asking whether the other drives in your desktop machine are also freeze locked.

 

[Rossco_]

I'm not asking about the laptop drive. I'm asking whether the other drives in your desktop machine are also freeze locked.

I don't believe so when I did the scans on all the HDD's.

But I will confirm this when I get home from work,
Take it as a no though.

 

[Rossco_]

I'm not asking about the laptop drive. I'm asking whether the other drives in your desktop machine are also freeze locked.

-- Physical Disk Information - Disk: #0: WDC WD5000AAKX-001CA0 --

Hard Disk Summary
-------------------
Hard Disk Number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 0
Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : S-ATA Gen3, 6 Gbps
Disk Controller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controller (ATA) [VEN: 8086, DEV: 1C08]
Disk Location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Channel 1, Target 0, Lun 0, Device: 0
Hard Disk Model ID . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : WDC WD5000AAKX-001CA0
Firmware Revision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 15.01H15
Hard Disk Serial Number . . . . . . . . . . . . : WD-WMAYUH462639
Total Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 476937 MB
Power State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Active
Logical Drive(s) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : C: []
Current Temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 29 °C
Power On Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 346 days, 8 hours
Estimated Remaining Lifetime . . . . . . . . . . : more than 1000 days
Health . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : #################### 100 % (Excellent)
Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : #################### 100 % (Excellent)

The hard disk status is PERFECT. Problematic or weak sectors were not found and there are no spin up or data transfer errors.
No actions needed.

ATA Information
-----------------
Hard Disk Cylinders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 969021
Hard Disk Heads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 16
Hard Disk Sectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 63
ATA Revision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : ATA8-ACS
Transport Version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : SATA Rev 2.6
Total Sectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 976773168
Bytes Per Sector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 512
Buffer Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 16384 KB
Multiple Sectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 16
Error Correction Bytes . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 50
Unformatted Capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 476940 MB
Maximum PIO Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 4
Maximum Multiword DMA Mode . . . . . . . . . . . : 2
Maximum UDMA Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 6 Gbps (6)
Active UDMA Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 6 Gbps (5)
Minimum Multiword DMA Transfer Time . . . . . . : 120 ns
Recommended Multiword DMA Transfer Time . . . . : 120 ns
Minimum PIO Transfer Time Without IORDY . . . . : 120 ns
Minimum PIO Transfer Time With IORDY . . . . . . : 120 ns
ATA Control Byte . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Valid
ATA Checksum Value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Valid

Acoustic Management Configuration
-----------------------------------
Acoustic Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
Acoustic Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Disabled
Current Acoustic Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Default (00h)
Recommended Acoustic Level . . . . . . . . . . . : Default (00h)

ATA Features
--------------
Read Ahead Buffer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported, Enabled
DMA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
Ultra DMA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
S.M.A.R.T. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
Power Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
Write Cache . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
Host Protected Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
Advanced Power Management . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
Extended Power Management . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
Power Up In Standby . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
48-Bit LBA Addressing . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
Device Configuration Overlay . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
IORDY Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
Read/Write DMA Queue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
NOP Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
Trusted Computing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
64-Bit World Wide ID . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 0150E04E2903EC72
Streaming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
Media Card Pass Through . . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
General Purpose Logging . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
Error Logging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
CFA Feature Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
CFast Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
Long Physical Sectors (1) . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
Long Logical Sectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
Write-Read-Verify . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
NV Cache Feature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
NV Cache Power Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
NV Cache Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
Free-fall Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
Free-fall Control Sensitivity . . . . . . . . . : Not supported

SSD Features
--------------
Data Set Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
TRIM Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
Deterministic Read After TRIM . . . . . . . . . : Not supported

S.M.A.R.T. Details
--------------------
Off-line Data Collection Status . . . . . . . . : Successfully Completed
Self Test Execution Status . . . . . . . . . . . : Successfully Completed
Total Time To Complete Off-line Data Collection : 8760 seconds
Execute Off-line Immediate . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
Abort/restart Off-line By Host . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
Off-line Read Scanning . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
Short Self-test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
Extended Self-test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
Conveyance Self-test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
Selective Self-Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
Save Data Before/After Power Saving Mode . . . . : Supported
Enable/Disable Attribute Autosave . . . . . . . : Supported
Error Logging Capability . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
Short Self-test Estimated Time . . . . . . . . . : 2 minutes
Extended Self-test Estimated Time . . . . . . . : 89 minutes
Conveyance Self-test Estimated Time . . . . . . : 5 minutes
Last Short Self-test Result . . . . . . . . . . : Never Started
Last Short Self-test Date . . . . . . . . . . . : Never Started
Last Extended Self-test Result . . . . . . . . . : Never Started
Last Extended Self-test Date . . . . . . . . . . : Never Started
Last Conveyance Self-test Result . . . . . . . . : Never Started
Last Conveyance Self-test Date . . . . . . . . . : Never Started

Security Mode
---------------
Security Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
Security Erase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
Security Erase Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 88 minutes
Security Enhanced Erase Feature . . . . . . . . : Supported
Security Enhanced Erase Time . . . . . . . . . . : 88 minutes
Security Enabled . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : No
Security Locked . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : No
Security Frozen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Security Counter Expired . . . . . . . . . . . . : No
Security Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : High

Serial ATA Features
---------------------
S-ATA Compliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
S-ATA I Signaling Speed (1.5 Gps) . . . . . . . : Supported
S-ATA II Signaling Speed (3 Gps) . . . . . . . . : Supported
S-ATA Gen3 Signaling Speed (6 Gps) . . . . . . . : Supported
Receipt Of Power Management Requests From Host . : Supported
PHY Event Counters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
Non-Zero Buffer Offsets In DMA Setup FIS . . . . : Not supported
DMA Setup Auto-Activate Optimization . . . . . . : Supported, Disabled
Device Initiating Interface Power Management . . : Not supported
In-Order Data Delivery . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
Asynchronous Notification . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
Software Settings Preservation . . . . . . . . . : Supported, Enabled
Native Command Queuing (NCQ) . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
Queue Length . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 32

Disk Information
------------------
Disk Family . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Caviar Blue
Form Factor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 3.5"
Capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 500 GB (500 x 1,000,000,000 bytes)
Number Of Disks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 1
Number Of Heads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 2
Rotational Speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 7200 RPM
Rotation Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 8.33 ms
Average Rotational Latency . . . . . . . . . . . : 4.17 ms
Disk Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Serial-ATA/600
Buffer-Host Max. Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 600 MB/seconds
Buffer Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 16384 KB
Drive Ready Time (Typical) . . . . . . . . . . . : ? seconds
Average Seek Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 8.9 ms
Track To Track Seek Time . . . . . . . . . . . . : 2.0 ms
Full Stroke Seek Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 21.0 ms
Width . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 101.6 mm (4.0 inch)
Depth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 147.0 mm (5.8 inch)
Height . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 25.4 mm (1.0 inch)
Weight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 690 grams (1.5 pounds)
Acoustic (Idle) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 2.9 Bel
Acoustic (Min Performance And Volume) . . . . . : 3.0 Bel
Acoustic (Max Performance And Volume) . . . . . : 3.0 Bel
Required Power For Spinup . . . . . . . . . . . : 1,770 mA
Power Required (Seek) . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 6.0 W
Power Required (Idle) . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 5.6 W
Power Required (Standby) . . . . . . . . . . . . : 0.9 W
Manufacturer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Western Digital Corporation
Manufacturer Website . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : http://www.westerndigital.com/en/products

S.M.A.R.T.
------------
No. Attribute Thre.. Value Worst Data Status Flags
1 Raw Read Error Rate 51 200 200 000000000000 OK Self Preserving, Error-Rate, Performance, Statistica..
3 Spin Up Time 21 137 136 000000001014 OK Self Preserving, Performance, Statistical, Critical
4 Start/Stop Count 0 100 100 0000000001FC OK (Always passing) Self Preserving, Event Count, Statistical
5 Reallocated Sectors Co.. 140 200 200 000000000000 OK Self Preserving, Event Count, Statistical, Critical
7 Seek Error Rate 0 100 253 000000000000 OK (Always passing) Self Preserving, Error-Rate, Performance, Statistical
9 Power On Time Count 0 89 89 000000002078 OK (Always passing) Self Preserving, Event Count, Statistical
10 Spin Retry Count 0 100 100 000000000000 OK (Always passing) Self Preserving, Event Count, Statistical
11 Drive Calibration Retr.. 0 100 100 000000000000 OK (Always passing) Self Preserving, Event Count, Statistical
12 Drive Power Cycle Count 0 100 100 0000000001FA OK (Always passing) Self Preserving, Event Count, Statistical
192 Power off Retract Cycl.. 0 200 200 000000000050 OK (Always passing) Self Preserving, Event Count, Statistical
193 Load/Unload Cycle Count 0 200 200 0000000001AB OK (Always passing) Self Preserving, Event Count, Statistical
194 Disk Temperature 0 114 103 00000000001D OK (Always passing) Self Preserving, Statistical
196 Reallocation Event Count 0 200 200 000000000000 OK (Always passing) Self Preserving, Event Count, Statistical
197 Current Pending Sector.. 0 200 200 000000000000 OK (Always passing) Self Preserving, Event Count, Statistical
198 Off-Line Uncorrectable.. 0 200 200 000000000000 OK (Always passing) Self Preserving, Event Count
199 Ultra ATA CRC Error Co.. 0 200 200 000000000000 OK (Always passing) Self Preserving, Event Count, Statistical
200 Write Error Rate 0 200 200 000000000000 OK (Always passing) Error-Rate

Transfer Rate Information
---------------------------
Total Data Read . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 9 MB, 86,999 MB since installation (22/10/2013)
Total Data Write . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 7 MB, 89,948 MB since installation
Average Reads Per Day . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 9,666.56 MB
Average Writes Per Day . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 9,994.22 MB
Current Transfer Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 96 KB/s
Maximum Transfer Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 1967 KB/s
Current Read Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 64 KB/s
Current Write Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 32 KB/s
Current Disk Activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 2 %

 

[Rossco_]

So my main HDD has the security frozen,

So this is not the problem on the 320gb,

Back to square one I guess?

 

[fzabkar]

Yes, the security issue appears to be a red herring. Sorry for introducing it.

Your desktop BIOS appears to be "freeze locking" every drive. A freeze lock still allows access to your data, but it disables those security related commands that could be used by malware to set a password on your drive. A security freeze lock is only active for the current power cycle, and is reset when the drive is powered off and on again.

If I were you, I would join The HDD Oracle forum (http://malthus.zapto.org) and ask your questions there. A fellow by the name of Spildit is usually very helpful. He may at least be able to help you read the firmware modules on your drive to determine if a corrupted module is the root cause of your problems.

 

[Rossco_]

I've posted on the other forum, hoping it will help,

But could we look at this a different way, the HDD always shows up in the BIOS, but not always in Device manager. When it does show in device manager ( Which I do by restarting many times) it is 'unallocated' and I cannot allocate the drive, it also slows my machine.

What would cause this?