help - HD trouble

Taera · #1 January 19th, 2003, 07:43 PM

Hello everyone.
First no, its not my HD and lucky me.
Still - my parents' HD had died recently and i was curious perharps someone knows this particular "symptom" - the HD suddenly stopped whirling inside. Thats what i know - we didnt open the thing, we just listened - it doesnt spin.

The problem is, the HD contained a lot of unbacked information and i reckon we can give it to get the info. BUT - the HD is only half year old, meaning we have a warranty. Its 40gb disk, and we arent in good economical position right now to give the HD to data retrieval AND buy a new one. Any suggestions? Anyone?

Gandalph · #2 January 19th, 2003, 07:50 PM

If this was caused by a bearing , you can sometimes get it to spin up again for a short time (long enough to retrieve data) by putting the HD in a sealed bag (like a ziplok) then put it in the freezer for an hour or so. Afterwards, plug it back in and, if it worked, get your data off of it.

Thermodyne · #3 January 19th, 2003, 08:01 PM

OK, first boot from a floppy or CD to make sure the system works. Then check the connections. Unplug then re-plug the IDE cable and the power connector. Check that the drive has power from the power connector. Next switch the IDE connector to the secondary IDE controller. (Usually the one that has the CD reader.) If all of this is a no go, then try whacking it with a screw driver, don�t laugh, I recovered lots of data by doing just that. If you are going to try the Last resort and whack it, be sure that you have installed the replacement drive w/OS, and are ready to recover the data.

You can get a 40Gig WD drive for 64 bucks from this place:

http://www.upgrade-solution.com/deta...ID=557&add=yes

If you have to send your drive out to recover the data, be ready to pay them well.

mottlee · #4 January 19th, 2003, 09:01 PM

Hmmm...6 months old...waranty?? if so they should be able to transfer data to new one if they can get it running.

Sorry to hear it I had a 4 gig one go on me b4

Thermodyne · #5 January 19th, 2003, 09:05 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by mottlee:
Hmmm...6 months old...waranty?? if so they should be able to transfer data to new one if they can get it running.
Sorry to hear it I had a 4 gig one go on me b4

Never heard of the warrantee covering data, as a rule you send it back and in a few days/weeks they send you a new drive. Unless it is an I##, then you just get another bad drive in return ;(

SamuraiProgrammer · #6 January 19th, 2003, 10:48 PM

Although, I cannot remember any names, I have heard of services that recover data from broken hard drives, if at all possible. These services are not cheap, but some data is worth the expense.

I suspect they will disassemble the hard drive and put it back togehter (in a 'clean' room of course).

As I said... EXPENSIVE. Probably not worth it in this case, but only you can tell.

I have also seen a case where the hard drive controller card was the case. In that instance, leaving the machine on for 10 minutes to allow the circuitry to heat up and then rebooting brought the machine up and we were able to get our data.

Good Luck!

couslee · #7 January 19th, 2003, 10:52 PM

are you sure it is not your power supply going bad?

Wardad · #8 January 20th, 2003, 09:21 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by couslee:
are you sure it is not your power supply going bad?

I'm handy with a voltmeter (DVM). I would rather rely on it for checking power supplies. I check for the correct DC voltage. I also check for AC riding on the DC, which indicates bad filtering (but not a common problem for switching supplies).

But for you other guys....

You gave us a big clue when you wrote that it does not make the spinup whineing noise.

If your floppy and CD spinup and work, then your power supply is not dead.
(I said it is not dead. I did not say it is unquestionably good.)

So try another power connector. I'd be tempted to try the one from the CD. Always play it safe and shut off the system when making changes like that.

Another clue you might test for is heat. A Seagate drive in my work system had your symptoms and it also got HOT. It was so hot it melted the pLastic mounting rails it slid on. It had a frozen main bearing.

mottlee · #9 January 20th, 2003, 09:44 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Thermodyne:

quote:
Originally posted by mottlee:
Hmmm...6 months old...waranty?? if so they should be able to transfer data to new one if they can get it running.
Sorry to hear it I had a 4 gig one go on me b4

Never heard of the warrantee covering data, as a rule you send it back and in a few days/weeks they send you a new drive. Unless it is an I##, then you just get another bad drive in return ;(

This is true, I forgot, I did not have anything on it that I could not reinstall