Hello everyone.. I searched and searched, but english speaking websites/services that I found online were way to expencive so I decided to ask here since I know what is the problem with my HD, so no need for diagnostics...
I need an expert who can replace bad reading heads on old Maxtor HD... It has 3 heads on disk and I can't find replacement parts anywhere nor expert who exactly knows how to center the heads without damaging them. It was opened by semi professional, so it's surface is not damaged, and if it is damaged a bit, you can use that spray I heard about or something else, but I don't think there will be need to do so... He tried replacing heads, but he succeeded only with first heads he tried, which didn't last long to pull any relevant data.. They died quickly, I suppose because he didn't know how to put them on disks correctly.. After that, he couldn't make any other heads working with the disk...

Also, it would be nice if that expert would be in europe because of the shipping fees back and forth..

Basicly, I need some data salvaged..
Large, mostly US companies that do immediate online quote are way to expensive for me :/

So, I am looking for an optimum of expertise and price... Not cheap and professional, just optimal!

Contact me in PM if you like with question and description of you/your company...

I would really need help with this!!!!!

Thank you all...

It sounds like there's a good chance that trying to save a little bit of money has already cost you your data.

I question a lot of what you wrote. Semi professional? No need for diagnostics? Surface not damaged? Center the heads?

When sick, most people insist on going to a real doctor. Yet, there's always someone who doesn't trust real Doctors, with their skills and high prices, and will happily put their trust in a Quack. If you're a Simpson's fan, you'll probably know the episode I'm thinking of

HARD DRIVE SPRAY!!!! The amazing new fix all for hard drives with mechanical problems. Spray once, let dry, and start recovering your data. Amazing results!!! Buy your spray today while quanities last!!!

_________________
Buy your friends Toshiba\Hitachi and your enemies Seagate.

I knew I forgot something to add to the list. WTF is Hard Drive Spray?

Based on what I researched in few days, I made my assumptions on specific words:

Semi-pro: because it is the only company in my country that is self proclaimed as a data recovery professionals... Why did I say "Semi" then? because from all the articles I read online, I haven't seen anywhere that someone managed to get one head working, and then couldn't realize why others wouldn't make HD spin again succesfully!? Explanation was "It just won't work any more"...
But I guessed that this "expert" was in lack of the replacement heads and was just too incompetent to know what happened... That is why I seeked another xpert from EU that can try,

Now, I am not expert offcourse, nor do I know that much as you about these things, but I am just stating some things I found online while spending alot of time on research of this subject..

No need for diagnostic: because he replaced heads and hard drive was working again, so I guess problem was found... From his explanation, and explanation of other better experts I found online, they all said that once heads are alligned, they are slowly destroyed because human hand can't align them like the machine.. Might be correct, might be that I misunderstood this part, might be that things/technology changed in the meantime.. But anyway, I think correcting my wrong understandings is more productive and getting me closer to solution then beeing sarcastic..

spray: Since other heads didn't work afterwards, I am guessing, again from what I've read, that he either couldn't align heads correctly with his tweezers(I see that now many special tools for this job have been constructed and sold online), or heads damaged the disks that much so not one head would work correctly again.. Then, few days ago, while researching, I saw some video of data recovery in lab, guy took some spray to cover scratches or pieces of disk that head got stuck to, and it helped... That's why I thought that in case new heads damaged disks, maybe that spray(I thought you will know what that is) will help... Or to use something else, physical damage shouldn't be big if there is any at all...

center heads: align platters, or whatever term is used.. I am not that good with technical english terms ..

I would have given money to a person to finish this for me, up to 1000$ for few files that I MIGHT need in the future, but I just didn't have other options than trying local "experts".. That's why I came here as a final solution to try and find some alternative before giving up!

Well, one of the difficulties you, and others, face getting your data recovered is the mystery and lack of information in the field. There might be blatantly wrong information somewhere, and a DR professional might not be inclined to correct the information. More likely, nobody reading it will have any real knowledge, and can't correct the misinformation (Of course that doesn't happen here ). It's also difficult to pick a professional, as there are many scams, charlatans, and 'Semi Pro' people out there.

A wild guess..... Assuming the Tech got the heads on Ok without too much damage, and did it in at least a clean environment, and it was actually reading data for a bit, it's likely the surface of the platters has damage. When the heads go over this damage, it quickly destroys them. Damage could be microscopic, and/or on the underside of a platter. Unless the 'Pro' had real good equipment and experience, there's no way he can claim with any accuracy that the surface isn't damaged. It might require a few head replacements, and it's best to read around the damage, but data can be recovered in these circumstances.

Also, we discussed this a while ago. General consensus is that it's impossible to fix platter damage. Any simple spray that does that is at least 100 years in the future.

Well, finding out that data can be read around the damaged area is a good and very informative news.. Just how much such procedure would cost, that is the question..
There was no clean environment, just vacuumed living room and a work desk during DR... I don't know but I am guessing it will be pretty hard to detect if there are any platter damages but maybe he was just ignorant in aligning or even finding the correct replacement heads..

Anyway, generally,although it's hard to guess with so few details, is 1000$ enough to get my data recovered from such damage???

Depending on where you went, $1000 would have been more than enough. However, I'm not terribly confident of your chances right now. If it is recoverable, it will likely cost more, as many professionals hate to work on a drive someone else fiddled with, and the first attempt may have left damage. If you're careful, quick, and lucky, you can change heads in a living room. There is no way I'd use the word 'Pro' to describe someone who opens a drive in a living room. Freshly vacuumed probably means more dust is suspended in the air! In your research you probably came across the fact that drives are very clean inside, and need to be opened in a clean environment. When I say 'Clean', I don't mean White Glove clean, I mean microscopically clean. Dust that you can't even see can jam itself between the heads and platter, and create a mess. I open drives in a Laminar Flow Clean Bench, and test it regularly with a Particle Counter.

Hi,

Yes, rchadwick have right.

All the pro hate to work on someone else work.
The first attempt is really important!
If the replaced head goes down again, these are left some damage on the surface.
The pro, who will work on it, need to use, and drop to trash more headstack, and need to spend a lot of hours on the drive side during the cloning process.....

Anyway depending on the actual damage, i can take a look to the drive in my lab.
I think, there is still some chance...

I have worked on one maxtor drive in the past, what needs to replace 10 times the headstack!
And still 95% recoverable.

Regards,
Janos

chances of a recovery is very slim as the information possible been damaged for good.

Agreed a lot !