labtech wrote:
It is most likely an internal read-write head problem, or maybe just firmware.
Many reputable labs offer a free diagnosis, so there is no risk to you, other than shipping let's say.
Firmware code is CC9F btw..
Do hard drives commonly get "bricked" involving firmware during power outages? Figured that would only happen in the event of a failed upgrade or something. I suppose swapping the pcb would be out of the question then, seems they would be transferring the bad firmware to the new board? Or would it not even transfer correctly and give an error I wonder.
It might actually have died beforehand and just a coincidence about the power outage, but I immediately noticed that my PC's BIOS would hang at startup right afterwords when the power came back on recently. Come to think of it if I remember right I first noticed the hang issue when someone flipped the breakers on and off before that even happened too. Its been a few months.
I also deleted about 6-700 GB of data last time I was able to access it. I feel like that alone could have caused it to wear out faster by having to move the head around the platter/s more?
Suppose my next question would be about reputable labs.. Just came to the forum so I will do some more research. Seagate themselves looks like they charge a 50$ assessment and then a $550 flat fee, but I obviously don't trust that company with my data now
There's a few posts here about the freeplay drives, some good some bad. I do know that the drive has never been dropped and can hear it spin up and parts are moving for a few seconds like its trying to read. And it is somewhat old now though, and the more I research the less likely the PCB swap sounds like it would work.