Seagate ST3000DM008, Windows 10, msi gd65 z77
this drive is mainly used for back-up, dlna server, hoarding and torrent

Currently:
When booting it delays post by a few minute with code A2 (IDE detect) (but didn't post the times I tried to get into uefi menu) and I can't say for sure if it was properly detected as once it pass A2 it goes to windows boot screen before I have time to see the drive list.
Then windows take about 10 minute to boot.
Once in windows, the drive doesn't show in disk manager.
The drive spins up normally and I can hear occasional head movement. The hdd activity led is constantly lit.
If I hot plug the drive, windows will detect it, the partitions appear in explorer and in disk manager, however it's completely unresponsive, task manager shows 100% active time usage and browsing an other drive is slowed down as well.
Tried a different sata cable, same issue.
Cleaned the contact on the controller board. (heat discoloration/corrosion)

How I got there:
Occasionally, over the course of the last few week while torrenting, file transfer would stop and active time usage of the drive would be at 100%, I could still browse the disk but it was slow, shutting down the torrent client and wait a few minute would solve the issue.
Today, I got the same issue, closing the torrent client and wait didn't seem to solve it this time. So I rebooted then I tried to watch a movie, 30 seconds in, the movie froze and had 100% active time usage, rebooted again and here I am.

Do I have a chance to get the data back on my own?
Would replacing the controller board solve the issue?
Should I let it run and see if it will resolve by itself?
What else can I do?

Thank you for your time.

Hi there


I doubt that. Normally you would be asked to provide a terminal output, but these are locked and even if you managed to get a terminal output you wouldn't be able to issue any commands due to this drive having locked the diagnostic port.


Nope. The PCB is fine.


Judging by the described behavior I'd say your drive is suffering from a weak/degraded head, bad media and some typical for this family of drives firmware issues.
That means that letting the drive run will only get things worse. I strongly advise against it.

If data is important -- do not power up the drive anymore and consult a DR professional.
If data is not important -- bin the drive and move on.
I know it's not the news you want to hear, but...

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Thanks for the reply, any recommendation for a replacement drive or are they all a coin toss nowadays?

I propose HGST Ultrastar (pick the capacity you wish)

_________________
http://www.northwind.gr
SandForce SSD Recovery
Ransomware Reverse Engineering - NoMoreRansom! partners