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 Post subject: re: Drive not getting power
PostPosted: June 1st, 2008, 16:08 
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Joined: June 1st, 2008, 15:28
Posts: 6
I'm sure you guys have all heard this a million times before. But I wanted to post anyway to be certain. It's good to get a second opinion.

I have a problem with a 300 gig Maxtor drive which I've pulled out of my system in order to use as a backup disk in an external enclosure. It is being replaced by a 500 gig Seagate drive, both of which are secondary drives to a 250 gig maxtor which is my main system drive(hence why I am able to write this post). Anyway, the 300 gig drive has never had a problem until now. I popped it into the enclosure and fired it up. Nothing. No lights, no spinning sound. It's dead. At first, I figured it was a bad enclosure until I put the 300 gig drive back into the main system and turned it on. Not only did it not start up, but the PSU refused to power the entire system up at all. Well, there's nothing wrong with the PSU. It starts the system up fine when I unplug the 300 gig drive. I even popped my main 250 gig drive into the enclosure to see if it was the enclosure that was screwed, and it powered up fine.

So the problem is obviously the 300 gig hard disk. Now my question is, what exactly is the problem? It's obviously a big enough problem that my entire system refuses to power up when the disk is plugged in. I've had disks go bad before, and have still been able to power up on them. So this is baffling.

My only experience with hard disk failures involves physical problems with the disk platters or the motor. These are problems which can be diagnosed by scanning the disk or listening for the dreaded click of death. I've never dealt with a drive that doesn't appear to be getting any power at all. From your collective experience, would you say it's a PCB issue or something far worse? Upon initial inspection, the pcb does not appear to be damaged in any way. But that doesn't mean anything.

Any thoughts or opinions on this? Thanks in advance for your time.


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 Post subject: Re: re: Drive not getting power
PostPosted: June 1st, 2008, 17:38 
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Joined: June 8th, 2006, 19:44
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Location: Atlanta, GA
There is a small protection device on the supply line of the drive's (like a Zener) that has probably shorted out. Typically, you can simple remove it and the drive will spin up, etc.

You'll want to source and install a replacement device to get the same protection.

Power supplies for external hard drives are often pretty crappy - they blow up drives with overvoltage quite often . . .

Jon

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 Post subject: Re: re: Drive not getting power
PostPosted: June 1st, 2008, 20:37 
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Joined: June 1st, 2008, 15:28
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jono-ats wrote:
Power supplies for external hard drives are often pretty crappy - they blow up drives with overvoltage quite often . . .



The drive that will not power up is an internal model(Maxtor 6V300F0), not external. The issue persists regardless of whether I install it in my main system or an external enclosure(which is a Vantec NexStar-CX). Thanks for your time.


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 Post subject: Re: re: Drive not getting power
PostPosted: June 1st, 2008, 20:37 
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Joined: December 23rd, 2006, 16:08
Posts: 935
Location: NJ
Silly question... Did you either remove, or install the drive while there was power? If not, it was likely the PS for the external enclosure. Jon is likely right.


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 Post subject: Re: re: Drive not getting power
PostPosted: June 1st, 2008, 21:12 
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Joined: June 1st, 2008, 15:28
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rchadwick wrote:
Silly question... Did you either remove, or install the drive while there was power? If not, it was likely the PS for the external enclosure. Jon is likely right.



No, I made sure the enclosure was switched off before I hooked the drive in. In the end though, the drive won't fire up even if I put it back into my main computer chassis, so if the enclosure power supply did in fact cause the problem, the damage is already done. Mind you, circuit design/engineering is not my area of expertise(I'm more of a software guy), so it is unlikely I'll be able to go digging around with a circuit diagram and soldering iron. Swapping the entire board on the other hand, is totally doable. I was just wondering if the pcb would be the likely point of failure, based on past experience of other posters here. If the problem is likely to have gone much deeper, affecting the internal components for example, then I'll probably have to chuck the drive and move on.

Thanks for the reply.


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 Post subject: Re: re: Drive not getting power
PostPosted: June 1st, 2008, 23:10 
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Joined: December 23rd, 2006, 16:08
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Location: NJ
Likely just the TVS, so if you're afraid of soldering, a board swap might work. However, be aware there is no possible way any of us can tell from this end if it's more than the TVS, and a board swap might not work either. Do you need the data, or just want to return the drive to service?


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 Post subject: Re: re: Drive not getting power
PostPosted: June 1st, 2008, 23:50 
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Joined: June 1st, 2008, 15:28
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rchadwick wrote:
However, be aware there is no possible way any of us can tell from this end if it's more than the TVS, and a board swap might not work either.


I figure it's a gamble either way, seeing that I don't have any diagnostic equipment that can determine the problem with any certainty. But it's the best shot I have at this point. I'd definitely prefer not to have to open the disk up to replace any internal parts. My operating environment is clean, but not that clean.

rchadwick wrote:
Do you need the data, or just want to return the drive to service?


I'd prefer to return it to service, but it's not critical. Recovering the data is more important.
I suppose if the damage does not extend beyond the pcb, it would be possible to return the disk to service full-time. But I don't know if I'd feel comfortable with that. A quick and dirty fix for getting the data off the drive seems more practical at this point.

Just out of morbid curiosity though. What exactly could I have expected if I were to yank the disk out while the power was running? Ehh, I've heard horror stories but never actually seen anyone do it. I can't afford to waste hard disks like that. I also don't have a fire extinguisher handy. :P


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 Post subject: Re: re: Drive not getting power
PostPosted: June 2nd, 2008, 0:11 
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Joined: December 23rd, 2006, 16:08
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Location: NJ
Well, here comes the standard advice... If the data is truly important to you, perhaps you should consider taking it to a professional. As for returning it to service, Personally, I'd never trust a drive that doesn't have the original PCB. At least in my shop, that kind of thing is done only on a temporary basis to recover data. If you're the kind of person who has data more valuable than the drive it's on, it would be foolish to try and use it. If you just replaced the TVS, the drive might still be safely usable.

As for hooking/unhooking a drive while powered, you might see sparks and smoke, especially if it's plugged in backwards. You might see nothing. You might also blow the TVS.


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 Post subject: Re: re: Drive not getting power
PostPosted: June 2nd, 2008, 9:43 
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Joined: June 1st, 2008, 15:28
Posts: 6
Thanks for the replies. I do have one last question for you. If I were to find a matching drive with the same pcb and use the board from the new drive to power up the damaged drive in order to remove the data, would it be possible to return the pcb to the brand new drive and use it without any sort of issues? Or is there a possible issue with the smart technology mapping any bad sectors from the damaged drive and causing problems after it has been returned to its original drive?


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 Post subject: Re: re: Drive not getting power
PostPosted: June 2nd, 2008, 10:07 
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Joined: December 23rd, 2006, 16:08
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Location: NJ
That's probably goin got be fine.


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 Post subject: Re: re: Drive not getting power
PostPosted: June 2nd, 2008, 13:04 
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Joined: June 1st, 2008, 15:28
Posts: 6
It looks like I'll have to find a board. It appears that no one in the area stocks Maxtor disks anymore(did they get acquired and dissolved or something?). For what it's worth, I took a closer look at the board and discovered that one of the pieces is loose. For the curious-minded out there, I'll toss in a picture. I know you've given me all the practical advice you can at this point, so the picture is just for the heck of it. I'd be curious to know what that part is though.

Cheers


Attachments:
File comment: The white cap and part of the black surrounding bracket has come loose
pcbcrop.jpg
pcbcrop.jpg [ 256.3 KiB | Viewed 8046 times ]
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 Post subject: Re: re: Drive not getting power
PostPosted: June 2nd, 2008, 14:28 
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Joined: December 27th, 2006, 10:15
Posts: 1852
Location: Belgium
Hi Mauser,

Thats a small self-induction used to make an aditional power-supply on the board.

Dobre

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