Not just any not detected problem.

I suspect the drive is on the verge of a catastrophic failure, and was about to pull everything off it when it gave me the classic disk-not-formatted error. I shutdown immediately and pulled it out. Yesterday I bought Recover My Files software to try to uh.. recover my files. However, although the disk is detected in Award BIOS (albeit showing 100% free space but I'm dead sure the data's still there and has not been overwritten), it does not show up in either Explorer, Device Manager or Disk Management. Also tried Knoppix on LiveCD to run DDrescue or TestDisk but not detected either.

[At this point I thought of reformatting the drive to make XP recognize it since the software can recover files from a lost partition.]

But realized couldn't since it wasn't even showing up in Disk Management (unformatted disks can be detected and formatted from there). Neither did my faulty drive show up in Windows XP Setup.

I'm quite sure the drive is not suffering from any mechanical failure (yet). It's just that for now I have no idea how to get the stuff off it. There is the occasional clicking sound as well in about 45-minute intervals (hence the trying-to-backup).

Would prefer a quick reply as I need the data quick. Posted in another forum but response was disappointing - disgusting nerds, the whole bunch of them.

Cheerio,
Nicholas.

Post Drive Info. Brand, model n how its detected in BIOS...
Scan using MHDD if sectors could be read.
If clicking sound, never attempt any task, meet to pro directly.

_________________
__________
There is no substitute for education and experience
THANK YOU
SHAHI
shahi.mahbub@gmail.com

Is it recognised properly in the BIOS (i.e. Proper model number and capacity)?

Sean

_________________
PC Image Data Recovery
http://www.pcimage.co.uk

New!! HDD-PCB.COM for all your PCB and donor HDD requirements!

DiamondMax Plus 9 6Y080L0130413 IDE/80GB. No OS. Secondary storage. Award BIOS reports correct drive model, but displays an empty capacity when the drive is supposed to be nearly full.

Edit- no clicking sound either, threw up a not-formatted error and left it alone until now.

Cheerio,
Nicholas.

Its SA if capacity displays 0. No end user solution.

_________________
__________
There is no substitute for education and experience
THANK YOU
SHAHI
shahi.mahbub@gmail.com

SA?

No, capacity is described as 80GB free.

Ok, scan with MHDD few sectors n post report

_________________
__________
There is no substitute for education and experience
THANK YOU
SHAHI
shahi.mahbub@gmail.com

MHDD? Please elaborate on procedure? Can get it done and post results immediately.

hello,
you can find out it here.
http://hddguru.com/content/en/software/2005.10.02-MHDD/

_________________
data recovery service[/b]

sa aka service area of the drive is corrupted or damaged.

The drive is being detected now as MAXTOR CALYPSO in BIOS with 0MB capacity despite shahij's attempts to help me last night, albeit much appreciated.

It turns out that the reason why it's being detected as CALYPSO is because of a corrupted firmware (how it got corrupted while sitting in a corner of my room I don't know).
References:
http://www.dataclinic.co.uk/bios-codes- ... d-disk.htm

Right now, given the model and serial number, can anyone give advice on how to flash the correct firmware to the hard disk and thereafter which recovery efforts can be continued?

edit-
As of now the machine hangs right after BIOS detects all drives correctly (with the exception of that CALYPSO crap). Can only boot into Knoppix using LiveCD.

Cheerio,
Nicholas.

Update: Computer won't boot, even after BIOS reset and removing all IDE/SATA devices. Has this turned into a motherboard problem as well?

Boots fine into Knoppix off LiveCD after starting with bootable pen disk plugged in. As it is, I still want to know how to properly flash firmware to faulty hard drive.

Cheerio,
Nicholas.

Flash? It's not a cell phone or mp3 player.

I have applied modified firmware to region-locked DVD drives before. So whatever that process is called, I just want to know where to find the firmware for my particular drive and procedures for applying it.

The 'Corrupted Firmware' you found mention to is the SA. As BlackST referred to, it's not fixable without expensive tools. It's not like you can just download a patch from Seagate and flash the firmware. There are relatively cheap tools available (Salvation), but they likely cost as much as the help of a Professional, and don't come with the knowledge or experience. When the solution is within reach, I'm happy to tell someone. This isn't one of those times, and the bad news is that it will cost money to retrieve the data.

So, it isn't possible to apply new firmware to hard drives like any other device?
Oh well, since you say so, then I guess it can't be helped.

Thanks to all,
Nicholas.

It's not like flashing a DVD either. Also, to save another question, and some of your time, fixing the SA requires a hardware/software combination. You won't find some cracked program that will magically fix your drive.

Nono, I wasn't thinking about that. But thanks for the advice.

If you need the data quick you have no choice but to spend some money.