Hi everyone,

I have an old Maxtor Fireball 3 40 GB hard drive that the bios detects as Maxtor ARES C64K. Can someone please tell how I can recover the data from this drive?

Most likely it is a firmware issue. Identify and replace or fix bad modules.

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I thought it was a firmware issue too, but I have no idea how to fix it. I read about PC3000 and hdd firmware repairer pro from Salvation Data, but that solution is cost prohibitive and it is difficult to come by here.

I thought someone in this forum would provide me with a freeware solution. Any suggestions would be most appreciated.

Thank you.

There is no freeware solution.

But if it is a simple firmware issue (note : the drive is rather old so maybe there can be also a physical problem too) I think you can have the drive fixed and data copied by a pro near you at a low / decent price.

Salvationdata used to do a freeware fix for D541X (Athena) drives as I recall, but not ARES C64K.

It's probably a firmware issues (most common in this drive) and as BlackST says, should not be too expensive.

But if you're not prepared to spend a bean, then I'm afraid you're out of luck on this one.

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Moreover the SD software Sean was talking about was a "freeware" fix for Athena DSP not for Poker and assuming the problem was the "most common one" otherwise it doesn't work.

Yep, as I remember it only fixed "corrupt G-list" problem, and nothing else.

It's been several years since I even looked at any SD stuff to be honest

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Data recovery is practically unknown in this part of the world hence there will be no low/decent price for data recovery or hdd repairing.

If I were to fix it myself, how can I do it in the most cost effective way?

Thanks.

No way as you need proper diagnose , the necessary know how and a hw tool. Unless you want to buy a tool - the cheapest LEGIT commercial tool is about 500 dollars, assuming you know how to work with it. If you can ship the drive to Indonesia, India, China there are valuable members of this forum that can help. Or what is the most convenient / nearest country to ship to?
P.s. Do not re-use the drive as it has reached end of life.

This is not true. I know at least one company in Malaysia that has been in this business for about 10 years.

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www.datarecoveryne.com

Yes, there are companies..1 +

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