Seagate 1TB SATA2 dead?

[sergage]

Sorry if I'm doubleing a topic, I've been googling all night, its 6 am here I'm gonna write this and go to bed and check back in the morning .

So, yesterday drive worked fine. I shut down the PC and went to bed. I got up this morning and voilla, my 1TB Seagate SATA2 32MB barracuda, which i bought back in October so it's relatively new, is not being detected by BIOS or Windows at all.

This is what happens when the drive is plugged in: mobo starts (Asus Sucker Extreme [as i like to call it]), takes unusually long to identify all SATA and IDE drives, all drives get listed except the 1TB drive, then windows xp loading screen comes up, also takes too long, but in the end it loads, but still no 1TB drive.

Basically the drive spins up, no unusual sounds thank God, but it's not being detected by anything at all. It's unplugged at the moment. Btw I keep only valuable data on it. I keep my OS on a different drive, an 320GB SATA2 Seagate baracuda, working fine as we speak. It's absolutely crucial and vital that I don't lose any data. All my software, all my work, music, video files, movies, photos, pretty much everything but the OS is on it. I'm under a lot of pressure, I have to work but all my working material is on that drive.

I called the retailer and they said they can replace the drive but they don't/won't recover data.

What do you think is the cause? PCB (fingers crossed)? Is it worth a try buying an identical drive and trying swapping the boards? Will I lose warranty if I do that? It would kinda be unfair if I didn't benefit from warranty at all. But f**k warranty, data is what's important right now! Please, you have to help me , if I lose data I might as well get castrated.

Thanks

[cryoborgofthevenus]

If it's 7200.11, Usual problem with this model.

It's SA problem. Get it to DR Pro near you.

and, no. PCB swap is not a solution to this

[pcimage]

PCB swap will 100% NOT resolve the problem, guaranteed.

Where are you based?

You need pro help on this one.

[thatdellguy]

Welcome friend to the Seagate nightmare. Empty your pockets at the door and assume the position...

[HDD Spaz]

Welcome friend to the Seagate nightmare. Empty your pockets at the door and assume the position...

LOL

[sergage]

Ok. I think it is 7200.11. My other drives are 7200.10 and 7200.8. I've been using only seagate for years and this is my first faulty barracuda .

I'm sorry, what's SA?

So, basically you're saying I should avoid 7200.11 family drives? In that case, what brand or family would you recommend for 1TB drives or larger?

I'm based in Bulgaria, that's eastern Europe. I can take it to pros, I just wanted to see if this was something I could do on my own and thus save time and money .

I found this article http://www.articlesbase.com/data-recovery-articles/right-solution-for-seagate-720011-hard-drive-problems-stays-busy-and-drive-not-ready-708286.html, where it sais a certain HD Doctor utility can fix this. But how can it fix this if the drive isn't being detected? Should a try the drive on a different motherboard?

I scanned the drive, it looks like this:



Thanks

[pcimage]

Unfortunately there is nothing you can do on your own, without the tools.

If you're prepared to send to UK, I can fix for nominal fee.

[sergage]

Thanks everybody for your fix offers, but I'd like to try the local stuff first.

I have few more questions .

1. If I have this drive repaired, is there a chance it will fail again? If yes, should I look for another drive for storing crucial data?

2. If yes, what drive should I buy, what brand and model? What're the most reliable high-capacity drives nowadays?

3. What's SA and what does it take to repair it? I tried googling on it but I find only South Africa, I doubt that's the case .

Thanks.

[pcimage]

1. When drive is repaired and data recovered, send it for RMA anyway.
2. I personally prefer Samsung drives, ideally the 500Gb version (if u need 1Tb then buy two!)
3. SA = Service Area. Requires specialist tools and knowledge to repair.

[shahij]

1. When drive is repaired and data recovered, send it for RMA anyway.
2. I personally prefer Samsung drives, ideally the 500Gb version (if u need 1Tb then buy two!)
3. SA = Service Area. Requires specialist tools and knowledge to repair.

TOTALLY AGREE.

[BlackST]

Just because your data seems important, ensure the person you're giving the drive CAN solve the problem - price is the last thing to consider.

[pepe]

Thanks everybody for your fix offers, but I'd like to try the local stuff first.

I have few more questions .

1. If I have this drive repaired, is there a chance it will fail again? If yes, should I look for another drive for storing crucial data?

Hi,
To store crucial data U should use at least 2 drives, possibly different ones. I mean, u can do 3 things to keep your data safe: backup, backup, backup.

We can also handle your problem if Hungary is not that far away...

regards,
pepe

[sergage]

Thanks everyone. I plan taking it to DR pros for evaluation tomorrow.

I've been dying to ask. Most of you say Seagate are cheap. I dunno about the rest of Europe for example, but here in Bulgaria Seagate are one of the expensive brands. In fact, since you recommended Samsung, I viewed some prices and Samsung turned out to be the cheapest. What's up with this?

[Samo]

Well pepe, here in Bulgaria We are also been able to solve such "complex" problems like LBA 0 and led CC
sergage if you need help contact me to advice you where to go for DR. Basically here are 3 DR companies that can solve this problem
Regards

Last edited by Samo on January 6th, 2009, 15:19, edited 3 times in total.

[pcimage]

Just make sure that the DR Pro you take it to has specific 7200.11 experience as they are quite different to all other Seagate drives.

Hope everything turns out OK.

[hddguy]

Maybe if you do consult a pro you can let us know of your experience

[pcimage]

I can vouch for Samo, he knows what he's on about.

And he's in Sofia.

[Samo]

hddguy I thought this place is not to to measure our "instruments" but to help the other people and when we are in need to ask for help.
Unfortunately the public forum seems not to be the place where we can do that. I.e to share things that are not for publics. So if you want to ask me something be free to contact me, I'll be glad to answer you anything you ask provided that is in my possibility.

[hddguy]

hddguy I thought this place is not to to measure our "instruments" but to help the other people and when we are in need to ask for help.

You are right, it is not a place to 'measure our instruments', but I would rather advise someone to get pro help and end up with a success story, that is the experience I refer to.

Reuniting people with lost data makes me happy, and keeps the money coming in

[sergage]

Ok, assume I restored data and I'm returning the HDD to the retailer. They offer only Seagate and Hitachi. Which brand should I choose? I think every Seagate they offer is a 7200.11 model.

Edit: I think I want to do a RAID 1, with two 750GB drives. But there's one thing that worries me. I have another drive installed, can I make a RAID 1 with two drives while having a third drive (which I don't want in the array) with the same SATA controller? Also, when a drive in an array fails, do I get some kind of a warning? My motherboard is Asus Striker Extreme.

Last edited by sergage on January 7th, 2009, 18:35, edited 1 time in total.