Why this failure pattern in a Maxtor 2B020H1

[jono-ats]

I'm working on one of these thin Maxtor 20 GB drives.

It would not come ready without loading a loader. There were some firmware problems and bad modules. I could not fix any of the modules or completely clear SMART.

So I prepared a donor for hot swap, and was able to read about 1.5 GB of data from the end of the drive with virtually no errors (imaging in reverse). But thereafter, I could barely read anything else.

I performed a platter (head) swap into a donor, and was able to repair the bad modules. I got the drive to boot on its own and read passport. I started imaging again and was able to read more, but still had major problems.

I am able to read bands of data, but there are also large bands which resist reading anything useful. The bad areas are interspersed with the good ones throughout the balance of the drive. There is only one head . . .

My strategy is to read all I can, and then perhaps try another head swap.

Can anyone explain why I'm seeing this odd failure pattern? Or recommend a different approach?

Thanks in advance,

Jono

[N.C.]

Hi,

My experience:
1. Maxtor in this age seriously have bad (vibrating) spindle.
The vibrating drive can get ready only with loader. (Because by ROM the drive is more dumy and can't follow the dancing tracks at all.)
2. Always clean the platter when you removing from the drive.
There are more reasons to do that.
3. after you move the platter to another HDA (after cleaning), try to repair the modules, reallocate the permanently bad UBA-s, and after you finished, get the loader, launch the drive, and read the LBAs where you can.
If you finished, but the result is not enough, get the platter, clean it again, (+the head) assemble again, and try again the imaging.

Janos