Steps to diagnose a 'dead' Seagate 7200.10 ?

[typicallucas]

Obviously I am not a HDD Guru, I am merely an enduser seeking enough knowledge to have the proper repairs performed on my HDD. The guy at the computer shop was very dismissive and said I would have to send the drive to a laboratory for recovery and it would cost a few thousand dollars. This isn't acceptable to me since he didn't even look inside the computer (iMac)...

I am *not* expecting to become a professional for this one drive. Nor will I attempt to open the HDD in my home.

This drive seems to have died and I have no usable back-up. I'm kicking myself now... but I need to try to recover this data... if it is going to cost $1,000+ USD I am going to have to wait until I can save that money. But in the meantime I would like to diagnose the malfunction or at least eliminate some possibilities.

Can anyone give me a link to a walkthrough on diagnosis? I searched for such a thing on this forum and the one link that appeared to be relevant was broken...

The only information I have on the status of the drive is that it spins-and-clicks over and over.

edit* - Thank you in advance. Even if your only advice is to pay a pro to diagnose it! Lucas

Attachments

[HDD Spaz]

It would help if you describe in detail what you was doing when it failed, what happened to it, what exactly is the drive doing when powered eg spinning, buzzing, clicking, normal sounds or completely dead. You will need to use your ears.

[jono-ats]

It could be a firmware failure or bad head(s) / damaged media.

You can't diagnose the FW problem without special gear. That same gear will also indicate if the heads have failed or not.

If you need & value your data, I wouldn't experiment with this drive.

Jono

[msurgeon]

The only information I have on the status of the drive is that it spins-and-clicks over and over.

Lucas

The majority of the time this symptom is caused by bad heads and/or damaged media surfaces. Unfortunately for you, it will have to be looked at by a pro.

[jeffjeff]

record the sound it is making for a few min and post it here.

[typicallucas]

record the sound it is making for a few min and post it here.

Excellent idea. Here is a recording of about 30 seconds or so. The sound doesn't seem to change over time so I thought it prudent to make a shorter recording.

http://www.kellnerpm.com/seagatesound.mp3

[typicallucas]

It would help if you describe in detail what you was doing when it failed, what happened to it, what exactly is the drive doing when powered eg spinning, buzzing, clicking, normal sounds or completely dead. You will need to use your ears.

I don't know what the computer was doing when it failed... It just wouldn't start up one morning...

Last edited by typicallucas on December 17th, 2009, 16:50, edited 1 time in total.

[harddrivespecialist]

It didn't die while the computer was on. It just wouldn't start up one day...

Elaborate please...

It is impossible to determine a problem just by saying it wouldn't start one day. Its a same as if someone would say "My car wouldn't start, what is wrong with it?"

Describe every possible detail..., such as: It spins up, makes clicking noise, makes beeping sounds and etc.

[typicallucas]

I know, I apologize. I posted a recording of the sound it makes but it needs to be approved by a moderator before you can view it.

I could try to trick the forum into posting the link by adding spaces or changing the period to (dot) but being new to the forum I don't want to try any funny stuff and anger the forum gods.

Last edited by typicallucas on December 17th, 2009, 17:00, edited 1 time in total.

[typicallucas]

Here are more details, but they probably have more to do with OSX than the condition of the HDD.

After about 3 minutes the HDD stops making the clicking noise and on the screen of the computer it shows a folder which shows a question mark and an OSX logo.

About 5 minutes after that the case fans start spinning at what sounds like their maximum speed.

edit - 10 minutes later the fans are still going like hell. I'm going to turn it off because it sounds like a jet is taking off in my room...

Last edited by typicallucas on December 17th, 2009, 17:08, edited 1 time in total.

[typicallucas]

Ok, the forum wouldn't let me attach an mp3, but it would allow me to post it as a .zip archive.

Attachments

seagatesound.zip

(482.53 KiB) Downloaded 289 times

[zebong]

heads or CE LOG error

or can not read servo

[typicallucas]

heads or CE LOG error

or can not read servo

Is this something I can fix with a quick slap on the side of the case? Kidding!

[zebong]

no,

you will need expensive tools for that.

[typicallucas]

Any other ideas? or does Zebong pretty much have it covered? And is there a way I can eliminate any of those possibilities so I know better what the repair is going to entail?

[drc]

No, its pretty much time to send it in.

[networkpc3000]

250Gb $1000......seems so much. you can find out more reasonable

[pepe]

It depends on the condition of the platter. If it is badly scorched, $1000+ is not overpriced.
But of course a precise diagnosis done by an expert is highly recommended. Find someone on the forum in your area.
I think Jono might be fairly close, a few bucks, and the drive is there...
U might ask thatdellguy, I am quite sure he is also near.

pepe

[harddrivespecialist]

thatdellguy is near LA and he is recommended to handle this case.