Barracuda 7200.11...wont start / not in Bios!!

[corkyblue]

Barracuda 7200.11...

I have a internal Barracuda 7200.11...Firmware SD33 .... Manufac: 11/2008.....and for some reason it refuses to start up when connected via SATA at bootup..

I can hear the drive actually spinning to start with, then it seems to reset itself and try over again, on an endless unsuccessful cycle. it does not want to initiate...however im guessing i would not hear these sounds if it was not spinning up at all?...

this text seems to match my problem:

Reason for the Seagate 7200.11 Failure
This problem is caused by a firmware issue that sets the drive's "event log" pointer to an invalid location. This is detected by the drive during power-up initialisation, and the drive switches to fail-safe mode to prevent further corruption and loss of user data. Once the failure has occurred user data becomes inaccessible.
During power up, if the Event Log count is at 320, or any multiple of (320 + Nx256), and if a particular fill pattern is present in the factory reserved area of the drive, the firmware will incorrectly allow the Event Log pointer to increment past the end of the Event Log data structure.
This error is detected during initialisation and returns an "Assert Failure", which causes the drive to enter it's fail-safe mode. When the drive enters this mode further updates to the event log counter are impossible as the same results occur at each power-cycle.
The problem can only occur if a power cycle initialization occurs when the Event Log is at 320 or a multiple of 256 thereafter. Once a drive is in this state, the user will not be able to resolve/recover existing failed drives.

...but i am not sure...plus i dont know how to get a diagnosis?!?


The drive resides in a clean host system as a back-up drive for data, and has not been dropped or had any form of stress....it just stopped working and disappeared form my computer.

I have contacted Seagate but its an OEM so they will not help me any further....The OEM would not help as i beleive its out of waaranty and even if it was still under, then they would only offer a replacement...which of course, i do not want.....i need the data only - this drive has important stuff and for the record the £600GBP i have been qouted from data recovery is too much...

any help/advice is very much appreciated!!

Thanks in advance,

Corky

[Alexii]

The next step in the diagnostic will be the examination of terminal output. Look through the forum, i do belive there was a thread here somewhere detailing the steps of setting one up and the hardware necessary.

[corkyblue]

The next step in the diagnostic will be the examination of terminal output. Look through the forum, i do belive there was a thread here somewhere detailing the steps of setting one up and the hardware necessary.

Thanks for your reply Alexii - do you mean this procedure??

YouTube - Seagate 1TB BSY error fix 7200.11 Firmware SD15 ST31000340AS

[Alexii]

Not the procedure in its entirety. However to implement the said procedure the author of the video is detailing how to build the terminal adapter. U will need it to see what is happening with UR drive as u power it up. When we get that info we can take the next step.

[Nick_CT]

Here's a link to written instructions. The first part of it will explain how to get the terminal output.

http://www.msfn.org/board/topic/128807- ... 0011-hdds/

[corkyblue]

i take it im going in at a low enough level not to damage my data with this procedure!!?

[Nick_CT]

Before you do anything give us the terminal output.

Don't do anything else, don't run any commands. Performing a solution to a problem that is something different is not going to end well. You can easily brick your drive with incorrect commands in the terminal.

Post the terminal output and them get input from the forum members.

[corkyblue]

Before you do anything give us the terminal output.

Don't do anything else, don't run any commands. Performing a solution to a problem that is something different is not going to end well. You can easily brick your drive with incorrect commands in the terminal.

Post the terminal output and them get input from the forum members.

sorry Nick, im a bit of a newbie here...you might have to babysteps me to how i exactly post the terminal output?!?

[Alexii]

In a link that Nick provided ull find instructions on how to build the terminal adapter. Build it, connect it to ur drive in a way specified in the link , power it on and post here the text that comes out.

[Nick_CT]

That link I gave you gives you instructions on how to fix a particular problem. It involves talking to the drive though the terminal. In order to get a diagnostic log from the drive you need to connect to it's terminal and see what it outputs when it starts up.

The first part of the link shows you how to create the terminal connection, with a piece of hardware and Windows Hyperterminal. Once you have that up and running and connected and you power on the HDD, it will display an output, something like:

Interface task reset
1024k x 16 buffer detected
ALPINE - 1_Disk M.14 01-16-03 11:51

Buzz - Head Mask 0000 - Head Mask 0000 - Head Mask 0000 - Head Mask 0000 - Head

That's what we are after.

[corkyblue]

That link I gave you gives you instructions on how to fix a particular problem. It involves talking to the drive though the terminal. In order to get a diagnostic log from the drive you need to connect to it's terminal and see what it outputs when it starts up.

The first part of the link shows you how to create the terminal connection, with a piece of hardware and Windows Hyperterminal. Once you have that up and running and connected and you power on the HDD, it will display an output, something like:

Interface task reset
1024k x 16 buffer detected
ALPINE - 1_Disk M.14 01-16-03 11:51

Buzz - Head Mask 0000 - Head Mask 0000 - Head Mask 0000 - Head Mask 0000 - Head

That's what we are after.

ok guys, thanks for the details...im going to attempt this tomorrow....i do not have the exact Nokia cable that is listed, but i guess using something very similar will suffice??

one other thing - will i get this info despite the drives reluctance to even start up??

[Nick_CT]

If I remember it has to be a TTL 3.3v connection, but read up on the exact specs.
Yes even if the drive doesn't start properly it will still provide an output. Provided the electronics (PCB) are in working order. You said your drive spins up, so you should get a terminal out. For example the following one is from a drive that has a head failure. The drive isn't functional, but the output provides diagnostic info.

Interface task reset
1024k x 16 buffer detected
ALPINE - 1_Disk M.14 01-16-03 11:51

Buzz - Head Mask 0000 - Head Mask 0000 - Head Mask 0000 - Head Mask 0000 - Head

[corkyblue]

ok thanks again...i'll let you know a progress report tomorrow when i take this on.

thanks,

[Nick_CT]

I'm in South Africa so I got one of these when I first started out. It's a USB to serial adapter. I forget if you want the 5v or 3.3v version though. You'll have to research, or it might be in that link I posted earlier.

http://za.rs-online.com/web/search/sear ... m_vc=av_za

[fzabkar]

Here is an adapter that should work for you.

Prolific USB to TTL Logic Cable (US$10):
http://www.serialstuff.com/products/Pro ... Cable.html

This tutorial may also be of help:
http://sites.google.com/site/seagatefix/

[HDD Spaz]

I'm sure you could get this recovered for a fraction of what you have been quoted. Try PCIMAGE. If you spent time shopping around instead of posting on here you would already have your data.

DIY data recovery only works in a small amount of cases, one wrong command, bye bye data.

[BlackST]

Barracuda 7200.11...

I have a internal Barracuda 7200.11...Firmware SD33 .... Manufac: 11/2008.....and for some reason it refuses to start up when connected via SATA at bootup..

I can hear the drive actually spinning to start with, then it seems to reset itself and try over again, on an endless unsuccessful cycle. it does not want to initiate...however im guessing i would not hear these sounds if it was not spinning up at all?...

this text seems to match my problem:

Reason for the Seagate 7200.11 Failure
This problem is caused by a firmware issue that sets the drive's "event log" pointer to an invalid location. This is detected by the drive during power-up initialisation, and the drive switches to fail-safe mode to prevent further corruption and loss of user data. Once the failure has occurred user data becomes inaccessible.
During power up, if the Event Log count is at 320, or any multiple of (320 + Nx256), and if a particular fill pattern is present in the factory reserved area of the drive, the firmware will incorrectly allow the Event Log pointer to increment past the end of the Event Log data structure.
This error is detected during initialisation and returns an "Assert Failure", which causes the drive to enter it's fail-safe mode. When the drive enters this mode further updates to the event log counter are impossible as the same results occur at each power-cycle.
The problem can only occur if a power cycle initialization occurs when the Event Log is at 320 or a multiple of 256 thereafter. Once a drive is in this state, the user will not be able to resolve/recover existing failed drives.

...but i am not sure...plus i dont know how to get a diagnosis?!?


The drive resides in a clean host system as a back-up drive for data, and has not been dropped or had any form of stress....it just stopped working and disappeared form my computer.

I have contacted Seagate but its an OEM so they will not help me any further....The OEM would not help as i beleive its out of waaranty and even if it was still under, then they would only offer a replacement...which of course, i do not want.....i need the data only - this drive has important stuff and for the record the £600GBP i have been qouted from data recovery is too much...

any help/advice is very much appreciated!!

Thanks in advance,

Corky

Agree 100%. Ask pcimage in your country as 1) it is SD33 and OEM , 2) the fact you say "it seems to reset itself" (= hear variation in speed ? hear heads move ?) makes me think about some possibilities. At least you'll have a complete diagnose performed by someone who knows his stuff. If you were here I would have looked at it NP.

[corkyblue]

thanks so far for feedback guys..i have had some of the necessary equipment arrive ready to take on the task, (EG: Nokia cable, RS232-TTL conv)

i'll definately look up pcimage too of course,

thanks again, will post an update of my situation shortly.

[corkyblue]

ok well I now have a problem though with the Nokia DAta Cable!

basically i bought this one:

http://www.uk-mobilestore.co.uk/product ... CABLE.html

..and after an hour of meticulously stripping back the blue insulating plastic and exposing the circuit board, i now have a question mark as to how the wires run.

there is a Red, an Orange and a Blue wire.

the Blue is soldered to 12 on the circuit board

the red is soldered to 4

the orange is soldered to 6

they then run through the board up to the USB connection end.

how can i tell which is RX/TX and Ground??

corky

[fzabkar]

The numbers on the PCB are probably not standardised. Instead you should refer to the numbers at the Pop-port end:

http://pinouts.ru/CellularPhones-Nokia/ ... nout.shtml

If you have a multimeter, it should be easy to find the ground wire. It will be connected to USB ground.

http://pinouts.ru/Slots/USB_pinout.shtml