Samsung HD103UJ help please

[desperatedata]

Hi

I have a Samsung HD103UJ HDD to which was mounted in an external enclosure and used occasionally. The drive is pretty full of mp3 data. The drive no longer works, it is no longer detectable, it powers up, but thats pretty much it. From reading it is something to do with the drives circuit board. The drive is in warranty and an RMA has been raised, however Samsung will just swap the drive and my data lost. It has taken me years to collect this music and I can not deal with having to lose it all. I dont have a lot of money, so really need the help and advice please.
I am housebound disabled with a short life expectancy, very short in fact. To get by day to day I make music mixes, I find it therapeutic and it makes what time i have left a little more bearable. I therefore reach out for the help of Hddguru.
I have tried connecting the drive to another external enclosure as well as direct connect to pc, drive spins up, one click noise then thats all

[falther]

Suggest to contact PCIMAGE (here in the forum) - he is in Peterborrough - and a
very recommendable PRO.

This is definitely not a case for "Do It Yourself" - especially when its very valuable
data for you.

+++

[BlackST]

'one click' is normal - it's heads unlatching. It depends on how it clicks. Was it dropped ?

[pcimage]

Unlikely to be PCB if it's spinning up.

Like BlackST says, "one click" is pretty normal.

If it does sound normal, then it's probably a firmware issue (smart or g-list normall) which is not DIYable.

[desperatedata]

Thanks for the advice, fortunately i have sorted the problem. Later in the day i realised my front usb ports were not recognising usb sticks, so i reinstalled usb drivers, also putting the hard drive in another enclosure and firing up, some issues still existed. Some assigned TV network drives were causing some issues, so disconnected them drives. All sorted, although need another enclosure. Another lesson is I am going to buy another 1tb drive and mirror it so data is safe, any recommends on a reliable drive to purchase?

Also what i would like to ask is the following: I have two internal hdds, dont want to put any more inside machine. I have 4 external drives, in various usb enclosures, all of poor design as power button is on the rear. I would like to have all 4 drives in one small enclosure and be able to switch on and off via individual switches on the front of enclosure. I have hunted about, but all i find is pricey nas enclosure, I dont want or need nas, just want the ability to only have drives running when i need them, via easy accessible switches on one box that fits on my desktop without hoggin too much space, additionally would need good ventilation. Any suggestions or advice greatly appreciated.

[BlackST]

No way unless you make a cabinet, you get a serious power supply and make all the arrangements needed for switching power (ATTENTION : YOU HAVE TO MAKE/BREAK BOTH RAILS AT ONCE). And then you need something for switching the SATA ports or distribute and deliver the SATA signal cable to the machine, also you have to solve the problems related to hot plugging and delayed writing etc. . Good luck.

Had one customer who wanted such a solution, after their Wile E. Coyote-ish attempts with Wile E. Coyote-ish results he had to surrender to a simple solution that is a PC-based NAS with custom design, fanless, software controlled switching on and off of the drives and 24/7 capable. Never saw them again and it is up and running now since some years (NOTE : it is under UPS).

[desperatedata]

ok, thanks for the feedback Blackst, sounds to complicated and hassle

[pcimage]

Great news, glad it worked out OK!!