A question about a TOSHIBA laptop hard disk.

[ibex]

Hello all!

I've lurked around here a bit in the past, mhdd saved 2 or 3 hard disks here, but I haven't seen anything like this before.

The hard disk in question is from a laptop. I got it out and attached it to my desktop machine. It spins up, does not click with that "you're screwed" sound, but the BIOS does not recognize it.

From what I read I have to replace the PCB with an identical one in order to bring the hard disk back to life. Is that necessary? I mean, is there another, poor man's trick which can help me salvage some information from the disk? All I need is the BIOS to recognize it..

Because I don't know what info you need from me, I'll post everything I deem relevant.

TOSHIBA
HDD2H24
MK2555GSX
250GB SATA (LBA 488, 397, 168 Sectors)


Hahahaha, the label on the device reads "Rattle noise is normal."...Funny.

[labtech]

Are you sure it spins (check sound with ear close to the drive or feel vibration)? If it spins without odd sounds, the unlikely that is a pcb issue.

What did the drive's owner say happen?

[ibex]

It spins up, I can hear it very distinctly. The sound it makes isn't like that of my desktop drives, but it is not "clicking" and I don't think it sounds strange.

The owner said that when he powered on the laptop, it just didn't "start". I'm guessing the OS did not start => logical when the HDD isn't detected.

[Vulcan]

The hard disk in question is from a laptop. I got it out and attached it to my desktop machine. It spins up, does not click with that "you're screwed" sound, but the BIOS does not recognize it.

One problem is that the BIOS does not explain exactly how the drive is behaving. Therefore if I was in that situation, and if I was accepting the risk of attempting a DIY diagnosis (i.e. causing further disk accesses), then I would use MHDD (changing BIOS SATA controller setting if needed) to get a better problem definition e.g. does the drive come ready, does it ID correctly in MHDD, how is it behaving abnormally etc. etc. That info may be useful for the pros here. However, based on the drive spinning, the chances of a DIY fix by PCB replacement seems unlikely IMHO.

[ibex]

I would use MHDD (changing BIOS SATA controller setting if needed) to get a better problem definition e.g. does the drive come ready, does it ID correctly in MHDD, how is it behaving abnormally etc. etc.

Well, it didn't come up in MHDD (when MHDD loads). Even when I change the SATA channels (on which other disks show up) it does not show up. I assume there is a way to manually tell MHDD that there is a drive connected to a port?

[loki]

I think Vulcan was meaning to set SATA to compatible or legacy not achi or enhanced in BIOS.

Loki

[Vulcan]

I think Vulcan was meaning to set SATA to compatible or legacy not achi or enhanced in BIOS.

@loki: Thanks, yes exactly

@ibex: Your comment about other disks "showing up" but not this one, is a little unclear to me. Are you saying that other disks "show up" in MHDD but this specific disk does not? If so, where exactly are you looking? Or are you refering to other disks "showing up" in the BIOS disk setup screen? Or something else? (If other disks are shown in MHDD then you must have the BIOS SATA controller setting correct for MHDD, as mentioned by loki).

It's quite possible that this Toshiba disk will not ID in MHDD (again confirming that it's sick), but selecting the correct equivalent PATA port for the SATA port where this disk is attached, should at least display the current register values. It is those which might add a little detail to the otherwise bland "not being shown in BIOS" situation. As I said before, this is just to get a little detail, on what is likely to be a "not DIY" situation IMHO.

[ibex]

So, the SATA port is set to legacy mode (not enchanced, not RAID/AHCI mode, etc).

What I wanted to say is that all of my other hard disks show up in the BIOS (either in the POST screen or when I enter the BIOS menu) and MHHD (when MHDD starts they are listed with their serial numbers or something, so they are easily identifiable and selectable when MHDD prompts you to select a drive).

The Toshiba HD isn't detected on both instances (that is, I don't see its serial number when MHDD prompts me to select a disk).

An update: MHDD tells me the device is stuck in "BUSY" mode.

[Vulcan]

Thanks for the info...

An update: MHDD tells me the device is stuck in "BUSY" mode.

Great, that is exactly the type of info that I was hoping you would get - so that explains why the BIOS won't report the drive (and also why MHDD can't ID it).

Unfortunately for DIY, you're likely hosed IMHO While you could try things like swapping the PCB, even if you find an identical board, you likely need to do surface mount soldering to move a component between the boards, or find a replacement board vendor to do that, and there are other risks with that approach (e.g. what if the drive has currently unidentified media damage - the more you "try things", the greater the chance of further damage). With the drive spinning, this does not look like a typical PCB problem. If it was me, I'd spend the time/money on finding a recommended DR company, if the data is valuable.

Edited to add: I'm sure there is a respected DR pro board member in Bulgaria, but I'm struggling to remember his user name at the moment. Hopefully another member will remember...

[ibex]

Nah, its not THAT important to waste money on it. I am the last resort..

By the way, another update -- I was a bit impatient -- the drive became ready (DREQ was on for a while also). What to do now? After it becomes ready I just issued RX and saw some smiley faces and symbols.

[warnerr]

if possible clone drive immediatly

[Vulcan]

@ibex: I agree completely with warnerr - since you're accepting the risks of DIY, attempt to clone the whole Toshiba disk to a file or another disk, of similar or larger size. Your choice of technique depends on available hardware etc.

Personally I'd use GNU ddrescue on Linux/Unix for cloning as I'm confident using that tool and its options, although it isn't necessarily a "one-click" utility, and it often needs to be used "interactively" (i.e. don't expect remote support). Whatever cloning s/w you use (not Ghost, Acronis etc.!), I'd suggest making sure that it has the ability to stop & restart where it left off, in case your cloning attempt fails part way through, and you need to power-cycle the drive or whatever, to try to get it going again. If you're new to drive cloning, then this isn't really the drive to learn on, in case you make a mistake due to lack of familiarity. Read the docs for whatever s/w you choose first, since all cloning s/w can cause irrecoverable data loss (e.g. if you clone in the wrong direction).

[ibex]

OK, I'll be using CloneZilla.

I'll post back with results.

[Vulcan]

OK, I'll be using CloneZilla.

Hmm, I thought that was for cloning working disks - a quick scan of its website didn't mention any capabilities for working around unreadable sectors, forcing retries, stopping & restarting etc., which are the types of features which would help with cloning faulty disks... I hope it works for you though it isn't what I would recommend (based on my quick look at its website).

[ibex]

Yeah..you might be right.

But I'm back to square 1 - I can't access the drive from anywhere except MHDD. And it's not guaranteed every time that the disk will go out of BUSY mode. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't. But every time I can't get it to ID - it hangs. The only thing I'm able to do from MHDD is to RX it - and it gives me 512 bytes of gibberish, hearts, arrows and smiley faces.

Thank you all for the suggestions! I think I'll stop messing around with it.