Broken WD5000BEVT

[notfound]

I have a broken Western Digital WD5000BEVT 2.5" 500 GB drive. My notebook's BIOS does not see it anymore (reports no HDD at all, although on some rare occasions it reports something like "0 MB" instead), right after switching on the notebook it makes 10 scratching-like noises (please see the Youtube video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHb-BlYCQAc, although on this vid the "grouping" of noises is a little bit different, as this time I have tried to connect the disk through USB port). At the end the computer reports "Operating System Not Found".

It started happening right after force-restarting my computer - I have installed some system updates some time before, everything worked perfectly, finally (after several hours) decided to restart the computer, but the shutdown process did not work as it should and the machine kind of hang up in the middle with blank black screen, so I switched it off completely holding the power button, and when I tried to start it up again this HDD problem appeared.

That could be the reason, or could be not. The other reason could be that that machine tended to overheat - nVidia card temp could go up to over 90°C on the highest performance level (now it's running on forced level 0, with extra cooler underneath, and keeps around 50°C, much better), so I guess the disk was getting pretty hot too (now it's around 37°C).

Anyway, I took the drive to pros and just got a quotation today for over 1,200 € - thanks, but no thanks. I'm definitely not that desperate. I can live without that data.

Still though, I would like to try to recover at least part of it if possible, and now considering playing with it in my home "laboratory" (kidding here of course, no laboratory other than my desk here). Unless I find by a stroke of luck someone around here (I live in Paris, France) who could do something with my drive for a fraction of the cost mentioned above (and by "something" I mean make it better, not worse) - I'm open to offers!

Assuming though that I won't find such a person, what would you advise me to start with? Have read some info about freezing (probably don't apply in my case), changing the PCB (which I'm considering as a first step), or.... well, would appreciate any thoughts!

(And yes, I realize perfectly well that not having any such previous experience I would probably make things worse rather than better, but hey... as I said, I can live without that data, actually I have already mostly come to term with the loss. Also, I have already been "to the pros", thank you very much.)

Thanks a lot in advance for any suggestions!

[pcimage]

Sounds like one of the following:

1. Motor seized
2. Stiction (heads stuck to platter) or
3. Heads mashed into head ramp

€1200 is a ridiculously high quote for such a problem, at least 2 or 3x what it should realistically be IMHO.

Do NOT try "percussive maintenance" as some people might suggest.

[labtech]

Also, do not try freezing.

Unlikely it is a PCB issue, so do not waste your euros solely on a PCB.

[laptokowiec]

Sounds like one of the following:

1. Motor seized
2. Stiction (heads stuck to platter) or
3. Heads mashed into head ramp

€1200 is a ridiculously high quote for such a problem, at least 2 or 3x what it should realistically be IMHO.

Do NOT try "percussive maintenance" as some people might suggest.

Will you recover from seized motor for 400€ ?
Doubt it.

[northwind]

I agree -- €400 for seized motor is not realistic. On the other hand, it is quite rare for these drives to have there motor seized...

My vote for stiction, and yes in that case €1200 is ridiculous (assuming no media damage)

[loki]

+1 for stiiction

[pcimage]

Sounds like one of the following:

1. Motor seized
2. Stiction (heads stuck to platter) or
3. Heads mashed into head ramp

€1200 is a ridiculously high quote for such a problem, at least 2 or 3x what it should realistically be IMHO.

Do NOT try "percussive maintenance" as some people might suggest.

Will you recover from seized motor for 400€ ?
Doubt it.

No, but for €600 I would. Hence why I said 2 OR 3x

But seizure is very rare in this model.

[northwind]

No, but for €600 I would.

That can still be very cheap in my humble opinion.

[notfound]

Fantastic! Thanks a lot for your replies, you're awesome!

So, summing it all up quickly - no point in trying to replace PCB, probably not a motor seizure either, most probably - based on your opinions so far - the stiction. Which actually is great (relatively), as from what I've read it sounds to be the easiest to fix, doesn't it?

Then, if this is the case I'm faced with few options:
- either try that "percussive maintenance" - as I understand this stands for giving the drive a good whack on the side to unstick the heads, and have been already discouraged in this thread, so I'm rather not going to try it,
- here they're talking about "quickly and abruptly, twist the drive on a horizontal plain relative to the media" - it kind of makes sense, but are there any real chances of success with this method?
- or open the drive and try to unstick the heads manually, which is going to be the "most fun" option (but seems to be the one to try) - so any advice and/or recommendations on tutorials or videos how to do it in the safest possible way (considering home conditions) would be highly appreciated!

Thanks again for everything!

[notfound]

Awww, just read this cute tutorial on how to fix a hard disk yourself:

It's really not too difficult to fix your own hard drive, if the problem is a head crash, or the infamous Seagate "stiction" problem, if you know what to do. You will require #4/0 steel wool, Varsol, WD-40, a few hand tools, and about 45 minutes. First, you need a clean room, so make sure the garage door is closed before you begin. Move those old lawnmower parts off the bench. Disassemble the sealed unit and carefully wash all parts with Varsol. Bend the read/write heads out of the way and then disassemble the platter stack. VERY CAREFULLY buff the platter surfaces with the #4/0 steel wool. This will remove any existing data, level out any surface defects, and help to redistribute the magnetic media and fill in those pesky "bad sectors" that most drives have. Reassemble the platter stack, and using a .015" feeler gauge, bend the read/write head back to the platter surface, using the feeler gauge to set the gap. This is a slightly higher gap than the factory uses, but it reduces the chance of head collisions with any flotsam you neglected to remove. Give the head and platters a good shot of WD-40 and reassemble the unit. If your drive has a filter, replace it with a clean section of gauze pad. All that's left is to low level and DOS format the drive, and you're back in business.

Perhaps I should try it if everything else fails?

[pcimage]

No, but for €600 I would.

That can still be very cheap in my humble opinion.

Who are you calling cheap?

Seriously, these are one of the "easier" drives to platter swap, so €600 is just about achievable IMHO. Unless there is platter damage of course, or mashed heads into the mix!

But it is still very rare for motor seizure on these.

Just my opinion

[Nick_CT]

I've had LOADS of these with stiction. Only ever one which was seized. It had been driven over by a car...twice...so you can't really blame it on the drive.

[northwind]

That can still be very cheap in my humble opinion.

Who are you calling cheap?

You know i said it with the positive meaning of the word

[northwind]

Awww, just read this cute tutorial on how to fix a hard disk yourself:

This is a slightly higher gap than the factory uses, but it reduces the chance of head collisions with any flotsam you neglected to remove.

Speaking of flotsam, listening to the right band can help you recover your data more safely

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BA2ansrPTjA

[notfound]

Guys, guys, seriously now please - that "how to fix a hard disk yourself" was to un-gloom the mood a bit, but the main question(s) were in my previous post in this thread - and here I would appreciate your expertise even more please!

[northwind]

No offense mate, but the two last posts of yours are quite similar to each other.

[loki]

Seriously notfound,
you've had a quote for €1200 & then pcimage said he should be able to do it for €600 as long as there is no other damage, take his offer its half the price & i doubt you will get a better offer. But that depends on what your data worth to you?
Sorry to say this but you dont have the knowledge, skill set or equipment to do this yourself. I'm not trying to put you down in any way but you should be looking at it from the point of view of what is the most successful way of getting the data back. Your DIY chances of success is most likely less than 5%

Just out of curiousity what price do you think your data is worth?

Loki

[notfound]

Thanks loki, I appreciate your answer! You are obviously right, and that's exactly my point too, nota bene already mentioned in my initial post - I realize perfectly well I don't have the knowledge, skills or equipment, and that's why I tried the pros at the very beginning, but when I heard the price... yes, the data isn't worth that much to me.
The thing is, I have (or can have) most of it back from different sources (go through archived emails, download from servers, ask people etc) - it's going to be a little pain in the ass, and will require some time, but could be done nonetheless.
There are few things which I can't get back, but I can live without them, so it's not going to be the end of the world for me. And that's why I was thinking about trying to revive the drive myself, even against all odds - if I succeed I would be very happy, if not - I'd just move on.

On the other hand, if there was an option to get that data back for a reasonable price, I would definitely go for it. The question then is what that reasonable price would be? Well, I guess something around €200, perhaps even €300 would be acceptable. But anything above that and I'm all for trying my luck (and obtaining new skillset).

So, if anyone is interested in (or, should I say, would accept) giving it a try within mentioned price limit, please do drop me a message!
If not, my previous question still stands - any advice and/or recommendations on tutorials or videos how to do it in the safest possible way, to make the maximum use of that 5% chances of success?

Thanks again!

[Nick_CT]

Recently I had a customer who did some research, realised his drive had stiction so tried some 'percussive maintenance'. Tried to 'spin' the drive around it's axis and he managed to free the heads. Only, the one slider lifted off. Not knowing this he powered the drive on and destroyed the one platter to dusty carnage. He brought the drive in and told me what he'd done.

Morale of the story: it wasn't pretty...

Do some shopping around for quotes, then if you don't find a price that suits you and accept the risks then DIY it, maybe you'll be in that 5% category, or maybe not