Samsung HM161GL Not recognised

[califauna]

Hi,

The above mentioned drive is spinning up when connected and doesnt produce any nasty noises, but spins down after 45 seconds with a faint electrical beep noise.

It is not detected in seatools for windows , seatools for DOS, windows disc manager, or in BIOS, though the POST does take longer with this drive connected, and windows 7 never gets past the 'windows loading' splash screen with this drive connected. Linux boots OK but doesnt see the drive either. The drive has been tested on 2 PCs.

Unfortunately, I can't afford to send it to seagate for data recovery (600-850 pounds) so its a case of do it myself or wait however many years until I can afford to send it to a specialist.

Any thoughts on a possible cause and whether a board and BIOS chip transplant is likely to work etc are welcome.

Thanks for any help.

Capacity 160 GB.
Serial number S24NJ1WZ302437.

[poehere]

To tell the truth I do not think Seagate will repair a Samsung drive. I would not send it there. This is not a case of DIY and you will more than likely have to wait on your recovery. There is some good members here on the forum we can give you a few names. Send this into them for a free diagnosic. This one would be well advised right now.

[califauna]

Seagate now deal with samsung warranty issues and repair. I have already been quoted.

Any thoughts on a possible cause and whether a board and BIOS chip transplant is likely to work etc are welcome.

Thanks.

[BlackST]

According to symptom, it's NO DIY.

[califauna]

Edit: I have just discovered a hard brown resin on the contacts where the legs of the chip attached to the drive presses against the board. Im not sure but it looks like it might be blocking contact from the pins onto the board. I have tried to remove the resin with cotton buds and alchohol 96 percent, and lightly scraping at it but it wont budge.

IMAGES:
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BzEEyha ... sp=sharing

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BzEEyha ... sp=sharing

Any ideas what this resin might be, and how to get off? The stuff is only on the contacts, nowhere else around it.

[califauna]

OK. Cleaned the contacts and the legs with the rubber.

Hasn't made any difference though.

[hddguy]

Unfortunately, I can't afford to send it to seagate for data recovery (600-850 pounds) so its a case of do it myself or wait however many years until I can afford to send it to a specialist.

The symptoms could relate to a number of problems, my guess would be bad defect list (A-List) or SMART, but without proper diagnosis its impossible to say. A reliable diagnosis needs to be done by a professional with both the knowledge and the equipment to do this. This is not something you can do with software or commercial tools.

Many DR firms offer a payment plan to help in situations where finances are an issue. I would seriously consider this as an option before attempting anything else yourself. It can take many hours or even days for a professional to reach your data, but its very possible to render it unrecoverable in a matter of seconds with DIY attempt.