Very old Quantum Fireball ST6.4A fw A0F.0800 strange issue

[michael chiklis]

Hello, i've this old Quantum Fireball ST6.4A which isn't detect anymore in bios and even in pc3k.
When i power on it i hear a lot of head clicking, i tried to power off/on it about 30 times in pc3k until he detect without any clicking sounds.
I cloned it perfectly with DE (very easily and without any ECC error)
but i don't understand why i was able to clone it perfectly if heads seem to be bad, maybe it's not a head issue??
SMART shows only 6 reallocated sectors, can someone help me to identify problem? I want to fix the drive if possible and backup ROM+SA but in pc3k i don't see any support for Quantum drives then "General utility".

Code:

HDD does not support set max LBA
S.M.A.R.T............................... : Ok
Write cache............................. : not supported

Code:

HDD parameters

CONFIGURATION GENERAL INFORMATION:
          ATA device
          Fixed device and/or controller

Logical cylinders count..................................... 13328
Logical sectors per track................................... 63
Logical heads count......................................... 15
Model....................................................... QUANTUM FIREBALL ST6.4A
Serial number............................................... 856732394111
Firmware.................................................... A0F.0800

Maximal block size for READ/WRITE MULTIPLE commands......... 16

Features
          Stop Timer Value
          IORDY............................................. Supported
          LBA Mode.......................................... Supported
          DMA Mode.......................................... Supported

Current Logical Parameters
          Cylinders......................................... 13 328
          Heads............................................. 15
          Sectors........................................... 63
          Capacity.......................................... 12 594 960 Sectors (6 149.9 Mb)
          Capacity available in LBA Mode.................... 12 594 960 Sectors (6 149.9 Mb)
          Capacity available in LBA 48 Mode................. 12 594 960 Sectors (6 149.9 Mb)

Available DMA Mode
          Multiword DMA Mode 0
          Multiword DMA Mode 1
          Multiword DMA Mode 2
Active DMA Mode............................................. Multiword DMA Mode 2

Active UDMA/33 modes
          Ultra DMA/33 Mode 0
          Ultra DMA/33 Mode 1
          Ultra DMA/33 Mode 2
Current UDMA/33 mode........................................ [none]

Current PIO mode
Supported Enhanced PIO Modes
          PIO MODE 3
          PIO MODE 4

Minimal multiword DMA cycle time............................ 120 ns
Recommended multiword DMA cycle time........................ 120 ns
Minimal multiword PIO cycle time w/o stream control......... 120 ns
Minimal multiword PIO cycle time with IORDY................. 120 ns

Supported standards
          ATA - 3

Supported Command Sets
          S.M.A.R.T functions

Security system............................................. Not supported
condition flags :
          password set...................................... NO
          HDD Locked........................................ NO
          HDD Frozen........................................ NO
          wrong password count exceeded..................... NO
          security erase support............................ NO
          security level.................................... HIGH
Master code................................................. 0000

[michael chiklis]

Maybe UDMA and PCI don't support this anymore, am i right?
Does someone know where to find pc3000 ISA?

[Nesa]

... I don't understand why i was able to clone it perfectly if heads seem to be bad, maybe it's not a head issue??

Apparently, there is a problem until the problem is avoided. Drive cann't find servo or/and module(s) in SA and after it does, there is no problem with reading (we don't know anything about writing) except there are few bad sectors. It seems to me the drive parts characteristic are degraded (mechanical or magnetic) because of age and there is nothing you can do.

According to information from Ace this model is supported by ISA but not by PCI:

http://www.acedre.com/pc3000isasupport.pdf
http://www.acedre.com/pc3000pcisupport.pdf

But, it is supported by UDMA:

http://www.acelaboratory.com/pc3000.quantum.php