Seagate 7200.11 not detected

[rfengineer]

I am drowning in information about failures of this drive. I need some expert advice on how to proceed.
I have a Seagate ST3750330AS, Firmware SD15.
The drive was working fine then suddenly and completely disappeared from my system (Windows 7 64-bit).
The drive is not recognized in BIOS. I removed the drive and connected it to another computer using a SATA to USB adapter. The drive was not detected by the computer.
Web research taught me of the BSY bug common to this hardware, so I put together a USB to TTY adapter using an Arduino and some voltage-divider level converters.
I followed the instructions but could not get past the Ctrl+z step. there was no response from the HDD. I am using putty as a terminal program, the loopback test is good.
I can see data (Ctrl-z) on my 0'scope going to the HDD. The levels are between 0.2 and 3.1 Volts. No data is seen coming from the HDD.
What can I try next?

[michael chiklis]

We need more informations to help you...

1) You wrote "The drive was working fine then suddenly and completely disappeared from my system".
You mean that it disappeared from windows while you were working in front the computer?
Or have you found that it was no longer detected by the BIOS of the computer on the next reboot? (this hypothesis would be more compatible with the firmware bug).

2) Plug the drive directly to the sata port inside the computer (not via USB adapter) and see if now is detect in the BIOS with the correct ID.

3) When you power on the drive do you hear spin up noises?

4) Do you hear head clicking sounds and motor spin down after few seconds?

[rfengineer]

We need more informations to help you...

1) You wrote "The drive was working fine then suddenly and completely disappeared from my system".
You mean that it disappeared from windows while you were working in front the computer?
Or have you found that it was no longer detected by the BIOS of the computer on the next reboot? (this hypothesis would be more compatible with the firmware bug).

The failed HDD was my data drive. I installed new software and attached the associated (USB) hardware (a video camera). The install required a reboot. After the reboot the data drive failed to be detected. I then uninstalled the software and rebooted again but the drive did not reappear.

2) Plug the drive directly to the sata port inside the computer (not via USB adapter) and see if now is detect in the BIOS with the correct ID.

That is where it was when it failed. I reconnected the drive internally but it failed to be detected.

3) When you power on the drive do you hear spin up noises?

If I touch the tip of a screwdriver to the drive case and place my ear against the handle of the screwdriver I can hear the disk spin up. I hear one faint click and what may be a stepper motor moving.

4) Do you hear head clicking sounds and motor spin down after few seconds?

When I was trying to read data from the drive's serial port the drive would spin down after ten seconds or so. I don't recall if I heard clicks

But NOW, after I re-installed the drive (for item 2 above) I can hear the drive spin up and it never (for the 30-seconds that I listened) spun down.

[dick]

Seeing the drive has the notorious SD15 firmware it is very likely it has one of the common problems. I think you have to work on getting it to level T in terminal.
Can I suggest you set the drive up without power and open the terminal window and then you carefully connect the power connector to the drive.

[michael chiklis]

Yep, very likely it's the common firmware bug.
You need the build a terminal connection to fix this, can you reach F3 T> prompt in terminal?
?

[rfengineer]

Seeing the drive has the notorious SD15 firmware it is very likely it has one of the common problems. I think you have to work on getting it to level T in terminal.
Can I suggest you set the drive up without power and open the terminal window and then you carefully connect the power connector to the drive.

If I connect a terminal to the drive without isolating any of the connections under the PCB should I receive data from the drive? based on my web searches I suspect this is so.

I connected to the terminal pins and powered up the drive. No data is received from the HDD.

This is my test setup. I'm communicating through an Arduino NANO and powering the drive with a dedicated power supply with an on/off switch so I don't need to mess with the power connector while it is hot.

[michael chiklis]

Common ground is needed for HDD, TTL adapter, computer and hdd power supply.

P.S.
I don't know if the Arduino adapter is the proper one...
i use the pc3000 adapter

[dick]

As a test I would put the faulty drive to one side and get it working with a known good drive. Use a pre 7200.11 drive if you have one to hand but don't forget to adjust the baud rate as required.

[rfengineer]

Common ground is needed for HDD, TTL adapter, computer and hdd power supply.

P.S.
I don't know if the Arduino adapter is the proper one...
i use the pc3000 adapter

OK. As Dick suggested I found another seagate drive and hooked up my test jig. After some fine adjustment it works, I get the F3 T> prompt.

I reconnected the bad drive and powered it up. I have two instances of the following message:
LED:000000CC FAddr:0024A051

[michael chiklis]

Try to insulate with a piece of paper between pcb and motor contacts, then power on the drive.
Press CTRL+Z and see if you reach prompt F3 T>
If so then you can give command Z, then if you receive "successfull spin down" log take off the paper and tight all screws of the pcb.
Insert command U to spin up the motor.

Go to level 1 and give command N1
Power off the drive.
Wait 30 seconds.
Power on again the drive.
Give command m0,2,2,,,,,22
Wait until finish translator regeneration, on this drive sometime could take half hour or more (usually only 2 minutes)...
Power off
Plug again the drive into the computer.

P.S.
If motor insulation doesn't help to overcome LED CC error, you might try to insulate only heads contact or both.
If you still get LED CC then you have to short read channel on the pcb.

[rfengineer]

Try to insulate with a piece of paper between pcb and motor contacts, then power on the drive.
Press CTRL+Z and see if you reach prompt F3 T>
If so then you can give command Z, then if you receive "successfull spin down" log take off the paper and tight all screws of the pcb.
Insert command U to spin up the motor.

Go to level 1 and give command N1
Power off the drive.
Wait 30 seconds.
Power on again the drive.
Give command m0,2,2,,,,,22
Wait until finish translator regeneration, on this drive sometime could take half hour or more (usually only 2 minutes)...
Power off
Plug again the drive into the computer.

P.S.
If motor insulation doesn't help to overcome LED CC error, you might try to insulate only heads contact or both.
If you still get LED CC then you have to short read channel on the pcb.

I insulated the motor drive alone, the heads alone and both. Always the same results, no response to Ctrl+Z,

So, tell me about shorting the read channels.

[rfengineer]

I found a document that speaks to shorting the read channel. http://www.rom.by/files/SeagF3_NET.pdf

Page 20 of the document shows the location of the vias to be shorted for my PCB. Can I get some specific guidance on how to proceed?

[michael chiklis]

which is your pcb number?

[rfengineer]

which is your pcb number?

UJAJ-6
PCB 100466824
REV C

[michael chiklis]

Short points are marked on fig.30 in the pdf you posted.

Power on the drive and short those points before getting led cc error.

P.S.
I usually solder 2 piece of thin wires to a switch to do this, i'm not comfortable using tweezers.

[rfengineer]

Short points are marked on fig.30 in the pdf you posted.

100466824.JPG

Power on the drive and short those points before getting led cc error.

P.S.
I usually solder 2 piece of thin wires to a switch to do this, i'm not comfortable using tweezers.

OK
wires are attached.

If I understand correctly the process is this:
power up then immediately short the wires.
QUESTION: how long do I wait after shorting the wires before I send the ctrl+Z?
send Ctrl+z to get F3 T> prompt.
QUESTION: if I do not get the F3 T> prompt do I keep trying by sending subsequent ctrl+z's?
send /2
send Z
QUESTION: after spindown is complete is that when I unshort the wires and continue with the original procedure?

Sorry for so many questions, but I want to do this right the first time.

[michael chiklis]

If I understand correctly the process is this:
power up then immediately short the wires.

YES

QUESTION: how long do I wait after shorting the wires before I send the ctrl+Z?

i don't remember, a couple of seconds i think

QUESTION: if I do not get the F3 T> prompt do I keep trying by sending subsequent ctrl+z's?

YES, you should get the prompt in less then 10 seconds, if not repeat the process again changing the timings between power on and short channel.

QUESTION: after spindown is complete is that when I unshort the wires and continue with the original procedure?

you can unshort wires after you reach T level.

Sorry for so many questions, but I want to do this right the first time.

don't worry if you don't short read channel with proper timings, just repeat it again.

The very important thing is to not mess with commands N1 and expecially with m0,2,2,,,,,22
Be sure to type them right before pushing enter.

N1 should take 2 seconds to be done.
m0,2,2,,,,,22 will take more time to complete, just be patient

[rfengineer]

The very important thing is to not mess with commands N1 and expecially with m0,2,2,,,,,22
Be sure to type them right before pushing enter.

N1 should take 2 seconds to be done.
m0,2,2,,,,,22 will take more time to complete, just be patient

Well, I got the system to give me an F3 prompt. I had to isolate the drive terminals and short the read channel to get a prompt.
I went through the process and after sending the last command (m0,2...) the drive just sat there. I left it for more than an hour and nothing else has happened. Am I supposed to see a message on the terminal when it is done?

How long should I wait?

[michael chiklis]

i remember one time i had to wait 90 minutes on this type of drive to finish translator regeneration.

I had to isolate the drive terminals

you don't have to isolate pcb if you short the read channel

[rfengineer]

i remember one time i had to wait 90 minutes on this type of drive to finish translator regeneration.

I had to isolate the drive terminals

you don't have to isolate pcb if you short the read channel

More than 4 hours now and still only the F3 1> prompt on the screen.

Is there some way to tell if anything is happening?