Seagate ST1000DM003 No TTL Output

[mrburritoman]

Hello,

I have a ST1000DM003 (FW: CC47) that won't show up in BIOS or anywhere else it is plugged in.
I tried to connect it to my TTL adapter and if I wait 10-15 minutes when I press keys I then get odd garble for each key-press (CTRL+Z for example).

I tried another working ST1000DM003 (FW: CC62) I get the same behavior, no initial terminal output, then garble for each key-press.

One block of garble output per key-press.

terminal-no-output.png (2.9 KiB) Viewed 18530 times

When I try to connect these drives to a terminal, with a piece of paper blocking the head connector, both of them will spin up, then after 5-10 seconds the platters will stop receiving power.

Is there something with this model that needs to be done to get the terminal to work correctly?
I read somewhere that shorting the read channel can get the terminal to spring to life, would that apply in my particular case?

As a sanity check I tried a ST3250318AS (FW: CC6B) and the terminal, with the standard commands, works perfectly so I know it isn't my TTL adapter.
When I connect this working drive it will spin up and stay that way until I provide CTRL+Z, as expected.

This leads me to believe that the terminal for the ST1000DM003 is just broken/different in some way.

Thoughts?

[fzabkar]

Measure the voltages at the Tx & Rx pins of the HDD. If they are 1.8V LVTTL, then that could be the problem.

[mrburritoman]

I am reading 1.8v between either TX/RX to GND.

Any ideas on how to work with this?

[fzabkar]

Try this Kindle level shifter:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1897643

[mrburritoman]

I made a level shifter from that link you provided and it works perfectly.

For reference I used 1N4148 diodes and 22K resisters.

Front side

Back side

Thanks!!

I will start another thread for the hard drive diagnostics should I have any trouble there.

[HddDonorMarket]

I have tried to connect with USB TTL before. But a few connection gave me a result. Mostly has error like that or nothing on screen.

Now I am using MRT connector. I understand now that problems.

Some hdd won't connect to terminal properly. Whether you had a right connect.
I cannot join to terminal with MRT also. Still don't know what is the solution )).
Problem about HDD not connection.

[grevan]

Spildit,
Does that adapter based on CP 2104 has a switch to 1.8v, or it needs an external regulator?
Obrigado.

[fzabkar]

You will probably need an external regulator.

Here is an alternative:
https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B07WX2DSVB/

[grevan]

I've seen this one, too bad I cannot find it on AliExpress, shipping costs to Brazil are too high from Amazon.
I was starting to look for the CP2104 because of what Spildit said about compatibility issues.
I found another one on AliExpress based on FT232RL:
https://aliexpress.com/item/32881560339.html
Rumors about fake FT232..., But it's not that cheap.
Maybe it's a good alternative, what do you think?
Thanks.

[fzabkar]

Looks good. I have no idea about fakes, though.

https://www.ftdichip.com/Support/Documents/DataSheets/ICs/DS_FT232R.pdf