HDD head doesn't move properly

[vaiadubai]

Hello,
the hard drive of my laptop couldn't boot anymore (Seagate 2.5 inches, 500 GB, not SSD), heard some clicks.

I tried to recover some data with an USB-SATA reader: at the beginning I succeeded in copy something,
but now the situation seems to get worse.

In the attached video https://ufile.io/kqo2ah0p, especially at second 17, it's shown the situation when I plug the USB cable.
The head starts moving but, after some movements, it remains stuck at the edge of the platter.

The platter seems in good condition and, unplugging and plugging the drive, the head starts correctly
every time from the parking position.

I hope that someone can give me some suggestions of the cause (electronic board?) and some way to try to fix the problem
(Youtube video, repair centre at not high cost, replacement parts to buy).

Thanks for the attention.

[michael chiklis]

Hi, i don't think the hdd has pcb problems otherwise you wouldn't be able to access your data and be able to copy a part of the data.
The same goes for the heads, at most there are some weak or damaged heads (system head is still alive), in fact the heads seem to move in the way we would expect when they're able to read on surface.
Most likely the problem was initially due only to some bad sector on surface, but now that you have opened the lid and above all you have turned it on without it, its condition could have deteriorated considerably.
Without the cover the heads can't work properly due to the altered air flow (the cover is in fact designed to generate an optimal air flow for the floating heads on the surfaces, which operate only a few microns away from them), so they may have crawled a little on the platters by scratching them (not counting the contamination of the heads).

If it is not too late, i think that the data is still recoverable from a data recovery center by modifying the firmware to disable bad sectors automatic reallocation, the automatic reallocation active in the background is in fact a big obstacle when it is necessary to access the data on a physically damaged hdd.
Once the FW has been modified, it will be possible to clone the data on a new drive in a clean room, provided that the surfaces have not already been scratched due to the above reason.
In the meantime, close the lid and don't turn it on anymore!

P.S.
Can you tell us exactly what HDD model it is?

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Ciao, non penso che l'hdd abbia dei problemi di pcb altrimenti non saresti riuscito ad accedere ai tuoi dati e riuscire a copiare una parte dei dati.
Lo stesso vale per le testine, al massimo c'è qualche testina debole o danneggiata (la testina di sistema pero è ancora viva), infatti le testine sembrano muoversi nel modo in cui ci si aspetterebbe quando riescono a leggere dei dati sulla superficie.
Molto probabilmente il problema inizialmente era dovuto solo a qualche settore danneggiato sulla superficie, ma ora che hai aperto il coperchio e soprattutto lo hai acceso senza esso, le sue condizioni potrebbero essere peggiorate notevolmente.
Senza il coperchio le testine non lavorano correttamente a causa del flusso d'aria alterato (il coperchio infatti è studiato appositamente per generare un flusso d'aria ottimale per il galleggiamento delle testine sulle superfici, che operano a soli pochi micron di distanza da esse), quindi potrebbero aver strisciato un pò sui piatti graffiandoli (senza contare la contaminazione delle testine).

Se non è troppo tardi, penso che i dati siano ancora recuperabili da un centro di recupero dati modificando il firmware per disabilitare il processo di riallocamento automatico dei settori danneggiati, il riallocamento automatico attivo in background infatti è un grosso ostalo quando è necessario accedere ai dati su un hdd fisicamente danneggiato.
Una volta modificato il FW, in camera bianca potranno clonare i dati su un nuovo drive, sempre ammesso che le superfici non si siano già graffiate per il motivo esposto sopra.
Nel frattempo, chiudi il coperchio e non accenderlo più!

P.S.
Puoi dirci esattamente di che modello di hdd si tratta?

[vaiadubai]

The HDD belongs to a Samsung notebook,
but the model is Seagate ST500LM012.

I hope to not have worsen the situation opening the lid,
but the shown behaviour is exactly the same I experienced many tries before with the covered lid,
I mean, the led "Busy" of the USB reader starts blinking but after some seconds it remains always on or always off.

If you have further suggestions, they would be appreciated,
anyway thanks for now.

[Dananjaya]

now you have done it worst. if you have any important data, you should contact professional DR person. otherwise you have no way

[HddDonorMarket]

The HDD belongs to a Samsung notebook,
but the model is Seagate ST500LM012.

I hope to not have worsen the situation opening the lid,
but the shown behaviour is exactly the same I experienced many tries before with the covered lid,
I mean, the led "Busy" of the USB reader starts blinking but after some seconds it remains always on or always off.

If you have further suggestions, they would be appreciated,
anyway thanks for now.

Look like dead head issue