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Hitachi 2.5" 750 Gb detected by BIOS then nothing

August 24th, 2012, 9:27

Hello Guys , perhaps you could help with this one.

I have this Hitachi 2.5" 750 Gb Sata Disk (H2T750854S) taken from an HP laptop , the disk spins normally when is powered is detected by BIOS (connected as a second drive) but then nothing , it prevents the os from loading for a couple minutes then nothing is shown at device manager once the OS loads.

I can feel the motor spinning , it doesnt do any clicking besides a single very low one at start up , and a louder one once i shut down the PC , the heads seems to move at power up but not after and the only way to get it to show again on BIOS is to do a power cycle.

Any suggestions?

Re: Hitachi 2.5" 750 Gb detected by BIOS then nothing

August 24th, 2012, 9:28

1) Need a solid diagnostic. Guess is that the drive has bad sectors and possibly a bad head.
2) Data is important? Or better yet, how important in terms of money? The answer will determine whether it is worth pursuing the best solution in delivering the highest chances of success.

Re: Hitachi 2.5" 750 Gb detected by BIOS then nothing

August 24th, 2012, 11:02

Hello labtech , thanks for your quick reply.

1.) What kind of info would you need in helping diagnose this? Im looking into a few tools (DDI) but have no access to anything yet , so if anything what should i do to better identify the issue?
2.) Well the data the only thing important about the drive , but i dont think the owners willing to send overseas since thats pretty much the only choice he will have when all else fails.

Also as mentioned im considering buying a few tools that would help me work a bit more on cases like this one , so if you can sugges any tools you would use in this case It would be very appreciated.

Thanks again.

Re: Hitachi 2.5" 750 Gb detected by BIOS then nothing

August 24th, 2012, 12:04

You are on the right track.. a good hardware imager like DDI is likely to be able to handle the drive, unless there is a weak/damaged head. If so, then cleanroom work is necessary and so on...

But keep in mind that it is necessary to use the imager properly, namely the imaging parameters have to be configured according to the drive's condition. So, some reading and practice will be necessary in order to understand how to use the device according to drive's issue(s).

Re: Hitachi 2.5" 750 Gb detected by BIOS then nothing

August 24th, 2012, 16:41

To labtech:

Yes of course , i belive using that tool (DDI) is a complete subject on its own , but its good to know one is looking in the right direction , would it be possible or rather "common" for such a relatively new drive (Jul 2011) to have bad heads?.

If you dont mind the question , how many cases you are able to handle in average without resorting to the clean room options?

Thanks

Re: Hitachi 2.5" 750 Gb detected by BIOS then nothing

August 24th, 2012, 20:04

Sure, new and newer drives than 2011 can have bad heads.

As far as your question about "handling cases", I am not sure what exactly you are asking.
How many cases I get that need clean room work on average? Or how many I can recover with DDI that need cleanroom work? What exactly?
Either way, not sure how answering the questions would benefit you.

Re: Hitachi 2.5" 750 Gb detected by BIOS then nothing

August 24th, 2012, 20:49

Hello again labtech.

I see my question wasnt complete , how many cases on average you see where just using DDI (or other disk imager) isnt enough , and need to go the clean room way? just your general toughts on the subject not looking for any details or particulars on this as im sure it must be sensitive/valuable information for you.

Sorry if my english isnt clear enough (having a lot of questions in my mind on the subject doesnt help either lol) and perhaps im going way too off topic, but in the end I guess what im looking for is insight on how far to go with an initial investment for a data recovery bussines.

I see for this Hitachi disk things are pretty much at halt for the moment , wouldnt like to "diagnose it to death" so its best to let it sit until i get my hands on some tools tailored for this kind of job.

Thanks for your time/patience.

Re: Hitachi 2.5" 750 Gb detected by BIOS then nothing

August 25th, 2012, 9:49

yeah..i think the drive has bad head, i often meet this case from hitachi hdd

Re: Hitachi 2.5" 750 Gb detected by BIOS then nothing

August 25th, 2012, 12:44

@aiki,

aiki wrote:how many cases on average you see where just using DDI (or other disk imager) isnt enough , and need to go the clean room way?

I'm not answering on behalf of labtech but FYI, there is at least two categories of problem which don't fit into just using DDI or needing a cleanroom, so your question is missing those options. There was a similar question a while ago, about different types / categories of DR problems. Although I don't have time to search for it now, I suggest you do some searching here if this is an important question for you.

Re: Hitachi 2.5" 750 Gb detected by BIOS then nothing

August 25th, 2012, 13:10

Thanks for your input Vulcan, ill look for those threads.

Have any tought on the Hitachi disk I'm asking about?

Re: Hitachi 2.5" 750 Gb detected by BIOS then nothing

August 25th, 2012, 16:41

aiki wrote:I see my question wasnt complete , how many cases on average you see where just using DDI (or other disk imager) isnt enough , and need to go the clean room way?


Firstly, your question implies some sort of recovery steps order, which is a very sensitive topic with regard to what is best given the circumstances. I am referring to the fact that one would attempt to image a drive first and if not successful, then perform cleanroom work/or outsource the case. There are many factors involved in considering what recovery step to take first and one is not always better than the other. It depends.

As I predicted, it is really difficult to answer this question in a meaningful manner that will benefit you. The reason I am saying so is because I am biased in terms of the recovery process approach simply because of the tools and number of tools I have available for a case that involves cleanroom work. So, I will comment in a way that would allow you to draw your own conclusions, though, as Vulcan mentioned, there are other threads in relation to this topic on this forum from which you can absorb a lot of information.

There are all sort of scenarios where an DR tech has to make a decision about how a cleanroom case will be rcovered based on what resources are available as well as the type of drive, drive damage, time available to recover it, and of course, the most important, experience with how to manage those particular aspects in assessing as best as possible the further failure/damage risk vs. sought recovery outcome, which is a perfect image.

So, I am biased because, for the most part, for drives that need cleanroom work, I do not often use DDI. I prefer another tool. However, for somebody who does not have [or prefer] other tools, DDI, or Atola, or whatever else is out there, could be their "go to" #1.

My opinion is that all top hardware imaging tools, such as PC3K/DE, DDI, and Atola, do what they do well. However, which one does what it does very well, it is a matter of preference and at the end of the day which one or what combination of them is most profitable for your business with at least headache possible. For me, each one has features that I wish could incorporate in another to make a "perfect tool" so to speak. However that is not possible and in a way I feel like I would be asking for too much. With dramatization and without associating any of the imagers with the following brands, it's like saying I want to drive a rolls royce, with the sportiness of bmw, off terrain ability of land rover, reliability of honda, gas mileage of toyota, for the cost of dacia.

I can say with confidence that whatever imager you pick as your first tool, it will be profitable, but do NOT expect it to be a savior for every drive.

Re: Hitachi 2.5" 750 Gb detected by BIOS then nothing

August 25th, 2012, 18:20

@labtech

Thanks for the time and thought put in your answers, I understand Data Recovery to be a matter of dealing with a very precise piece of engineering and so there can’t be an universal tool for every case, but a multitude of tools for different scenarios or even various stages of the same.

But you do point me in the right direction and even do give a bit of encouragement about getting one such professional tools , which is my next step to take , now time to me to go back to lurking mode and take up on both yours and Vulcan´s suggestion to research more about the various DR Scenarios but I do wanted to say thanks.

So Thanks again.
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