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Please do me one favor, - read what you wrote and try to see if someone can understand ?
When you have problems in the area where the manufactor wrote the "words" , and the only tool that have is the PC3000
There is only one thing that you can do - is try to read the area - and do this till the disk do some change.
Some times you are gonna see that after 4 hours you will be able to see some change.
The loader is not something that can solve phisical problem, the Loader can help you if you understand what is its function.
You can learn ( if you have any interest of course ) many things about what I'm saying here if you start to open the modules
and loaders and Rams with a Hexadecimal software.
Anyway I think that if you could say what is happening with the hard disk, you can have a better help.

"they say" you can get from 50% to 80% success with maxtor.

50% if you can press some buttons.
80% if you know the modules (hex editing and experience)

So they say 20% cannot be done - well maybe this is 10%
with better improved versions.

So the trick is to work so that you can tell quickly which falls
into the 10% and not waste any time.

Maybe you can say how you understand alternative mode and "moving heads" and default mode.

Also I so far have not found HS to be useful with new Maxtor.

The reality is:
If you know how to work with hard disk hardware problems you will be able to do 100%
But the first thing is, the diagnostic. This is the secret of this job.
Why 100% ?, and how this is possible ?
Easy very easy, whe have this goal has 3 years.
We have in our lab a combination of skills. So we can solve - eletronic problems - mechanic problems and software problems ( Bios - Firmware ).
Logical recoverys is what we have after we solve hardware problems.
100% is not possible when you have problems in one part of the hard disk - The Plate - and this is in the case of the lab that I work. But we already hear that has some companies in the world that can solve this problem. Like your "partner".