PC-3000 UDMA help

[einstein9]

Dear users & experts,

i bought the udma 3k 2 months back and from that day i was trying to understand how this tool works
i tried to practice on some defected HD here but really i couldn`t find proper answers for questions in my mind

am really ready to have some quick guidance on this tool if someone is willing to help me here
i don`t need details of procedures all what i need is quick tips on some questions

am ready to pay anyone who might be intrested on sharing some quick starting points where i can go from and use this tool.

i tried acelab but seems that those support guys are treating customers like Experts
am new with those tools that i ordered

so please any help from anyone will be appriciated

PM me and we will discuss about the details

and thnx for ur time reading

[BlackST]

Yes it's not a tool for newbies and you MUST have a solid background as pre-requisite.

Truth : if you were expecting one click solution or easy way to repair HDDs and get data, you're completely wrong.
If you don't know how specifically HDD work (FW structure, families, etc.) , it's quite useless.

Important : you cannot expect that someone else will do th job for you and you get the $$$ (what we all work for). You can "expect" some guidance or BUY help (i.e. let someone else work remotely for you).

You can laso HIRE someone who will give you the training you need.

And now just two questions : how much do you know about DR (background) and what is the specific problem you have ?

[einstein9]

Thnx for the reply here

well as i mentioned i know that it is a pro. tool but the starting point is really difficult.

and i never expected a 123 steps to learn, all what am looking for is tips & tricks for quick diagnose
example which answers your question here

I have a 250gb HD with clicking noise have a look plz @ the attach.

i also wanted to configure the Terminal which never worked with me i dono why
all setting i made are simple. HT(hyperterminal) didn`t work

and thnx for the reply again

Attachments

250gb.rar

(2.93 MiB) Downloaded 433 times

[einstein9]

btw, do you offer training for the pc3k?

[unknown]

Stop working on that drive now, and you MUST looking for someone who will teach you the basis of DR. Then you can start your real business.

Good luck

[einstein9]

thnx unknown, u were helpful

[BlackST]

btw, do you offer training for the pc3k?

Where are you located ?

[harddrivespecialist]

If you mention your location, someone might offer you one on one training.

[CK]

I think he's in Kuwait?

[einstein9]

middle east

[granaryloaf]

This HDD looks like it could have a firmware corruption, failing heads or potentially even a PCB problem.

It does not help beginners that Acelabs don't have a manual for the Marvell drives.

If this is just research and not a customer's data (in which case: call a pro!) I would start by finding a drive with the same ROM/firmware version, backing up its resources and attempting to load the drive in a number of different ways (Kernel mode, loader etc). You'll learn a lot by just playing with drives.

There is one certain procedure that I would try every time on this generation of drive but that information is not for sale - I do know however that if you are patient Acelabs support can help you with the steps...

[pcimage]

If it's clicking, then I would suspect heads, especially if if clicks then spins down.

But FW corrption on this family is also pretty common.

[granaryloaf]

I think pcimage is right (newbie though so feel free to ignore me!), I find that this kind of problem is normally either a weak (read useless) or failed head(s).

PC3K may be able to help but accurate and quick diagnostic is the best bet.

Your priority should be to see if you can quickly achieve a drive that ID's in PC3K and data extractor whatever heads work well, then do what is necessary to retrieve the remainder. The old method called for intelligent hot swaps but this can be done very quickly in many cases. Speak to Acelabs support.

[guru]

quote="granaryloaf"]This HDD looks like it could have a firmware corruption, failing heads or potentially even a PCB problem.

It does not help beginners that Acelabs don't have a manual for the Marvell drives.

If this is just research and not a customer's data (in which case: call a pro!) I would start by finding a drive with the same ROM/firmware version, backing up its resources and attempting to load the drive in a number of different ways (Kernel mode, loader etc). You'll learn a lot by just playing with drives.

There is one certain procedure that I would try every time on this generation of drive but that information is not for sale - I do know however that if you are patient Acelabs support can help you with the steps...[/quote]

[guru]

going direct into Data Extractor is not the first step. Run the WD Marvell utility. And get the WDM manual from your update box. And if you paid for support contract demand (!) help...

[poehere]

Also when I first got my UDMA I too had a major problem with the terminal on it and it never worked at all. You have only 3 months on this one then you are on your own. Contact them now and change it out do not let them do what they did to me on this one. You also have 1 year free support, forum, updates if you have a legal copy of this tool. Use it and talk to them all you can. BTW email is a waste of your time they never answer you back. MSN works at times on this one but like all they answer sometime and a lot of time never. Your best bet is skype from what I hear on this one. Seems they will speak with you on the phone and help you out more. For some reason that is all they seems to tell me call us.

You are starting out right with old drives and not drives that belong to your client. You now have to learn what is logical and what is physical recovery work and what is the best way to go about all of this. Good luck and hope you can figure this one out.

[poehere]

Also when I first got my UDMA I too had a major problem with the terminal on it and it never worked at all. You have only 3 months on this one then you are on your own. Contact them now and change it out do not let them do what they did to me on this one. You also have 1 year free support, forum, updates if you have a legal copy of this tool. Use it and talk to them all you can. BTW email is a waste of your time they never answer you back. MSN works at times on this one but like all they answer sometime and a lot of time never. Your best bet is skype from what I hear on this one. Seems they will speak with you on the phone and help you out more. For some reason that is all they seems to tell me call us.

You are starting out right with old drives and not drives that belong to your client. You now have to learn what is logical and what is physical recovery work and what is the best way to go about all of this. Good luck and hope you can figure this one out.

[einstein9]

thnx poehere

for the advice :>

[buckey]

BlackST,

You mentioned earlier in this thread that einstein9 who was asking for PC-3000 training should consult the manual, seek training or find someone to 'work remotely.' I was thinking just yesterday about finding a remote operator and if it would even be possible, searched the web for these words and found your post. Have you ever worked on PC-3000 remotely, or are you interested or able to doing so? Please advise.

[BlackST]

Yes it is possible to work remotely, but user intervention is always necessary i.e. to connect drive, check etc. Remote desktop can make you work "as you were there" but you cannot physically do anything and the presence of the man at the other side is necessary, eventually for "babysitting" the drive or to do some emergency manoeuvre.
Remote operation is an option for example when you have no clue about a particular drive / family , you know little about that particular case and there are no other issues. If it is the last resort, yes, why not.
I rather prefer to use IM or plain old telephone to live assist a colleague and seems the same for my friends (more immediate) - or PM / email details about the problem, the more the details the more precise can be the analysis - and then I answer. Of course we are talking about pro 2 pro collaboration where each other knows what they are talking about.
And ... I speak English .

About the original "problem" I suggested reading manual first and to eventually seek training as it is the fastest solution to make everything up and running.
I have learnt at my expenses when I was much younger that reading all the documentation can save a lot of time LATER and make it "go" quickly.
Seems it's an always underrated thing