Another dead Deskstar

[Cruzan]

I have a new and fairly fast Windows XP computer because one of the disks in my eight year old Windows 2000 box finally died. When I bought the old one I had two
75 gig Deskstars (NTFS formatted) put in. Recently while browsing the D drive in Explorer everything just suddenly hanged with essentially no warning. The computer
would not boot at all until the D drive was disconnected and then it worked fine on the C.

I've since taken both disks out and am able to connect and read the old C drive -- now set as an IDE primary slave -- on my new computer, and have gotten all the data
off. The old D, though, still won't connect (not detected in the BIOS setup).

I've also swapped PCBs, and the old C stills works with D's board, but D won't with C's.

Anything else I should try? Pictures of the disks below. Thanks.

[dobrevjetser]

Does the drive click or not ? If not, probably problem with SA; not fixable withouth special tools.

Best regards,

Dobre

[Cruzan]

Does the drive click or not ? If not, probably problem with SA; not fixable withouth special tools.

Yes, there does seem to be a slight clicking sound.

[dobrevjetser]

Then it can be either, bad heads or bad SA.
Not fixable on your own, i'm afraid.
You'll need a pro to help you.

Dobre

[harddrivespecialist]

Usually bad heads on those models.

[Cruzan]

Then it can be either, bad heads or bad SA.
Not fixable on your own, i'm afraid.
You'll need a pro to help you.

If I were to try to do it myself, what would that entail? I kind of hate giving up, given that one of the Deskstars works, all its data been gotten off, and so, seemingly, could be used for parts if needed. Otherwise, the drives will just sit in a corner gathering dust. It doesn't seem like I've got a lot to lose by trying, if I knew how to go about it.

[dobrevjetser]

SA problems can't be fixed by you, becouse it needs tools that cost 1000's of dollars, and you also has to know how to use them.
You could try a head swap (absolutely NOT a platter swap, since this would kill your data instantly), but it is not easy and requires a lot of skill. If you have nothing to loose, you could try. It is absolutely imperative that the heads do not touch one another, or they would be killed instantly. Search this forum for donor requirements.
It is very well possible however, that after changing the heads you still have SA problems, and then you'll have wasted a good drive. The choice is up to you. If you like a challenge ...


Good luck,

dobre