Samsung HD103UJ - Drive won't spin up and beeps

[cinch]

hi all,

history of the drive: it belongs to a friend of mine and has been in an external enclosure, connected via usb, for it's lifetime. he borrowed it to me so i could copy some data on it.

now: i attached it to my linux file server over usb and noticed on powerup that the drive it self emited a clearly audible beep. the beeps repeat like every 10 seconds.
then i took it out of the enclosure and connected directly via SATA. same story. when i touch the drive it's clear that it doesn't spin up. the bios hangs when it tries to detect it.

fixes i've tried: put it in the freezer over night. let it warm up full day. same problem. put it in the freezer for 2 days + 2 days warm up. same problem. used a rubber hammer and gently hit it on the left and right side + corners. same problem.

professional data recovery is not an option, as the data isn't valuable enough to pay that much money (the important stuff is backed up...). however i'd rather save the drive. what else can i try?

thanks

[Touchclarity]

Sorry but.................

Freezing and hitting with rubber hammers (no matter how gently) is extremely unlikely to fix your drive.... it sounds like the drive has had enough knocks during transit (which is probably why it now beeps and will not spin up).

Sounds like sticktion, but will need proper and thorough diagnosis to confirm.

[loki]

This has got to be a joke right?

You've borrowed a drive off a friend thats now got an issue - thats fine it happens.

So you thought you try & fix it by "put it in the freezer over night. let it warm up full day. same problem. put it in the freezer for 2 days + 2 days warm up. same problem. used a rubber hammer and gently hit it on the left and right side + corners. same problem" - This is wrong on so many levels.

"professional data recovery is not an option, as the data isn't valuable enough to pay that much money (the important stuff is backed up...). however i'd rather save the drive. what else can i try?" - No buy your friend a replacement drive.

Seriously the fixes you have tried would only cause more damage & as you say that a data recovey pro is out then their is nothing else you can do.

Loki

[cinch]

so in the future, what else should i try?

[loki]

You said on powerup that the drive it self emited a clearly audible beep. the beeps repeat like every 10 seconds.
Could of googled that or Samsung hdd failure sounds. Which would of lead you towards head stiction or siezed motor (less likely more common on seagate 7200 drives) Either way it would need a proper diagnosis.

Head stiction is where the head sticks to the platters due to improper disconnects / shutdowns & then the platters wont spin. This needs a pro recovery who has lots of experience, a clean working enviourment & specialist tools.


Loki

[cinch]

Thanks Loki and Touchclarity. i appreaciate your comments.

i'll let the drive rest in peace then. and will be more carefull before i do "drastic meassures" like freezing the drive etc.

for the record: during transit i was very carefull. it was in the external enclosure and in a rucksack. i was only walking during transit. i'm guessing the drive was already damaged before, and that the friend didn't use it in a while to notice any problem with it.

David

[ici_lemmy]

so in the future, what else should i try?

Nothing to do but seek a pro...

In the future (for the next faulty drive),

• Don't freeze it,
• Don't hit it.

[cinch]

i just made a video recording of the drive when it powers up.

you can see it here: http://youtu.be/WcbV7MyPPyo (its still uploading as i type this)

video timeline:
00:22 turned on the PC power. the drive starts beeping. its more like every 4 seconds.
00:25 the brief spin up noise in the background is from the main PC`s hard drive. safely ignore this.
00:45 there`s a loud beep from the hard drive, as if it were resetting itself. the quieter beep continue.
01:25 the hard drive stops beeping. turned off the camera as it stays like this.

@Loki i searched for samsung hdd beep codes on google, but didn`t find anything related to the above. is there a specific site you can recommend?

thanks
David

[loki]

http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=samsun ... 8gONidiiAQ

I had a WD1200BEVS-22UST0 laptop drive in today that was making a noise when powering up & trying to spin. Confirmed it was a head stuck to the platter. Gently poped it free & parked the heads while rotating the platter.
Managed to recover all the users data with the original heads. Jobs a good un.

Loki

[pcimage]

http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=samsung+failing+hdd+sounds&rls=com.microsoft:en-gb&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&startIndex=&startPage=1&redir_esc=&ei=iRXyTtmnBMeW8gONidiiAQ

I had a WD1200BEVS-22UST0 laptop drive in today that was making a noise when powering up & trying to spin. Confirmed it was a head stuck to the platter. Gently poped it free & parked the heads while rotating the platter.
Managed to recover all the users data with the original heads. Jobs a good un.

Loki

Well done

I had one of those last week but.....

The user has tried DIY and the top two heads were completely snapped off and stuck fast to the platter. Of course the top head was easy to remove, but the one stuck underneath the platter was a different kettle of fish!!!

£200 job >>>>>> £800 job

[Olivias38]

May be the hard drive is dropped so that it makes a noise while connected to your system and not read by the system. If the data is not required or you want to get repair the drive then visit your hardware vendor for the same.

[northwind]

The user has tried DIY and the top two heads were completely snapped off and stuck fast to the platter.

They must have thought this is the way to fix it...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7c_MTX6-gYg

[loki]

Thanks
It went nice & smooth & not a freezer or rubber hammer in sight Sorry couldn't resist.