I have a WD 1.5TB model WD15EARS-19MVWB0 here that spins up and stays spinning. It is fully recognized (Model/SN/etc) and also reports SMART values (small number of pending sectors and everything else typical of a young drive). MHDD shows ABRT for every sector for the short time I allowed it to run at the beginning and end of the drive. The drive also clicks. It feels like service area corruption since it seems to have no trouble reading the SMART module, etc. Does anyone with experience with these drives have any thoughts? It makes a difference as a donor drive is rather pricey. On a related note, are there any trusted DR people in the Illinois area?

Thanks for your time.

yes sounds like some SA problems.

You mention that a donor drive is pricey - I do hope that you aren't thinking of attempting DIY on this, as this is definitely not DIYable.

There are many trusted DR people on this forum in the States, I would recommend forum member jono-ats if you want to send your drive in for recovery, they are Data Savers in Atlanta.

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it's very good DR company in Schaumburg, Illinois, few of them are part of this forum