Need firmware for pc3k WDC WD20EARS-00MVWB0 25.12E

[Spildit]

Not an option, too expensive (i need to get only some pics, which are not so important to spend hundred $)
Most of the pictures (about 80% I have recovered from my girlfriend's pc)

Did you ty to copy one by one using dos ?
If you can copy a file at a time, can you copy a picture at a time ?

[michael chiklis]

Because i'm not so sure this is a head issue, my idea was to backup modules from copy 01 and compare all files to copy 02 with hex editor.
Difference modules may be the corrupted one, but i'm not able to backup "copy 01"

[Spildit]

Because i'm not so sure this is a head issue, my idea was to backup modules from copy 01 and compare all files to copy 02 with hex editor.
Difference modules may be the corrupted one, but i'm not able to backup "copy 01"

Save ROM depop head 0. If head 1 is bad you will end up with a bricked drive (no SA access). If SA access is possible then you can backup modules. You can restore ROM to have head map back.

[michael chiklis]

Not an option, too expensive (i need to get only some pics, which are not so important to spend hundred $)
Most of the pictures (about 80% I have recovered from my girlfriend's pc)

Did you ty to copy one by one using dos ?
If you can copy a file at a time, can you copy a picture at a time ?

I wasn't able to do this, because when i go deep inside the directorys, the program hangs so i can't input the copy command

[michael chiklis]

Because i'm not so sure this is a head issue, my idea was to backup modules from copy 01 and compare all files to copy 02 with hex editor.
Difference modules may be the corrupted one, but i'm not able to backup "copy 01"

Save ROM depop head 0. If head 1 is bad you will end up with a bricked drive (no SA access). If SA access is possible then you can backup modules. You can restore ROM to have head map back.

If head 1 is bad, i should depop head 1, right?
So head 0 can load SA...

Last edited by michael chiklis on April 20th, 2013, 18:59, edited 2 times in total.

[Spildit]

Because i'm not so sure this is a head issue, my idea was to backup modules from copy 01 and compare all files to copy 02 with hex editor.
Difference modules may be the corrupted one, but i'm not able to backup "copy 01"

Save ROM depop head 0. If head 1 is bad you will end up with a bricked drive (no SA access). If SA access is possible then you can backup modules. You can restore ROM to have head map back.

If head 1 is bad, i should depop head 1, right?
So head 0 can load SA...

Yes !
But head 0 is already loading SA assuming head 0 is good

[michael chiklis]

How do i save ROM depop head 0?
Can i save also others head configurations?

[Spildit]

How do i save ROM depop head 0?
Can i save also others head configurations?

Flash operations - Read ROM.
It should backup the ROM file. Check if it's ok.

[michael chiklis]

How do i save ROM depop head 0?
Can i save also others head configurations?

Flash operations - Read ROM.
It should backup the ROM file. Check if it's ok.

ok the rom backup i've done many days ago

[Spildit]

How do i save ROM depop head 0?
Can i save also others head configurations?

Flash operations - Read ROM.
It should backup the ROM file. Check if it's ok.

ok the rom backup i've done many days ago

you can try to depop.
Also if you want to pay for shipping i can take a look at the drive.
It will be more easy to see the drive and try to fix it rather then saying on the forum what you should try ...

[Spildit]

Anmd what if you try a different method ?
Get a drive identical to yours, the same model, and try a hot swap.
If the problem is indeed with damaged SA, hotswap will allow access to all of your data at full speed.

[Spildit]

Of course that hot swap will not help if the problem is with bad head.

[michael chiklis]

I have other WD drives but not the same model.
The drive is a WD5000AAKX-001CA0 with similar pcb of my faulty drive (pcb 2060-771640-003).
The faulty drive has pcb 2060-771698-002

However you could tell me how you do the hot swap?
I know that you have to attach and detach the pcb from a donor hdd drives without turning off (but doing motor spin up and spin down).
What that i do not know is if you need to do more ...

I found this about hot swap on WD, but i don't understand what must do with modules 31 and 32
http://www.disk-imager.com/data-recovery-blog/?p=2555
http://www.disk-imager.com/data-recovery-blog/?p=2578

[Spildit]

Get a drive from the same model with compatible PCB.
Start by placing the good drive on the sata channel and power it up, then spin it down and very carefully and without power it off, replace the powerd PCB by the bad drive. Make it spin up again.
If heads are ok you should be able to image it.
Or you can do the smart hot swap as explained on the links, where you copy the defect lists from the damaged drive to the donnor one, so that you will be able to clone all the data on the swapped drive.

[michael chiklis]

I did depop head 1, but the drive was still slow in mhdd scan, so i activeted again head 1.
(to reactivate head 1 was not enough to restore rom from backup, i had to write also SA with modules backup).

After restored head 1, i cleared the "IBI common log" to delete those 4 soft errors but still slow scanning in mhdd...
I restored again SA from backup, now i see again those 4 soft errors in "IBI common log"

[Spildit]

I did depop head 1, but the drive was still slow in mhdd scan, so i activeted again head 1.
(to reactivate head 1 was not enough to restore rom from backup, i had to write also SA with modules backup).

After restored head 1, i cleared the "IBI common log" to delete those 4 soft errors but still slow scanning in mhdd...
I restored again SA from backup, now i see again those 4 soft errors in "IBI common log"

Ok,
It's "safe" to assume that most likely it's indeed a firmware (that slow issue) issue or a pre-amp fault.
If you want to get the data without sending the drive to a pro, i would buy a donnor drive and try a smart hot swap.
Get a identical drive (same model and pcb as yours), then copy module 31 from your backup to that drive and power it up.
Put it to sleep (stop spindle) and without shutting the power down, move the PCB to your damaged drive.
Star spindle again and image the drive.

[Spildit]

If you do the smart hot swap make sure that you backup the donnor drive firmware first, and that to do so you chose another working directory on wdr settings otherwise wdr will overwrite you modules backup with the backup of the donnor drive.
If the hot swap works then you remove all data from the drive, and i will then tell you how to fix the drive.

[michael chiklis]

As you can see in one of my firt post, Sediv showed at the begin G-list report on head 4.

So I decided to depop head 4, but something went wrong, look to the pic on bottom:

I got "Unknown error 53E4"

Now i'm not able to turn on the head, drives spins down and is shown in WDR as in the pic in bottom:

I guess problem is on head 4, but i don't understand why doesn't load SA now (SA gets read by head 0 and 1, am i right)?

It's game over?

[Spildit]

Start by restoring ROM using external programmer.
Then, if it still do the same set the 4 jumpers on the drive to start it in safe mode and try to remove the jumpers and see if you can access SA.
Even on the present condition hot swap it's still an option.
Also check if you have the correct port set on wdr.

[michael chiklis]

Neither of those did work!

P.S.
I'm able to keep motor running if i do "ATA soft reset" + "ATA Recalibrate"
If i do Road map via enumeration it shows modules but i'm not able to read or write them