Hi crew, just seeking thoughts on possible problems with this drive.
The symptoms are - it spins up ok with no bad noises, though hsa actuation during initialization is not correct when compared to an identical 2nd drive I have [within 15 serial numbers].
Bios does detect the drive correctly after waiting several seconds longer than normal, but that's all I can get out of it, it won't mount and does not appear in disk manager.

However, if I connect it to a external usb/sata box, plug it in to a usb port then power it on, it still has the same incorrect hsa action, but will eventually appear in 'my computer' with a drive letter and a partition bar with the correct amount of used space/free space on the bar.
When the drive does mount, windows asks if you would like to scan the drive for errors. which never gets anywhere.
If you try to open the drive, windows circles around it for a while then pops up a message saying 'the drive is not ready'

This drive slowly fell of the perch while I was in the process of backing up some newer files on it....

Any thoughts appreciated.

The clue is the last bit of info you provided . . . there is some mechanical damage. Depending upon the nature of the damage, continuing to run the drive in this condition may destroy it, and make data recovery impossible.

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+1

Don't "DIY it to death" if you need data.

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Your comment has just given me an idea......blast shields in place......don't look at the bright flash....

Not sure if you Yanks get the Aussie Slang, but it is quite possible the OP meant something like:
"This drives functionality slowly failed while copying some newer files to it"
Rather than falling off a real physical perch. In my experience drives don't fall "slowly", they tend to fall fast enough so you cant catch the suckers



I hope "Yanks" is as friendly a term for Americans in the home country as it is over here!

Well stone the crows, your quite right mate! [sandgroper here] Maybe I should've said "slowly kicked the bucket..." to avoid any confusion
Anyway, no bright flash as yet, didn't quite reach critical mass....

Idioms!

Yanks is fine. Are "Oz" and "Aussies?"

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They're fine, too. BTW, we pronounce "Aussie" like "Ozzy", not "Ossy".

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A backup a day keeps DR away.

And is it "done" to call New Zealanders "kiwis" or is that offensive?

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PC Image Data Recovery
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New!! HDD-PCB.COM for all your PCB and donor HDD requirements!

We call them Kiwis, but then we don't care whether we offend them. :-)

Seriously though, I've never known them to take offence, except perhaps when we take the puss out of them. :-)

_________________
A backup a day keeps DR away.