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Spildit

Post subject: Requesting help with Samsung F3 drive :

Posted: May 24th, 2014, 13:49

Joined: December 19th, 2006, 8:49
Posts: 11038
Location: Portugal

Hi !
Trying to figure out what is wrong with this one.
ROM apears to be OK but i can't access MC and drive stay BSY.

Would it be a burned pre-amp (not sending it's ID to the PCB) or would this mean that ROM isn't native ?

Thanks.

Attachment:

sam.jpg [ 52.25 KiB | Viewed 10457 times ]

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Spildit

Post subject: Re: Requesting help with Samsung F3 drive :

Posted: May 24th, 2014, 13:52

Joined: December 19th, 2006, 8:49
Posts: 11038
Location: Portugal

Chip mismatch - I suspect that it have something to do with ROM code not matching the Pre-Amp, no ?

Can someone provide some clue ?

Would this mean that the client swaped PCB without swaping ROM ? Or would it be that the pre-amp (chip) is damaged and doesn't send the correct ID to the PCB (as with Seagate preamp error messages on terminal) ?

Thanks.

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fzabkar

Post subject: Re: Requesting help with Samsung F3 drive :

Posted: May 24th, 2014, 16:53

Joined: September 8th, 2009, 18:21
Posts: 14945
Location: Australia

Isn't it telling you that the ROM code doesn't match the MCU (88i8925)?

Could we see the ROM code?

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fzabkar

Post subject: Re: Requesting help with Samsung F3 drive :

Posted: May 24th, 2014, 17:19

Joined: September 8th, 2009, 18:21
Posts: 14945
Location: Australia

FWIW, here is the relevant section of an HD103SJ ROM:

Code:

Offset(h) 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 0A 0B 0C 0D 0E 0F

00000E30  50 4C 4C 20 63 61 6C 20 74 69 6D 65 6F 75 74 21  PLL cal timeout!
00000E40  0A 00 00 00 50 4C 4C 20 6E 6F 74 20 6C 6F 63 6B  ....PLL not lock
00000E50  65 64 21 0A 00 00 00 00 43 68 69 70 52 65 76 20  ed!.....ChipRev 
00000E60  3D 20 00 00 A0 63 00 00 46 57 5B 39 30 32 35 5D  = .. c..FW[9025]
00000E70  2D 43 68 69 70 20 6D 69 73 6D 61 74 63 68 20 21  -Chip mismatch !
00000E80  0A 00 00 00 A0 4A 00 1C 18 5E 00 04 A8 5E 00 04  .... J...^..¨^..

The ChipRev in the above example appears to be 63A0FW[9025]. That's referring to an 88i9025 MCU.

I'm not certain, but I believe that the references to "PLL" are in respect of the SATA link.

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Spildit

Post subject: Re: Requesting help with Samsung F3 drive :

Posted: May 24th, 2014, 18:45

Joined: December 19th, 2006, 8:49
Posts: 11038
Location: Portugal

Thanks.
This is from a drive that i'm assisting by remote.
The drive was already on another DR firm, so we don't know what was done to it.
It's obvious that something doesn't match, but it can be several things, like PCB might not be native at all, ROM might have been re-programed, etc ...

So either ROM doesn't match the MCU, or ROM doesn't match the overlay on the drive or ROM doesn't match the Pre-amp ...

What you stated makes sense. I will try to get the binary dump to post here later.
Regards and thanks.

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fzabkar

Post subject: Re: Requesting help with Samsung F3 drive :

Posted: May 24th, 2014, 18:56

Joined: September 8th, 2009, 18:21
Posts: 14945
Location: Australia

Spildit wrote:

So either ROM doesn't match the MCU, or ROM doesn't match the overlay on the drive or ROM doesn't match the Pre-amp ...

The error appears before the drive spins up, so it is not due to a mismatch with the SA. If it were a preamp mismatch, then wouldn't there be a reference to its VID, etc?

Code:

Offset(h) 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 0A 0B 0C 0D 0E 0F

00033050  D4 17 00 00 38 02 00 14 2A 50 41 20 56 49 44 3D  Ô...8...*PA VID=
00033060  00 00 00 00 20 50 4E 3D 00 00 00 00 20 52 65 76  .... PN=.... Rev
00033070  3D 00 00 00 20 57 72 6F 6E 67 20 50 72 65 61 6D  =... Wrong Pream
00033080  70 00 00 00 2D 20 37 38 35 78 20 46 6F 75 6E 64  p...- 785x Found

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Spildit

Post subject: Re: Requesting help with Samsung F3 drive :

Posted: May 24th, 2014, 18:58

Joined: December 19th, 2006, 8:49
Posts: 11038
Location: Portugal

Ok, so i guess that someone flashed wrong ROM code on the PCB or the MCU is not compatible with the ROM code, even if the PCB was swapped and the original ROM was used on the donor pcb ...

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Spildit

Post subject: Re: Requesting help with Samsung F3 drive :

Posted: May 25th, 2014, 16:26

Joined: December 19th, 2006, 8:49
Posts: 11038
Location: Portugal

fzabkar wrote:

Isn't it telling you that the ROM code doesn't match the MCU (88i8925)?

Could we see the ROM code?

Ok, here you have the ROM dump :

Attachment:

rom.rar [164.49 KiB]
Downloaded 324 times

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fzabkar

Post subject: Re: Requesting help with Samsung F3 drive :

Posted: May 25th, 2014, 16:51

Joined: September 8th, 2009, 18:21
Posts: 14945
Location: Australia

ISTM that the "ROM" code is looking for nChipRev = 53B0FW[8925]. Instead it finds nChipRev = 63B0FW[8925].

The "PLL cal timeout!" is indeed referring to the inability of the drive to establish a SATA link.

Code:

Offset(h) 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 0A 0B 0C 0D 0E 0F

00000C10  6E 43 68 69 70 52 65 76 20 3D 20 00 B0 53 00 00  nChipRev = .°S..
00000C20  46 57 5B 38 39 32 35 5D 2D 43 68 69 70 20 6D 69  FW[8925]-Chip mi
00000C30  73 6D 61 74 63 68 20 21 0A 00 00 00 A0 4A 00 1C  smatch !.... J..
00000C40  50 C3 00 00 20 4E 6F 20 48 6F 73 74 4C 69 6E 6B  PÃ.. No HostLink
00000C50  20 0A 00 00 20 50 68 79 20 54 69 6D 65 6F 75 74   ... Phy Timeout
00000C60  20 0A 00 00 00 58 00 1C 48 5E 00 04 50 4C 4C 20   ....X..H^..PLL 
00000C70  63 61 6C 20 74 69 6D 65 6F 75 74 21 0A 00 00 00  cal timeout!....
00000C80  50 4C 4C 20 6E 6F 74 20 6C 6F 63 6B 65 64 21 0A  PLL not locked!.

Code:

Offset(h) 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 0A 0B 0C 0D 0E 0F

00032DD0  77 02 00 00 D4 17 00 00 38 02 00 14 2A 50 41 20  w...Ô...8...*PA 
00032DE0  56 49 44 3D 00 00 00 00 20 50 4E 3D 00 00 00 00  VID=.... PN=....
00032DF0  20 52 65 76 3D 00 00 00 20 57 72 6F 6E 67 20 50   Rev=... Wrong P
00032E00  72 65 61 6D 70 00 00 00 2D 20 37 38 35 78 20 46  reamp...- 785x F
00032E10  6F 75 6E 64 00 00 00 00 0A 00 00 00 79 16 04 10  ound........y...

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Spildit

Post subject: Re: Requesting help with Samsung F3 drive :

Posted: May 25th, 2014, 16:58

Joined: December 19th, 2006, 8:49
Posts: 11038
Location: Portugal

Thanks, i agree;

There is the chance that the ROM was manipulated by the other DR firm and it's not native at all.

This is what i get with non native pcb with non native rom :

Attachment:

s.jpg [ 32.44 KiB | Viewed 10311 times ]

There is no message about nChipRev

So either the other DR firm swapped the PCB and ROM and placed ROM on a PCB with incompatible MCU, or they re-wrote the ROM code on the client drive with incompatible, non-native ROM.

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fzabkar

Post subject: Re: Requesting help with Samsung F3 drive :

Posted: May 25th, 2014, 17:07

Joined: September 8th, 2009, 18:21
Posts: 14945
Location: Australia

Spildit wrote:

So either the other DR firm swapped the PCB and ROM and placed ROM on a PCB with incompatible MCU, or they re-wrote the ROM code on the client drive with incompatible, non-native ROM.

I would compare the date codes on the chips (ROM, MCU, SDRAM, motor controller) against the date on the label or the serial number (?).

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fzabkar

Post subject: Re: Requesting help with Samsung F3 drive :

Posted: May 25th, 2014, 19:03

Joined: September 8th, 2009, 18:21
Posts: 14945
Location: Australia

FWIW, I notice that the ROM dump contains a reference to "HD502HJ" which is a 2-head model whereas the original PC3K screenshot shows 4 heads.

Is the patient an HD103SJ?

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Spildit

Post subject: Re: Requesting help with Samsung F3 drive :

Posted: May 25th, 2014, 19:26

Joined: December 19th, 2006, 8:49
Posts: 11038
Location: Portugal

fzabkar wrote:

FWIW, I notice that the ROM dump contains a reference to "HD502HJ" which is a 2-head model whereas the original PC3K screenshot shows 4 heads.

Is the patient an HD103SJ?

Patient is HD502HJ

Scree Shot of PC3K have HD502HJ because i didn't select the correct drive on the menu, i was just starting it to use it's "Terminal" so i just select "F3" and one random drive from the list, in this case the 4 head one, just to use the function to power on the drive and get a reading on the terminal.
Sorry for the confusion.

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fzabkar

Post subject: Re: Requesting help with Samsung F3 drive :

Posted: May 25th, 2014, 19:57

Joined: September 8th, 2009, 18:21
Posts: 14945
Location: Australia

I notice that there are 88i8925-TFJ2 MCUs with internal ROM and 88i8925E-TFJ2 versions with external ROM.

A Google search finds several HD502HJ PCBs that use the 88i8925E-TFJ2. Is it possible that there are versions that use the 88i8925-TFJ2, and would the ChipRev in the ROM code reflect the difference?

http://www.hddzone.com/images/S10032.jpg (8925-TFJ2, internal ROM)
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51F5dJxoetL.jpg (8925E-TFJ2, external ROM)
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51tvWnKaNHL.jpg (8925-TFJ2, internal ROM)
http://www.drivestar.biz/images/pcb_samsung/00263a.jpg (8925-TFJ2, internal ROM)
http://www.drivestar.biz/images/pcb_samsung/00278a.jpg (8925E-TFJ2, external ROM)
http://i01.i.aliimg.com/wsphoto/v0/7497 ... 00263A.jpg (8925E-TFJ2, external ROM)
http://www.kompisland.ru/products_pictu ... 3A_enl.jpg (9025-TFJ2, external ROM)

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Dmitri

Post subject: Re: Requesting help with Samsung F3 drive :

Posted: May 26th, 2014, 19:56

Joined: February 8th, 2014, 8:08
Posts: 461
Location: Eastern Europe /recovering worldwide/

Spildit wrote:

Trying to figure out what is wrong with this one.
ROM apears to be OK but i can't access MC and drive stay BSY.

Would it be a burned pre-amp (not sending it's ID to the PCB) or would this mean that ROM isn't native ?

As a quick Monday night solution, I'd suggest the following:
1. Install definitely working donor PCB. Check whether the drive spins up.
2. If it spins up, swap the ROM chip, check whether the drive spins up and initializes.

If it spins up with donor board and donor ROM, but doesn't with donor PCB and original ROM, then ROM is dead even if it looks all right.

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fzabkar

Post subject: Re: Requesting help with Samsung F3 drive :

Posted: May 26th, 2014, 23:01

Joined: September 8th, 2009, 18:21
Posts: 14945
Location: Australia

Dmitri wrote:

As a quick Monday night solution, I'd suggest the following:
1. Install definitely working donor PCB.

Which one?

I found 6 different PCBs that were used with the HD502HJ. The earliest has an 88i8925E MCU while all the later ones have an 88i9025.

http://ep.yimg.com/ay/yhst-44463692235217/263a-4.gif (BF41-00263A 88i8925E)
http://ep.yimg.com/ay/yhst-44463692235217/302a-3.gif (BF41-00302A 88i9025)
http://ep.yimg.com/ay/yhst-44463692235217/330a-4.gif (BF41-00330A 88i9025)
http://ep.yimg.com/ay/yhst-44463692235217/332a-4.gif (BF41-00332A 88i9025)
http://ep.yimg.com/ay/yhst-44463692235217/352a-4.gif (BF41-00352A 88i9025)
http://i01.i.aliimg.com/wsphoto/v0/1568 ... -board.jpg (BF41-00370A HD502HJ 88i9025)

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Matiw

Post subject: Re: Requesting help with Samsung F3 drive :

Posted: May 27th, 2014, 13:37

Joined: November 15th, 2012, 17:47
Posts: 228

The original Post shows that the ROM is electrically ok as it had span the drive; but subsequent posts show it has firmware incompatibility with the MCU.

Could not the problem be the lose of the adaptives with the firmware ?

fzabkar," PLL cal timeout" (Phase Lock Loop) seem to be something related with reading problem, reading from platter (clock-data synchronization problem)

http://users.utcluj.ro/~baruch/media/si ... -Disks.pdf.

Dmitri wrote:

Spildit wrote:

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Spildit-Temp

Post subject: Re: Requesting help with Samsung F3 drive :

Posted: May 27th, 2014, 14:15

Joined: May 27th, 2014, 14:03
Posts: 17
Location: Tokyo - Japan

Matiw wrote:

Dmitri wrote:

Spildit wrote:

Hi there and thanks for your post.

This drive was recieved from a client that stated that is was taken to another data recovery firm.

My guess is that the original PCB was toasted and that data recovery firm replaced the PCB for one that didn't have a matching MCU and swapped ROM.

I've had some problems with this forum and had to re-register to drop some quick notes on some posts that i was following / cases that i was working.

At this stage i will provide the advice to swap the PCB for one with the MCU compatible with the ROM code.

Thanks for all the suggesions and comments.

Regards.

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Spildit-Temp

Post subject: Re: Requesting help with Samsung F3 drive :

Posted: May 27th, 2014, 14:18

Joined: May 27th, 2014, 14:03
Posts: 17
Location: Tokyo - Japan

Ok, aparently i can't post with this account as well, let's see if this post is published.

The problem with this drive is that it was on another data recovery firm and my guess is that they swapped the PCB and ROM but used a WRONG PCB with MCU that is not compatible with the ROM code.

Thanks for all the clues and posts. If what i think is correct then a PCB with the correct MCU version with the native ROM should get access to the data.

Regards and thank you all.

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pcimage

Post subject: Re: Requesting help with Samsung F3 drive :

Posted: May 27th, 2014, 14:19

Joined: November 29th, 2006, 10:08
Posts: 7855
Location: UK

I thought you were banned?

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