Greetings Gurus,
New member here hoping for some expert advice on how to recover data from a bad HDD.

HARDWARE DETAILS:
OEM Internal 500GB Primary Master IDE HDD Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3500620AS DE13 PCB 100466725 manufactured March 2012 for Dell Studio Slim 540s

SYMPTOM:
On boot up, Windows 7 S.M.A.R.T. error auto detected the bad HDD through the SELF MONITORING SYSTEM that reported a “parameter has exceeded its normal operating range”. S.M.A.R.T. reported Primary Master IDE “not accessible. Data Error (cyclic redundancy check)”.

ACTIONS:
1. Gently shook disconnected HDD and could hear heads so I do not believe the internal mechanisms are jammed.
2. Removed HDD from tower and connected to another Windows 7 machine via USB 2.0 IDE/SATA adapter. Windows Explorer and Device Manager detected USB IDE bridge but unable to “see” HDD. No Windows option available to assign a drive letter to the drive.
3. Replaced HDD’s PCB #100466725 firmware DE13 with healthy exact copy from authorized vendor. OEM PCB appeared visually ok (no broken circuits or burn marks). Only replaced to rule out a bad board.
4. HDD now powers up when connected to USB IDE/SATA bridge. No unusual grinding or clicking sounds. Device Manager can now “see” ST3500620AS and reports device is working. However, Windows Explorer still cannot see drive and still unable to assign a drive letter.
5. Attempted to recover data through Data Rescue PC 3.2 and Active At software. Neither program could “see” the bad drive.

HELP!
Is there anything else I can do???
Please let me know if I can provide additional information or answer any questions.
I would appreciate not being wrist slapped for not backing up. I do back up regularly and was scheduled to perform another back up when this drive died. I am missing critical files that were saved between back up routines.
I sincerely appreciate any help.

Kindly,
CrashGordon

1. Don't use a USB2IDE/SATA adapter.
2. Put the original PCB back on the drive.
3. Use some actual data recovery software and not Data Rescue PC.

_________________
Buy your friends Toshiba\Hitachi and your enemies Seagate.

Ok. Thanks dellguy.

I just reinstalled the bad Barracuda 7200 ST3500620AS back in the tower with the original PCB and re-tried Data Rescue PC 3.2 then Active At software with no luck.

Before doing so, I used a healthy donor HDD as a control to rule out bad cables and to test the recovery software. This worked but not on the bad drive.

Any thoughts?

You need to move the small ROM chip from the bad PCB to the new board otherwise the drive will not be reconised properly. Can you upload some images of the good and bad PCB boards?

Hmm... I'm not sure if pictures will help. Both PCB's appear exactly the same before I reinstalled the drive back in the tower.

Question. If I used a PCB data recovery vendor to replace the original PCB with a new, exact match PCB and it was programmed with the correct DE13 firmware and unique individual PCB data from the old PCB wouldn't that solve the ROM chip question?

CrashGordon, OK - I see your thread now. Is the BIOS detecting the drive when you install it in tower?

No. The BIOS reads, IDE data error.

I tested the cables, connectors, and Master/Slave positions to confirm they are working.

Next, I'm going to try a USB to Serial Repair Tool.

Stay tuned.....

Hi Spildit,

Thanks for the suggestion to use mhdd. I'm not sure how to download and run mhdd on my tower with the dead 7200.11 connected to SATA internally.

True, I started with the PCB replacement since it seemed to be the most likely cause (at the time) and least invasive resolution attempt.

Replacing the PCB got the drive to power-up which was encouraging since it seemed completely dead when I removed it from the bay.

I put the drive back in the bay and have a USB to Serial (RS232) Drive Repair Tool on order.

Thanks,
CrashGordon