Hitachi (IBM) Travelstar 80GB drive not detected by BIOS

Hi,

I am new here and new to harddisk recovery. I hope people here are kind and can help me or guide me in what direction to seek help to my headaches.

I have a Hitachi (IBM) Travelstar 2,5'' disk that is not detectable by BIOS. When the drive starts it clicks 1 or 2 times (hard) with the heads, apparently trying to load the system info.

I have almost identical drive (newer revision / MLC version) that works fine. Changing the PCB from the defective drive to the good one works, but not the other way. So the PCB must be OK. The error must be in the mechanics or the system area / firmware of the drive.

MHDD does not detect the drive. ID command returns an error "drive not ready". RST command does not show an error, but the T0NF error register is set ON and the last register shows code 2.

I would be glad to get any help to diagnose or repair the drive. Where should I look for tools and information? How can I determine if it is mechanics/preamp error or system software corruption?

Also to mention, this is my private disk I am trying to recover. I am willing to pay for tools and knowledge, but the data on it is not worth astronomical amounts of money. My guess is that firmware error will be cheaper for a professional to repair than hardware error requiring opening of the drive in a clean room. Am I right? If so, where do I find (in Scandinavia or Nort Europe) a good data recovery company specializing in Hitachi (IBM) notebook disks? Can I download or buy (for reasonable price - I'll need it only once) tools that can repair damaged firmware?

Any help will be highly appreciated. Thanks!

-- Todor Todorov

PS: This is a great site and MHDD is a great tool! The articles helped me understand better the workings of a HD. Keep up the good work!

whats the model of your notebook disk???

The model is HTS548080M9AT00

Try this:
1. Run MHDD
2. Wait until BUSY fall
3. type: ID and press enter.
4. Press F10 and put screenshot here :-)

Here are logs for both the ID and RST command
=======================================================

[PRE]
59 ERR INDX CORR DREQ DRSC WRFT DRDY BUSY AMNF T0NF ABRT IDNF UNCR BBK 04
[ Drive parameters - PRESS F2 to DETECT ] [ Current position ]

MHDD PCI Scan module v2.3
PCI BUS ver: 2.16
PCI Last Bus: 1

NAME VEND DEV ADDR ADDR
PROMISE FastTrak100 Lite 105A 0D30 9401 9001
PROMISE FastTrak100 Lite 105A 0D30 8801 8401

Primary channel disabled. To enable see MHDD.CFG
Autodetect enabled. To disable see MHDD.CFG

To get help press <F1> or type "HELP"

MHDD>id
Drive error.

ID: Get drive information | 20:46:19
[/PRE]
=======================================================

[PRE]
50 ERR INDX CORR DREQ DRSC WRFT DRDY BUSY AMNF T0NF ABRT IDNF UNCR BBK 02
[ Drive parameters - PRESS F2 to DETECT ] [ Current position ]

MHDD PCI Scan module v2.3
PCI BUS ver: 2.16
PCI Last Bus: 1

NAME VEND DEV ADDR ADDR
PROMISE FastTrak100 Lite 105A 0D30 9401 9001
PROMISE FastTrak100 Lite 105A 0D30 8801 8401

Primary channel disabled. To enable see MHDD.CFG
Autodetect enabled. To disable see MHDD.CFG

To get help press <F1> or type "HELP"

MHDD>rst

| Help : <F1> | 20:44:59
[/PRE]

Seems like serious problem. But I cannot see what IS the problem

. Need to be diagnosed more...