Everyone has seen MPG3204/3102AT with damaged pcb, non-readable rom
or non-native pcb - drive clicks, knocks.

To get these drives to work you need to have native drive adaptives
with most utilities.

Victoria full version, approx Eu400, will solve the problem in a snip.

Victoria requires a compatible working pcb and uses a procedure named
"adaptives tuning". Has worked every time 4 me.

Victoria also has a very neat solution 4 Maxtor and solutions for other
drives are being rolled out albeit in stages.

Victoria english manuals are pretty basic : the important procedures are
described in better detail than some "commercial utilities".

The utilities, so far, do not include irritating dongles or "hardware cards"
so I assume the author selects trusted clients.

You will need to know the basics to use Victoria, because the manuals
(text files) are not expansive.

http://www.hdd-911.com

Hi Fujimax.

I tought It is not possible to buy Victoria outside the authors Country, since the website is all in non-english format and it is very difficult to get a reply in english from their e-mail

How have you bought it ???

Regards,

-BR-

Hi BR,

yep I bought it with english text manual - tells you more about the drive modules than other "commercial" programs.

With this program I can easily (DOS) repair drives others don't even smell. Does 3.5" and 2.5" drives.

e.g. MPG3204AT - board damaged or lost - Victoria will recover data
through adaptives tuning and retrieve mod 20h in a snip and update
ROM on donor board without any fuss in a few steps.

Although this program is expensive, 400 Euro, it was worth it.

Victoria for Maxtor (Also DOS) approaches all Maxtor from 1999 to 2005 !!.

Victoria approaches the drive purely for data recovery purposes while others still have a drive repair origin - SELFSCAN, effectoscope, surface scan etc.

Support for individual Russian developers and their intellectual property is important for success. There's a lot we don't know because as I see it the support from "commercial" programs is pathetic to say the least.

An interesting related topic at HARDW.NET

http://hardw.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t= ... 3645f9d275

FROM http://hardw.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t= ... 3645f9d275 to all that can't understand Russian. Sorry for mistakes...

"You need a working HDD, HDDL & different f/w versions.

1. Start working HDD, if with 2 Heads write to it ONLY to RAM HS from 1st-headed and 20-th module from the adaptive HDD. U can use ACE.

2. Leave pc3k and starte HDDL. In the DEFAULT.ini write before it
_Valid_mode= 0000 fa 43 42 41 40 a0 c1
_Rd Ram ADP= 0000 00 02 00 07 20 00 ff
_Wr Ram ADP_512= 0000 00 02 00 07 30 00 62
_Read Sec_000 Cyl_0000 H_ 0= 0000 00 00 00 00 00 a0 fc
_Read_sa_20= 0000 20 01 00 00 00 00 c2

3. In HDDL stop a spindle and do hotswap on the patient not removing the power.

4. Further F9 , Valid_mode->загрузить(load)->выполнить(start), Rd Ram ADP->загрузить(load)->выполнить(start) (must see DRQ)->получить(get)->просмотр(see). If old adaptives can be read close window.

5 Read Sec_000 Cyl_0000 H_ 0->загрузить(load)->run and look for if burned ERR & AMNF then -> F4 and INCREASE values to the address of 06-th (precisely) and 07-th (roughly). If burned ERR и UNC - DECREASE. value 07h usual from 01 to 05, 06h – any HEX value

6. Keep the changed values and write to the RAM, before it press Alt + R. Wr Ram ADP_512->загрузить(load)->выполнить(run) and p.5 and do this until the HDD will not give out DRQ then press receive.

7. If ERR does not burn , choose Read_sa_20-> загрузить(load)-> to execute (should be DRQ)-> получить(receive)-> viewing. Here it 20-th module from hdd! Values of 06-th 07-th can differ from yours that enter. Close a window and kept it.

Then close HDDL and start pc3k, read out there all modules and by means of function carry adaptives inserted them into ROM and wrote down in flash.
The f/w should coincide under the version, quantity of heads and to be adaptive
The main thing to not forget on pleasures before all this procedure to keep flash from the donor with which were loaded. It is possible to manage and without ACE"

Hi $amo,

Have you tested this procedure ??

According to the original poster and author of the referred
program - this procedure does not work and is not intended
for the full purposes of recovering MPG3204AT (e.g.) when
native adaptivs cannot be recorded by Pc3K.

So far I have not tested this procedure.

Hi fujimax,
No , not yet.
But from all that I read it seems that this works.

this is not necessary...