Heya guys, thank God I found this forum. I have been reading some posts here and a lot of you have so much knowledge on hard drive repair. I need some help... *pretty please*

My TOSHIBA MK3265GSX 320GB laptop hard drive has stopped working suddenly. From the information I've gathered I believe my hard drive has a stuck spindle. It makes the exact sound as listed on this website: http://datacent.com/hard_drive_sounds.php (Toshiba laptop hard drive with stuck spindle trying to spin up (heard if taken close to your ear).

I was wondering what the best way to fix this is? I have another hard drive which is the exact same model number etc and was wondering whether I should transfer my plates into the working one? Is this the best approach? Also can I transfer the plates into any TOSHIBA MKXXX model? Because if so then I can purchase a used one and not risk damaging my perfectly working one.

Thankuuu xx

Is the data important? If you attempt this you are likely to fail and will increase any potential recovery fee ten fold. Send it off to a reliable lab, get a free quote first.

No "bang it" advice yet ?

Do NOT, under any circumstance, attempt to move the platters. It is the last thing that should be attempted unless you are a professional. If the data is important, then this is beyond DIY and you should seek assistance from a pro near you in the UK.

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Data Recovery Ireland

like this

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Sa1f6SE4f_0/T ... hammer.jpg

Thanks for the replies x but you're kidding about banging or tapping the hard drive... right? The data is not really important at all and I can get access to a cleanroom. My hard drive only has one platter, so doing this would be easy right since there's no chance of any misalignment? I've read here and around the web that fixing Toshiba laptop hard drive spindle issues is the easiest.

Thankuu x

If you feel so confident, have access to clean room (?) , data is not important, it's only one platter, and you have read around that is easy....

Well no, they 're not kidding, this kind of advice has been around the net (AND IN THIS FORUM TOO).

I strongly advice you AGAINST trying any of these methods, and AGAINST attempting to move the platters from one drive to the other. The reasons vary, but the important thing is that the chances of success are .... zero?

Again, it is your drive and your data, you decide.

If you value your data, consult a pro. PCImage is in Peterborough and comes recommended.
If you decide to take the diy approach, good luck.

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http://www.northwind.gr
SandForce SSD Recovery
Ransomware Reverse Engineering - NoMoreRansom! partners

Northwind thankuu so much for the reply. My data isn't too important, it's only a few pictures I'm after. Nor do I have the money to consult a pro and save up as I'm always dishing out money.

I'll go ahead and try to move the single platter myself. If the data was really important I would consult a pro in future. But I have a quick question, what are we supposed to wear to touch the platter?

I'll post back with my results once I've tried the swap. Thanksss guys xx

I don't know if your model is affected, but Toshiba drives are known for fluid problems in the bearings. If this is your problem, then you may be able to warm up the bearing with a hair dryer before trying to start your drive.

Otherwise, since you have access to a clean room, you will be able to determine whether the problem is a stiction fault (heads stuck to platters) rather than a seized bearing, in which case the solution is much simpler.

As for "percussive maintenance", that's a valid option in those cases where you have decided that the price of professional recovery is too high, and where your only other option would be to trash your drive. There are plenty of success stories right here on this forum.

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A backup a day keeps DR away.

Yet again, an example where the user has not diagnosed a fault accurately and jumps straight into the most difficult "repair" scenario.

There may be a stiction issue but to jump into a platter swap is crazy.

These models don't suffer the traditional bearing issue seen with the GAS series.

Percussive maintenance? Come on, that's just bad advice and you know it.

If the OP has to ask what to wear when handling a platter, then the chances of this working are about 0.1%

...and no doubt we'll have some questions about removing the headstack and ramp.........

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Data Recovery Ireland

Oh wow that's so weird! I was just reading a post on tomshardware forums by you, fzabkar, and I really liked it so tried to contact you but clicking your name on there wouldn't do anything... and now you just replied to me here! :O

fzabkar, I just found out what actually happend to my laptop. It was dropped, after that Windows would run very slowly, would take 5 minutes or so just to open a window... a few days later the hard drive is making the stuck spindle sound and is no longer detected in the BIOS settings. Could this be fluid problems in the bearings or a stiction? I'm guessing fluid problems don't result from a knock but a stiction would likely be caused from that?

Is there a post explaining what a stiction looks like and how to fix it? I will be able to see immediately if it's that if I know what a stiction looks like, haha. Thankss xxx

Edit: CK, I do know what to wear.. I think. I have anti-static finger cots but I still wouldn't touch the platter freely etc. Anyway I'm interested in this stiction problem, it may be exactly that. Any idea how I would tell if it's a stiction? x

Plenty of success stories on the forum? What about all the unsuccessful stories which haven't been reported. People won't admit when they have been foolish. Use the search function if you want to learn more.

Well I'm going to post my story once I've done this. I'm going to take some pictures as well. I will start next week. Hoping it will be a success story haha. Just need to know a few basic things. Can a platter be touched from the sides with anti-static finger cots? x

You need tools to do this one with an not just your hands. Platter have alignment issue too like in heads and other things. Just to move them is not good enough. If you are so apt to do this one at least invest in some tools to work with. Not many people here will help out in this and answer many of your questions. Too many here have seen these results and had to try and fix the mess that were made in order to finally get data off a drive. Some were fixed where most were not.

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Iorana Haraharaini

I remember a guy that asked 'what do I have to wear to open the drive and change x and y ? ' , the answer was : at least your underwear
Beside that, clean environment is maybe the latest problem. The worse that can happen is that you loose data, but as long as it is the only way wanted to cross, the possibility of success are in the 10/20%

The drive I'm doing this to doesn't have multiple platters. It's a single 320GB platter. Otherwise I would never even risk this! The data isn't too important as I've said, and I have access to a cleanroom which I'm going to do this in next week. Just wanted to know the safest way to hold a platter. Can it be held from the sides with rubber finger cots? I'll post pictures and let you guys know if I'm successful or not *yikes* Lol x

I'm not a data recovery professional, so I can't talk from experience (the last time I worked on the mechanicals of a hard drive was 20 years ago). However, since you have access to a cleanroom, you should be able to see whether the heads are on the platter or on the loading ramp. If they're on the platter, then that's a stiction fault. Otherwise, if they're on the ramp, then the motor is probably seized, in which case you won't be able to turn it by hand.

Here is a post that you may want to read:
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=22119#p148637

BTW, if your drive sustained head or media damage as a consequence of the fall, then that would explain why Windows was running slowly afterwards. That is, Windows may have been having difficulty reading bad sectors. If you were perhaps thinking that Windows was running slowly because the motor was spinning slowly, then that's not possible. The motor either spins up to speed or it doesn't.

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A backup a day keeps DR away.

Ah I see, damn! Well I hope the pictures I'm after are recoverable. I think I'll do a platter swap instead if there's a stiction, don't want to risk damaging my platter. If I do manage to make the drive work, shall I connect it up as a master or slave and access it from Windows and copy the data to my master HDD? Also can you answer my questions in the above post about touching the platter please? Thankssss xx

Anyone?