I have an entertaining story for you folks today!

A client passed me a broken hitachi travelstar 2.5 inch, model HTS541060G9AT00, serial XEG330KK, used as an external HD for 3 or 4 years. It spins up, but is not seen in BIOS, mhdd, or Seagate tools. Ok, now the usual stuff is out of the way... the rest should serve as a warning.

The client mentioned they had passed it to a small repair shop while in Bangkok, who told him (after a day or so) the drive had "too many viruses" and returned it to him. So, as usual, I take the drive out of the SATA to USB enclosure for some basic software tests... and things start to look bad. Every seal has been broken, the big copper sticker on the top is half peeled off, and there is a screw missing from the metal cover that contains the platter/heads (what's a clean room?).

So, first moral of the story: If your drive has "stopped working" (and the data is valuable) give it to data recovery experts, never some general laptop repair shop. Especially in asia (the repair shops are good if you want to replace a screen or format a functioning hard drive and put pirate windows on it, but that's it).

I'm the unfortunate fool that is now stuck with this drive, and no doubt will be asked to 'do something', despite not having a very strong background in data recovery (I have successfully swapped a logic board and NVRAM once for charity). Also, I'm in the middle of Vietnam and I have no access to anything more sophisticated than a cheap 2$ soldering iron.

Second moral: If you're not a data recovery expert, and someone looks like they're going to pass you a drive with physical damage, feign death. In hindsight this would have been easier.

My plan right now is to tell him I'm going to fail and suggest mailing the drive overseas before things get worse. Feel free to PM me a ballpark quote, (starting at... is fine) if he accepts I'll be happy to be rid of this thing and have it in more qualified hands.

Sadly, he's probably going to insist I try something, at which point at least it's free practice for me. Here's my plan (feel free to laugh at it, at this point I know it's absurd):

1. Somehow find a similar model. Swap board and NVRAM. There's no reasoning behind this, it's just the only thing I'm able to do reasonably well with what's on hand. See if it works.
2. Build a small clean room. Find or make demagnetized tools. See if the platters have physical damage.
3. Swap heads. See if it works.
4. Swap platter. See if it works.
5. Say a few touching words and bury it.

So, fingers crossed that he agrees to professional recovery!

Hi,

I'm sorry but with no experience and -as you say- no tools, your attempts will only end up in #5. of your list. You can skip other steps too. It should be: 5. Say a few touching words and bury it. 5. Say a few touching words and bury it. 5. Say a few touching words and bury it. 5. Say a few touching words and bury it. 5. Say a few touching words and bury it.

Why don't you explain to your client that the other workshop has butchered the drive and now there is nothing you can do? Explain that if he cares about the data, then you all should stop playing with the drive.

The fact that the other workshop has opened the drive, apparently with no clean facilities, experience and tools either, does not give a lot of hope for this drive, but your general idea of sending it to someone experienced enough deal with this, is the ONLY viable option you have.

I wish you the best of luck.

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

I guess, it is a lie. No repair shop (even the smallest one in Bangkok) would look for viruses by opening cover. Even the most dumb technician would know things like this for sure. So why PRo DR specialist would believe it was a truth? I wonder...

It doesn't matter if it 's a lie or the truth. The end result is the same: The drive has been butchered.


PS. I once spoke with some "tech" who said the drive was full of viruses which "caused the drive to malfunction". So he opened the drive and see how they look...

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

Then I tend to believe it is urban legend inside DR Pro community. I have dealt with many technicians, no-one is so stupid as you guys want to believe. As truth is that people remember what they want to remember and believe what they want to believe.

A genius... And did he use an electron microscope to see the little bastards dancing fandango on the platters ?

It was a typical joke and northwind took as granted, we do accept everything that suit us. Nothing new.

Unfortunately no. I have seen something very similar...

It means, you have believed in something similiar...

Ah, so you were present in the conversation. Are you spying my phone calls?

Regarding your personal attacks on me (and everyone else on DR for that matter) I simply won't reply to your idiotic implies, simply because I have no time to spend on people with obvious complex syndromes.

See you.

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

Ah, a bit of cultural context: This is Asia and if my boss asks me to do something, I can advise him of the limits of my skills (in private), but refusing to try if he insists is not really an option (the whole losing face thing). My workplace is in general quite reasonable, and I'd prefer to keep working there! It's actually OK if I fail, as long as I've honored the request by making an honest attempt.

I did manage to (somehow) find a donor drive, on the second floor of a building with piles of questionable parts. It tests OK. Hopefully he'll agree to send both drives to a professional.

Otherwise, yes... I'm a big fan of option number 5...

I forgot about that.
In your private conversation with your boss, remind / inform him, that such task is not something that is going to succeed without proper equipment/skills/know-how and explain his only feasible option here: ship drive(s) to a pro.

Let's hope your boss is a reasonable person. If not, he will be an un-reasonable person with no data.

Good luck my friend.

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

What I say is based on psychology. These are typical jokes in specific communities which are targeting weakneses of such community. Opening hard drives in searching for viruses is just an example of it.

Now I am quite serious:
If you say I made personal attacks on you or on others, you must say specifically where it was, so I can correct it for future. Posting like this makes no sense other than unloading grieviances.

Whatever. No time for this.

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

Option #6 Ladder Climbing: Mumble something about it being very complex and will take you many nights working on it at home. Send it to DR company. Pay Dr company yourself. Return recoverd data to company wearing Superman outfit.

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

Very tempting, if I thought I could get it done for under 500$ I'd just pay it and call the difference a fee for finding the donor drive.

Not sure where I'd find a superman outfit here. Probably have to order that from overseas too. Seems to be a technical necessity, so I guess dealextreme might have it.

Superman things is a type of dream of degenerated western civilisation, sort of replacement for lost purpose of live. If you can't get it in local outlets, it means you don't really need it.
Not kidding....

Or you really got a purpose in life, and dream about a quick way to fulfil it...

Which is a quite human thing to do.

What makes you so upset, so escaped to personal attacks? I talk about western civilisation, I am being part of it. OP has explained plainly is not a part of superman civilisation. It should give you some food for thoughts...