Hi,

I have a Seagate Momentus 7200.4 500Gb that is no longer recognized in the BIOS and I'm hoping to get it started long enough to recover some data.

The symptoms:
A few days ago I closed the lid of my laptop and put it immediately in my bag. I do this often, as it hybernates when you close the lid. This time, when I opened the computer a half hour later I found it still on, but stuck trying to boot with a boot device not found error. The drive is not recognized int he BIOS. I swapped the drive out for another which was found, sot he problem is specific to the drive. When powered the drive makes a low-frequency beeping sound about once a second. I've uploaded a recording of the sound here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/llf9hc0fqmjz2pz/Momentus%20beep%20error.MP3.

Based on reading around various forums I think the problem is either stiction, motor failure, or logic board failure. Can anyone on this fourm diagnose the problem based on the sound or any other diagnostic I can try?

Any help would be seriously appreciated!!
Thanks!
Luke

Its either stiction or spindle motor jammed.(either way no DIY options)

Its Not PCB (logic board) fault.
So Don't waste time and effort on finding matching pcb.

If data is important, seek pro help

Exactly so.

If the data is required then DO NOT try any "Internet magic fixes" like banging it or hitting it with a rubber hammer. You will 90% certainly cause further damage, vastly increasing costs and/or render it unrecoverable.

We see this all the time with one time "stiction" problems DIY'd to death with the once stuck heads all ripped off and mangled, causing platter damage.

_________________
PC Image Data Recovery
http://www.pcimage.co.uk

New!! HDD-PCB.COM for all your PCB and donor HDD requirements!

Of course I wouldn't just bash it! That seems like it would never work!

Good to know it's not the logic board. A jammed spindle motor seems most likely since it is a Seagate. This procedure seems possible to do at home: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXxtSUwC2wk

The data is worth no more than $80 to me, so I'm hesitant to send it to a repair company. Do you think it's possible to do this procedure myself? I'm an electrical engineer and have spent a lot of time taking things apart and rebuilding them, though never a hard drive.

Then try it , if it works you need in any case another drive to copy your data into / as replacement , so in a nutshell why not buy another drive right away and carry on ?

If it doesn't work it will be no loss : so why not save yourself the hassle get another drive and carry on ?

In any case, a possible negative outcome should not affect your degree - you can always blame youtube

(it's the Chinese wisdom : if there is a solution, why worry ? If there is NO solution, why worry ?)

This procedure needs to be done in a clean room ,by somebody who has enough experience, with proper tools , after proper diagnosis.

Neither is your drive similar to the one in the video.(though the problem may be)

If data is not important, and you have time to spare, ...

a) That video is totally fake. I have never seen a seized motor unseize like that.
b) Your drive is totally different than the one on the video. Your drive hardly ever has a seized motor.
c) For $80, your choice is limited. Assuming you need another drive for your data to be copied, then as BlackST said, just buy a new drive.

Good luck.

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