Hello everyone,

I have a Maxtor DiamondMax 22 (STM3500320AS) 500 GB SATA hard disk that suddenly stopped working.

First, I got a warning from Windows 7 saying the disk is reporting errors (could be a SMART thing, but the error message I got didn't say exact details) and that I should back it up immediately. My Windows 7 installation is on a different hard disk, so this one only had my files and (ironically) backups.

I stopped using it immediately and started copying stuff off it to an external drive last night. This morning while I was still copying some of the files, I got a read error on one of the files, then suddenly everything started going downhill from there. At first I could see the files but I got read errors when I tried to copy them. Then I decided to shut down Windows and maybe try using a bootable Ubuntu Linux flash drive. Windows took an exceptionally long time to shut down, and when I booted into Linux it could read the drives but couldn't mount any of them (the disk had 3 partitions).

Right now, the hard disk is still visible in BIOS but otherwise unusable. When I try to boot Windows with it connected it just stops at the Windows logo and I have to force a hard power off. I tried listening for any loud clicking sounds or any unusual noise coming from the Maxtor hard disk, but I couldn't discern any abnormal sounds (but then again, my hearing might not be that good, and there are 4 different fans buzzing away inside the case and overshadowing the HDD sounds).

I've been all over the internet (and this forum) and I found many people complaining from a common defect in this particular model. However, in many of those cases the disk wasn't readable in BIOS, and I am yet to find a case exactly like mine.

Thankfully I managed to back up most of the data on the hard disk before it gave out, but since I can't even access it anymore I don't know if I may have missed something somewhat important. If the disk media is at all salvageable, I would like to try and rescue it.

My question: what do you guys think the most likely cause of these symptoms is? Is it possible the board/firmware is causing this, or is it likely a media issue or a "head crash"? Should I bother taking it to a professional to try and repair it, or is it probably dead already?

I've attached photos of the front and the back of the drive, in case they prove useful.

Thanks for reading this far. All responses are highly appreciated!

Your hard drive is failing. Smart has notified you of this. Best procedure is to use a hardware imager designed for failing drives to duplicate drive and then recover from clone. This introduces the least stress. There are software options available that can duplicate a drive with bad sectors- don't try it with software made for working drives. If data is important take it to a reputable recovery company. It should be very reasonable at this point. The price may go up dramatically if the drive continues to be stressed with continued attempts to copy files.

Well, I don't have that much experience with failing hard drives, and it was working fine when I got the warning so I didn't think just copying the files from it would make things worse. Oh well, no point crying over spilled milk...

I'm not aware of any "reputable recovery company" where I live (in Cairo, Egypt). The best I can do in that department is take it to a computer shop who may have more tools and more experience than I do, but no guarantees whatsoever.

Can you please suggest the name of such a software tool that would work with this failing drive? Would CloneZilla work, for example? Or do I need some specialized software or hardware?

Thanks for your reply!

I don't have any tools or experience with this kind of problem. It seems like this situation needs some specialized hardware, and a lot of experience.

I have disconnected the drive and probably won't try to connect it again on my own. Hopefully I can find someone with the right kind of experience and tools to do it for me, and hopefully all is not lost just yet.

Right now I live in Egypt, so it might be a little hard to find someone like that around here. But, I might be going to the USA to visit some relatives in a few months, so if I couldn't find someone here until then I will take it with me and see if I can find a professional company to do it in the USA for a reasonable price.

Thanks for the reply!