OK - I am good about backing up - but due to holidays - last couple of months; I did not do it. And the Drive ST3000DM001 decided to give us a new year's present and died.

This is my daughter and wife's computer but as per them - there are some important data/pictures/video on it which needs to be recovered.

But to get to the point - I read through 100s of posts on this and other forums and know all about 7200.11 issues. This is 7200.14 and my issue is somewhat different (though it seems similar to 0 LBA problem mentioned on other threads). And I have done some diagnostics/experiments to come to somewhat solid conclusion (of course I could be wrong).

First the symptoms - the drive DOES NOT SPIN. BIOS detects it and considers it not bootable. BIOS parameters show 0MB.

Removed the drive and first suspicions based on the fact that disk does not even spin - heads are crashed or that power is fried to the drive (thought there are no signs of that on PCB - I can post pictures if anyone wants). Multimeter shows 1.4 V on each terminal going into the HDD motor.

Went running down to local store and picked up an identical drive - but turned out PCB version and FW versions are different. So I did not expect it to work. But tested the voltage to motor on the new one - and they are 4V+.

So at the least - power something on the original PCB is fried.

Swapped the PCB from new drive to old drive and voila - the disk spins happily!! So in my mind (correct me if I am wrong) I am making progress in right direction and that disks/heads have not crashed.

Given different firmware/ROM - I did not expect this to work - but I tried it anyway and hooked up old drive with new PCB in computer - same outcome - no boot and 0MB size in BIOS (HOWEVER SeaTools now gives a different error code and the disk spins).

So my thinking is - I have three options:
1) Do a professional data recovery (at least I feel the data is safe on the drive)
2) Buy a PCB with same rev etc. and swap the ROM (or have it done professionally)
3) Replace the power chips on this PCB (or have it done professionally)

Two questions:
1) What would you recommend given the symptoms and above investigation?
2) I am in San Francisco Bay area - can you recommend a good professional who will charge me accordingly depending on which option is needed?

Any other suggestions? Any specs on voltages to check coming down from the power connectors to identify which chip (or component is fried)? Or am I missing something completely?

Thanks a lot in advance!! If I get through this (successfully or not) I promise to give a complete summary/conclusion at the end of whole thing.

- Quasi

if you can post some images of the PCB of the old drive it might help, at least we know the heads are not stuck. Do you know exactly what happened to the drive to cause it to fail...

The only thing I can recomend is that you try and find the correct PCB from ebay, then swap the rom and try it. If it fails then something is cruppted in the firmware and will probably need DR.

I'm working through a similar recovery process with my 7200 and chose not to monkey around with my PCB. For me, it was faster with less headaches to send it out. For $50 I sent it to PCB Solutions in BC. They handled the exclusive adaptive data from the original board and the same firmware. I scoured ebay but couldn't find an exact match and sketchy about adaptive data.

I'm not promoting any particular vendors. I just went through the same frustrating experience and found these guys to be a reasonable solution.

Hope that helps.

Kindly,
CrashGordon

Thanks everyone for the reply - so seems like ROM switch on identical PCB would be best solution instead of figuring out what on PCB has gone bad?

CrashGordon - thanks for the suggestions. I was hoping to find someone local so I can take the disk over and get an idea. Did it work out good in your case? Did you send the whole drive or just the PCB?

Thanks again for all reply. And again - if any recommendation for local San Francisco Bay Area specialist - that would be great.

- Quasi

Yes - my daughter said that it was complaining that disk C: was running out of space. Does that indicate anything more sinister (i.e., some critical segment overwritten?).

Hi Quasi,

If you visit PCB Solution (not sure if we're allowed to post links but just do a Google search), they give you very clear and specific instructions including an online form to fill out. It's very easy even for a novice.

You only have to carefully remove the Printed Circuit Board (PCB) and send it to them. They match it, load the firmware, migrate the ROM, and program your unique data.

In my case, I am still dealing with bigger issues at the moment and I only just received mine back recently BUT the replacement brought the drive back to life and it can power up now. I'm still trying to "read" the data so I can hopefully recover it.

Good luck!
CrashGordon

Hi CrashGordon - Yes I did find the website and thanks for details above.

I am curious as to what additional problems you are having. I am just trying to see if I might have same issues after getting PCB updated and if it would make sense to just bite the bullet and send it to Seagate recovery for $499.

Absolutely.

Currently, I still cannot "see" my drive in Device Manager, Windows Explorer, or the recovery software I'm using after testing and ruling out bad cables and ports.

I will be next trying a work-around with a USB to Serial (RS232) Drive Repair Tool also available at PCB Solution.

Looks like PCB Solution also offers a Data Recovery Service for $275. I have not used this service so I cannot comment on it but it might be an option for you to consider vs Seagate's $499.

Hope that helps.

Kindly,
CrashGordon

Attached are the pictures of the PCB from both sides - anyone can see anything obvious?

oooooohhhhhhh, looks like this Seagate drive uses the 3.3v rail on the sata connector and got rid of there on board regulater chips. This is the first time I've seen this, seagate are getting lazy.

You might have a problem with the 0 ohm resisters on the 3.3v line. they could have died, they look a little damaged compared to the other. The resisters are the black objects with the o in the middle. at the top near the sata connector. If the power sorce does not have an orange cable on the sata connector or those risitors are dead then the drive will not work.

Thanks Shane - so check resistance on those? Assuming if fried they will be infinite resistance (i.e., like a fuse)? Are they easy to replace?

use a volt meter and see if you get a 3.3v measurement before and after the resisters. If you get nothing then its a simple step of snipping off the resister and replacing it with a peace of solder or wire, but you will loose that protection. Also the large black thing, a TVS Diod could be shorted if something happened. But I think it could be okay, Probably the hard drive used too many amps and wore out the resisters.

ShaneWard, I checked those 7 resistors - they all checked out OK. Anything else I can check?

SATA cable should be fine because new drive (identical - see above) works with it.

I checked only the resistance across those 7 resistors - did not check it plugged into power cable - will do that. What should I expect at the end of big black thing (diode? - the one that says SJT 42) if it is functional?

ShaneWard, OK - the first three pins have 12V - also at the end of resistors. Pins 7-8-9 have 5V which is also at the beginning of black chip (SJT42 right side) - on the left side of black thing - it shows 0.0v. Does is mean anything? Any other places I should check?

OK - the Black chip may be false flag - I checked on the good board on the new disk - even there it shows 0.0V - so maybe it is supposed to be 0.0v (maybe when drive is not connected). Anything else to check?

Do you get a 3.3V reading for any other reisster connected to the Sata cable, near the Orange cable?



Now thinking about it, if BIOS sees the drive then I don't think its mechanical. Could be something wrong with the Firmwhere inside the ROM chip stopping the drive from starting.

The fact the new PCB board worked fine means the New PCB has its own firmwhere. Sadly I don't have knowlage of this part of recovery...

@quasimatter, ISTM that the onboard power supplies are probably OK (because the drive communicates with BIOS), but it wouldn't hurt to measure the voltages between ground and each of the 4 coils. Also measure the voltages at each of the 2 adjacent diodes (black things). One will be the negative supply for the preamp.

_________________
A backup a day keeps DR away.

Please don't use the 7200.11 "m" command with your drive. Also, be aware that the subject drive may be using 1.8V I/O, so a typical USB-serial adapter may not work without modification.

For example, see the "Kindle" trick in the following thread:

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=29286

_________________
A backup a day keeps DR away.

Is it possible that the drive is affected by a PUIS issue (Power Up In Standby)?

See http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/wind ... 0cad9759c9

_________________
A backup a day keeps DR away.