Hello everybody ,

This is my first post on the hddguru forum. I'm a pc enthousiast from belgium , making my first steps into hdd recovery.
I the past i've done some recovery , but mostly on logical problems ( corrupt filesystems , ... )

At this moment i'm stuck on a Seagate Momentus 5400.6 - ST9500325AS.

A. s.m.a.r.t check resolved an issue with reallocated_sectors :

5 Reallocated_Sector_Ct 0x0033 003 003 036 Pre-fail Always FAILING_NOW 2006

B. block level copy of disk with GNU ddrescue only worked for the first 220 000 bytes.

# pos size status
0x00000000 0x00220000 +
0x00220000 0xD8B7F600 -
0xD8D9F600 0x07482A00 /
....

C. Seatools also reported failure on test & repair :

Short Generic - FAIL 20/09/2014 18:15:31
SeaTools Test Code: 6C9AC2A4

Long Generic - Started 20/09/2014 18:16:26
Bad LBA: 0 Unable to repair
Long Generic - FAIL 20/09/2014 18:16:49
SeaTools Test Code: 6C9AC2A4


So my question is : anybody has an idea how to advance ?
How should I proceed , how can I find where the problems is located. ( pcb , physical components , ... )

In attachment I've added the complete ddrescue log & smart data.


Thx in advance ...

You need special tools for data recovery on this case. if not better contact with a pro.

witch tools do you have? i can recoment some on belgium.

hello hhddrec ,

I'm going to grab me a "usb-to-ttl" cable so I can read out some serial info on the console.
But I'm looking for some guidance on debugging commands.
Are these commands vendor specific ? Are these commands available for the 'public' ?
I want to learn where the problem resides. ( fixing it is probably above my head ... )

I have a spare machine where I can boot any O.S. or software from with multiple SATA connections.
Further then that , I do not have pro tools such as pc-3000 & "clean room".

Thx for reply.

With a TTL adapter we can try some solutions for some problems

when you have it we can continue testing

TTL adapter arrived today , so I can probably do some testing during weekend.

Can I just hook up the gnd/tx/rx to pins ? Do I have to do some other preparations ?
--> should i place card between pcb & drive heads or is this not mandatory ?

Which commands are usefull to launch in hyperterminal to do some tests ?
Any basic tutorial / knowledge available for me to read ?

Thx a lot ...

hey guys, I hadn't posted in here before now, mainly because the issue I'm working on I thought was like 1990's technology. I've been searching the web and trying to learn from scratch about this for like a month now. I've come a LONG way to where I feel like I'm right on the brink of success, but I've gotta be missing something simple.

Okay, so I have a USB to TLL adapter. I've got two breadboard jumper wires (female to female, connected to TX and RX of HDD and USB adapter) and I'm running Putty.

I placed the piece of cardstock between the primary circuit board and the hdd and tightened and loosened the certain screws (that part definitely confused me, but I realize now it's because you need to temporarily disconnect a certain piece of the PCB from connecting to the HDD for a brief bit.

My only problem is, when I connect the SATA power to the HDD, you can hear it silently start to spin up but thats where I'm stuck. in terminal (putty), when I type, there is nothing. Upon connecting the power, I see nothing. sometimes when I hit "ctrl +z" or any other combination of keys I'll get a single character that looks like its static-ed out. IU've tried switching around the cables and am currently waiting on two more jumper wires to see if 4 connected to 3.3v, tx, rx, and ground will have more affect than just the TX and RX with the data power giving it 5v.


Anyways I know I'm missing something and if anyone can help that would be amazing!

The computer it came out of was an Asus 1005HAB little mini netbook and the HDD is a Seagate Momentus 5400.6.



p.s. if anyone just happens to know the Master Password for this HDD, that would probably save me a whole lot of time, although this has definitely been a great project for learning and I would rather finish it even if I could get the master password to unlock it.

Oh wow, okay! Thanks man! I'll try that here in an hour or so when I get back home and I'll keep you posted for results!

Okay, so I tried following the article. I hooked up my usb to tll adapter with two pins, one on the RX pin that went the the TX, and one for the others. When I booted up the ZOC I was able to successfully conect to the drive, but when I go to run the sUnlock script, this is what I get..