thanks guys for the tips, actually, mrspokk, after i read your reply, i foned the guy up who has given it to me and i told him that he would hav to take it to a pro to get it opened up and checked, like u had said, but he said to me not to bother as the data is not that vital, and he had already taken it to someone and they were gona charge him an arm n a leg. anyway, i get the feeling that hes disgarded it now, i thort he was pretty serious at first but jus seems to want to leave it. but he said i can keep the drive

so if i can fix it i can hav it...
so even tho i aint got a cleanroom as such, i wana try n see if i can find the problem, i myt aswell, considering its useless now. but dont wana do anythin stupid, so does anybody know a gud technique for checking this drive? or the process of opening it up safely etc (as i actually got excited n took the screws outa the top to lift the lid, which of course dint come off, so ive put the screws bak in coz i got scared

)
can anyone help me?

mrspokk, id love to try find out if the head has gone as you mentioned, but dont wana completely destroy it, can you offer any help with gettin to the heart of this thing??
thanks guys
