Yes, every file I checked looked good, but I did not check them all. There were random bad sectors distributed from the beginning of the drive to about sector 11,000,000, and then it cleared up through the end of the drive.

I did not open it to check for scratches, since it was under warranty. However, usually when there are scratches, you cannot read anything, because the heads are bad.

The process using the PC3000 is:

1) Safe mode, load loader with the following parameters:
*Read boot adaptives - check
*App code - Start Safe - (don't select store to HDD)
*Read system sectors from surface - check
*CERT code - Download to RAM.
2) When loaded – do Ctrl-C to reset firmware.
3) Start imaging using Data Extractor without repowering the drive.

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http://www.datasaversllc.com

Right, that was a regular app code failure, why would you all think it was that dreadful media damage?
It would have been clicking at least if it was the case.

thanks to jono-ats, this thread has been very eye-opening to me. i was going to spend some of my hard earned money towards the SalvationData software. now i see it is not worth the trouble.

im glad everything worked out for you jono-ats!

I just wanted to mention that Laura of Salvation was true to her promise, which I appreciate.

Seagate firmware is hard to work with, period. Some people have reported in this forum that the Salvation Data tool works well for them. I suspect that they know a lot more about these drives than I do . . .

Salvation's forum wasn't available when I was trying to use it. I imagine that if Salvation Data invested in better documentation and improved their tech support (even at additional cost) it would be a lot more successful.

People complain about the cost of the PC3000. But if you have worked for companies that do extensive R&D (as I have) then you are aware of the costs of research and keeping software & etc. up to date. Much of the cost of the PC3000 is the cost of tech support, such as producing a really detailed user's guide.

Sometimes at the end of the day, you actually get what you pay for . . . .

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http://www.datasaversllc.com

hello jono-ats..can you help me..? I am using windows vista. My laptop cannot starting the windows. I don't know what is the error.. when i switch on the laptop, the command box will appear to fix the problem. so i let it to fix that, but nothing happened after that. So what should i do now?

Sorry, there is not enough info in your post to know where to start. I am no expert in Vista system repair.

If your drive has bad sectors or other physical issues, attempting a software repair (or reovery) might actually harm the drive instead of help.

I suggest that you try to locate a professional in your area.

Good luck!

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http://www.datasaversllc.com

thanks..I will try it..

Why not spam every topic?

That'll sure get you help!

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

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