Let them screw up things, one day they will learn. Don't worry. Live and let die the economy must go on... New drives sold, an so the story goes.

I have seen tons of posts here where people ask for help and the reply is essentially forget it , its beyond their capability. People dont want to hear that. Its an insult to their inteligence, especially when they come to a forum like this one expecting details. Its sort of like false advertising. Everything about hard drives - but we arnt going to tell you. Its very anoying, and even more so when the reply is carefully worded to be insulting. That is what Rchadwick really enjoys doing. Very carefully worded insults that drive people nuts. Just ask Yamboo29, that is, if he ever comes back.

If your going to take the time to say its beyond their capabilities, then be helpfull and explain why. That way, they are not insulted, but they are understanding as they learn something new. And that is why they came here in the first place.

Its the polite thing to do. I know that being insulting is much more fun than being polite, but insults dont accomplish anything usefull.

I am not a big fan of secrets. I think they are a waste of time and the world would be better off if we all shared what we know. But if we are going to harbor and protect secrets, then we can at least be polite about it. And that is my obsetion, if that is what you want to call it.

STTS:

Congratulations!

I officially appoint you as the NEWBIE AMBASSADOR.

You are responsible for welcoming all newcomers: making them feel comfortable and important, answering all of their questions (complete and correct in every technical detail), and communicating all in the simplest and most unambiguous language possible (a spell-checker might prove helpful).

You will have then addressed or solved the problem that concerns you so much.

_________________
http://www.datasaversllc.com

They don't want to hear that... Yes, they want illusions. Internet advice and videos are for this and it's enough. Even if I say "it's a translator problem" or "check module #33" or "you have to swap the heads then do alignment then..." or "check the signal at testpoint xxx with a 200 Mhz scope, trigger on xxx" etc. or "check the servo gate signal" or "desolder the rom and program it externally" do you think it would be for you or for the average poster except "pros" ? NO !!!! More than this... You haven't realized that some equipment is not for everyone, or better, to own is not for everyone, and MASTERING is for even fewer. It's not my problem, anyway.

stts. I have no idea what all the scandal is about, but to be honest, you seem to miss a point: data recovery is HARD WORK and needs SPECIAL TOOLS. I have spent a lifetime in high tech, and "spent" 30K US$ on tools and training, and it is STILL HARD. Way harder than all the other high tech businesses I run (hosting/housing, backup, software backoffices). You make people think its easy, or encourage them to use simple methods to problems that the pros find hard. I say you should not over exaggerate the issue (maybe your point is that) but don't insult all of us who have spent hours and many $$$$$ by implying it's easy. So many posts are first posters with a bad disk, because they read the freezer trick, or watch a youtube video, and think they can get their data back for free. Fine, for them, but don't encourage them to mess up more if the data is important to them!

I hope you take the comment well.

Who knows ? Maybe he is paid under the counter by all major drive manufacturers....

stts
If you care about my point of view, here it is. I would not want this forum to turn into a "very polite place" (politeness enforced). Because pros will just leave (yes they will I can assure everyone and in a very short period of time). The forum will only have questions from newbies and polite answers from almost-newbies that have close to zero value. I've seen that a lot, and I do not want it happen here.

You may ask why I feel this way? It might turn into a lengthy discussion and I am not sure if I want to have it. Believe me. I run these forums since 2002 and have a lot of experience running some other non-HDD related communities - it is the same everywhere.

This place is extremely useful to someone who truly wants to learn something.

_________________
Dmitry

I agree 100%

I agree 10'000%.

This particular drive family requires transferring the contents of the Flash ROM to the new PCB (which must be from the same drive family). This is critical for recovery of the data as there is specific adaptive data in the ROM specific to this drive only. You could either desolder/resolder the ROM from the old board to the new or you could use an eprom programmer (or other specialized equipment). Bottom line: this, unfortunately, is not really a job for a novice.

i feel devastated, does any1 feel my pain? i'm pretty sure this has happened to alota folks on different drives. i spent hours of my free time on weekend nights on a project i was working on, it took a year. It was going to be my big debut project for the world to see and media sites. ofcourse i can redo everything from scratch, the methods are all in my head but it will take another year. i am so depressed right now and hopeless. people at work noticed it too and suggested happy pills (whatever those are).

I do alota soldering but I need to do a hell of alot more research on this type of hard drive. I figure i get a working "dummy" drive which is the same exact model and open it up to see what i have to deal with and put it back together with random data in it to see if it will read it again. Feels like I'm spending too much time right now to figure out how to recover this drive. need some R&R.

I dont know anything about how to flash ROMS. I will post some pics and show me where the ROM is.

Could I just take turns running each individual 160gb plate (as a last resort) on another wd5000ks for restoration purposes? I'm guessing windows will alert me that the drive is 140-160gb and it is "unformatted" so in this situation i cud use recovery software to recover the "lost data"? Easier said than done. I know some of you will say no don't do it but tell me the reason to not. I cud create a dust-free dome to work in and have latex gloves on and act like i'm doing sensitive neurosurgery. Can the plates be run individually or are they attached permanently together?

and where is this "wanted" section of the forum? i cant seem to find it. i want to post my pcb board specs on it.

The wanted section is located here: buy-sell-parts-hard-drives-etc-f15.html
We have all felt the same pain

I will repeat it again "DON'T OPEN THE DRIVE"
a platter exchange is NOT needed.

Platter exchange is the VERY VERY LAST thing even a Pro would attempt.
The Rom chip is U12 on the board .it is Surface mount technology.
it will most likely need to be swapped, not flashed.
but even for the swap , you really need the proper tools.



PS check your pm

If there is a year's worth of data on there, $2000 sounds reasonable to get it back, unless if you make less than $2000 a year. You might also find someone who can do it cheaper. However, if this is really that important to you, you shouldn't even consider doing it yourself. Seriously. I don't know where this 'Platter Swap' thing became an actual cure for anything. Maybe it just sounds catchy. You've got more than one platter. If they turn relative to each other in the slightest, game over... Nobody will be able to recover anything then. Removing them without special tools that keeps them together is absolutely guaranteed to remove all chance of saving a years' worth of work. Considering it would take another year to recreate this, I am still dumbfounded by your desire to do this yourself. I also don't think you appreciate how delicate drives are. A 'dust-free dome' might work, but would be risky. The dust that can cause problems is so small you can't see it. How can you be sure it's dust-free? How would you get the dust out? Also, heads are sensitive to static. How would you eliminate that? Also, how will you align the heads after you manage to succeed? This is very fine work, requiring a lot of practice to get it done. Will you buy 5 or 10 drives to practice on? I can keep going on and on, but you don't seem to understand how ridiculous it sounds doing this yourself. If you have no money, and the data isn't important, you don't have much to lose (Your chances would still be less than 1%). Why risk a whole year of your life? Also, it sounds like you don't need to even open the drive! Why are you thinking of opening the drive?

Hey, this might sound rude. If I told my doctor that I wanted to do my own open-heart surgery, and wanted to know about valve-swapping, I suspect my doctor would yell at me until the message sunk in.

If you're STILL unable to get over your obsession of opening the drive, buy two identical drives. Try a 'platter swap', or whatever you think will work. When the two drives don't work, you either know what we're saying is true, or you can buy two more drives, and keep doing it until you probe us wrong. If you're still willing to risk a year of work, then it's obviously not that important. Best of luck.

allright i understand. the days are over to swap plates when they became multi-platter plates. AND yes my data is very important to me, very eye-straining work i did for a year. AND no i dont have that kinda money to just recover this file, im just an entry level something, a rookie. so a rom swap sounds like it cud work but i think i'm better off hiring someone to do that. i just saw my rom and my soldering skills will not suffice at all. i am not buying any services right now lol thanx for the quotes tho. i cud see this job is expensive. i think i'll play the waiting game for my pcb. it's cheaper and my data aint going anywhere. i'm storing my hdd in 2 zip lock bags with a few silica pads to keep it dry for now. it will hibernate in a cave for now. thanx for all your input fellas. I guess for now i will just have to redo my project. another year, i guess it will be a lil better this time around. for now i'm gona invest in tape backup, a raid hdd, dvd-r's, flash memory and have a backup of everything to the n'th power. ok maybe thats a lil expensive, i'll stick with the high quality dvd-rs for backup data and a raid-1 and an external down the road.

That's good advice for alot of folks. Besides, it's about as easy at it would ever get... There are quite a few folks that should do exactly as directed.

_________________
http://pcrecoveryllc.com

Rchadwick, I'd like to get your perspective on the major alignment issues and some of the fixes. I'm well aware of the WD challenges, but how about, say a single-platter drive with just 2 heads?

Jon

_________________
http://www.datasaversllc.com

Are you talking about axis alignment set by the lid?

I never take opinions and viewpoints the wrong way. Everybody is entitled to their own whether others agree or not. But I am disapointed that the admin feels that this place is best when people act rudely. This means I have no authoritative backing to get people to behave professionally. With no backing, then there is no point to trying to get people to straighten up.

The Iranian president, and a growing population of germans, believe that the Jewish holocaust was a fairy tale. They are entitled to their beliefs, but I chose not to share company with them. I also dont like shareing company with people that enjoy harrasing others. Its not something that makes my day.

I backup my gargantuan library of data. So I really dont need any of this. But I will continue to hunt for things to learn untill things here discust me to leave. It appears that is all I can do.

if the data is important as you say it is, you will find a way to pay.

I think you could get hold of the money but begrudge paying for data recovery because you think it is easy. Thats the impression I have got from reading your posts. (still talking of platter swaps even after many pro's told you don't even think about it and it's not even needed).
Why not sell some of your luxury items or get yourself a credit card or loan to pay off over a period of time?

£500 - £2000 is cheap for a whole year saved.

No you haven't and didn't the fact you have no backing or endorsing told you that you are probably wrong or in the wrong place with your general way of thinking ? It's like going to a rednecks convention with a "HUNT HUNTERS" t-shirt or to a pacifist sit-in with a "NRA FOREVER!" one. Don't expect to be treated fairly. You say you should have the right to express your opinions ? So we. The answers are not harsh, the answers are always REAL and respectful, only we don't want to be pissed off. It's GREAT advice to safeguard data by not doing unwise attempts. Remember this is not a help desk, and the cost for hosting, bandwidth, resources and so on deserve RESPECT in any case.



Are we making politics instead of DR now ? It's a mine field and definitely off topic. You choose who to moake company with, your sharing and your way of life. Planet earth is wide, no one is kicking you away, just read the forum rules (Dmitry has magnificently synthesized everything in a few lines !!) and everyone will be happy. Otherwise, you have already seen the consequencies. Everyone qualifies himself with his word, expressions and way of thinking.