Hi. This is my first time posting and ive heard some good things about this forum so HELLO ALL. unfortunately, i bare bad news (well 4 me neway lol). I have a 400gb external MDT (Magnetic Data Technology) sata drive. my pc shut off during a power out and this is when the problem began. here is the problem. when i turn the external drive on the light is supposed to turn green but it doesnt. it turns read. i put my hand on the top of the drive to see if its still spinning and it is. then after about 10 seconds, its start to click. it goes click, click, click (3 times), then it stops and after 20 seconds, it clicks 3 more times and stops, and repeats all day until i turn it off. but, on every third click, the light turns green for a second but then goes red again. all the while this is happening, the drive is still spinning. my usb ports work fine, but my pc isnt picking up on it at all. i just want to learn why get the data off if possible then im done with it. could someone please assist me with recovering data if possible. Thanks ahead of time.

Before you open the external drive and void the warranty you may want to think about if the data is worth more that the price of a new unit. If the data is more important then open the drive and find out what brand and model drive you have. Then come back and tell us the model number.

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What is the drive inside the external box?

Your drive is likely to be a victim of a power surge. Barring a miracle, you will probably need professional help.

Your drive is likely to be a rebuilt Western Digital drive. That creates unique challenges for us because there is potentially custom firmware and other fun issues that are unique and specific to "repaired" drives.

Unfortunately, barring a miracle, this will likely cost more than an average failed drive due to extra difficulties involved in finding compatible parts/firmware. If the data on the drive is not worth at least $1000 USD, you may as well simply get a warranty replacement unit.

Notice my use of the word "likely" as you have not provided us with sufficient information about the drive. The first step is to extract the drive from its enclosure (do not open the actual drive for any reason!) and to post all data from the top label. The next step is usually to take a good high resolution picture of the green electronics circuit board. The board would usually need to be removed with a Torx screwdriver and flipped to see if there is damage to electronic components.

I sincerely wish you luck.

According to symptoms is a WD drive. In any case, you can't do nothing. 99% is a dead preamp/headstack. Total: 1000$ and up. Period.

MDT = Western Digital.

If the model is something like a WD4000KS then it is very possible that you have head damage. Other times it is a bad logic board or firmware. The problem with MDT is that the labels will not tell you what Western Digital drive was used, but gear like the PC3000 will.

If it is a logic board problem, you are looking at considerably less than $1000 (although I speak for myself here). A recovery involving a head swap is worth $1000.

Jon

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Hi. and thanks for all of the replys and help. i really dont care about voiding the warranty if need be becuase i didnt pay that much 4 it and i went ahead and purchased a 1tb hdd so if we do get it up and working for a second, i can back it up, if not, i have a new HDD. the data is very important and at last result will open it up if you all feel that i need to, but if i lose it then oh well life goes on i guess lol. i will now list the pics and what the actual label says. the label

MDT 400gb
http://www.mdtglobal.com
drive parameters:
7200 rpm
ata300
16mb buffer

5vDC
12vDC

Serial ATA hard drive

S/N MCANU1246530

MDL: Md040000-BQGW-RO
Date: 05 dec 2007
DID: KSOOMNB040000

master/slve jumper not required for sata. jumpered pins 1 and 2 enable ssc (spread spectrum clocking). jumpered pins 5 and 6 enable SATA 150MB/s only operation.

if the images are not clear enough, let me know and i will try to get my hands on a better camera. THANK YOU ALL very much and look foward to what i hope is a successful troubleshoot.

Can you post a picture of the front label also.
Is there a small whtie sticker on a top of the drive?

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That's a WD4000KS-00MNB0. These drives usually have firmware/heads/pcb problems. Mr. Genuflect is correct.

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Buy your friends Toshiba\Hitachi and your enemies Seagate.

Thats probably my least favorite WD drive series to work on so far... Most of the ones I've seen are head damage.

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You don't have to backup all of your files, just the ones you want to keep.

wow, this sounds serious. i have to get a better camera to take a picture of the label but what i wrote in my last post was basically it but i will try and get a better camera soon. ok fella's, is there anything that i can try to get this to work? im ready for some troubleshootin lol. Thanks

Short answer? No self-help with this one. If data is important, look to send it to someone.

These are horrible drives to work on, even for the best pros.

99% certain it's got bad head(s).

Absolute nightmare to change heads on these, please do not under any circumstances "try this at home". 99.999999999% certain you will fail, and almost certainly trash it beyond pro repair
in the process.

Sorry to say this, but this is from experience, we're seeing no end of these and it's 500Gb brother.

We've actually started to refuse cases lke these, more trouble than they're worth. Give me a 500Gb Seagate 7200.10 with seized spindle any day!


Sean

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

New!! HDD-PCB.COM for all your PCB and donor HDD requirements!

ahh ok i c. well then its time to trash. i think i still have a warranty. will they fix it or replace it? thanks for the help anyway guys.

Replace. Forget the warranty and dealing with MDT. Buy a normal drive that is not a Western Digital.

i will do just that Thank You

Same thing here
Anyone in US/Canada with success stories? We could forward those guys to you.

I still think these driver suffer from BAD USERS (=misuse), I can tell you that in standard office environment, not touched and in good working conditions, I have many of them working flawlessly for about 2 years now.

Most of those that fail come from MyBooks. So, I believe these drives are not meant to be portable...

hi all. i decided to use this as an experiment drive even though the chances of data recovery is probably out of my hands. couls someone please tell me where to find a pcb board for this hdd? maybe some direct links to it would help out a lot. Thank You.

why don't try on a local shop?

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There is no substitute for education and experience
THANK YOU
SHAHI
shahi.mahbub@gmail.com