Hi everybody.

New to the forum, hope to get some advice from the pros on this one. Thanks in advance.

I have a problem with a Seagate 7200.11 1TB drive which was part of a RAID-0 array. We backed up this array externally every week, and when the HDD crashed I found the backup was corrupted. Needless to say we're changing our backup software in the whole office because of this.

The data on there is valuable, but probably not worth the $3,000 estimate I got from a data recovery company here in Mexico for the array, so I'd like to see if there's something I can do on my own.

Here's the problem: When I connect the HDD I get a single click, and although the drive keeps spinning, it's not recognized by windows. For that matter, no software I've tried reads or recognizes the drive (i.e. Media Tools Pro). On previous tries I've also had constant clicking. Here's the drive's description:

Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 1TB
S/N: 9QJ1DPHH
ST31000340AS
P/N: 9BX158 - 303
FIRMWARE: SD15
PCB:100466824 REV C

I've since found out that there was a serious firmware issue with these drives. Using Seagate's tool I checked the six 7200.11 1 TB drives we own and found out the one that crashed indeed has the problem. I contacted Seagate support, however, and they told me that if the drive was clicking it had failed and it was completely unrelated to their firmware issue. Is this true, or can the firmware problem cause a drive to go into this "clicking" state? I know that Seagate has been known to offer data recovery services for these drives and would like to know if I should try and see if they do so in my case, or if I'm barking up the wrong tree.

Even if the pertinent data on the six 7200.11 drive labels we own is identical, I've realized that the PCB's aren't all the same. Out of the six, only two seem to need the firmware update.

Here's what Implanning to do:

1)I'm going to go ahead and try a PCB swap between the two drives.
2) If it doesn't work, I'll go ahead and try a live PCB swap.
3) If that doesn't work, by what I've read in this forum, most folks do not recommend for a newbie like me to try a head replacement. Which means my only option is to shell out $3k. Does that sound right?

Thanks

Hi,

First of all, the SD15 FW is IN THE PLATTER, not in the PCB.
Your PCB have only unique configuration data to find and load the FW from the platter.
(Like preamp's handling, BIAS calibration values for heads, and similar...)

1) won't work, because have different configuration
2) you will destroy your chance if you try
3) this is not an option for you, trust me.

If the drive clicking, this is not caused by the SA bug in .11

If you want to read:
results-the-yourself-solutions-t11912.html

Anyway, if i am right, beto are in Mexico, and he can handle your drive all the cases.
I suggest to ask him about the diagnose and price.

Regards,
Janos

1) This won't work, 100% guarantee that.
2) Nor will this, 100% guaranteed.
3) 99.99% you will not get a head swap to work, even if it is the problem.

What sort of click is it? Could you record the sound for us? There's a chance that what you describe as "clicking" is normal for these drives, as bad heads are usually indicated by the drive clicking several times and spinning down.

If your dta is at all valuable, I suggest you contact "beto" in this forum, he is in Mexico and is very professional and won't rip you off.

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

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

beto should be able to help you.

_________________
www.datarecoveryne.com

Agree,

Beto will help you, he is in Mexico.

_________________
ZeBong
" что случилось в России - останется в России "
" Россия еще раз"

Agree, If you value your data, contact Beto

Hy, on first if u hdd its knocking power off inmediatly ,there are some tendence to head crash at some seagate families so be carefull .
If u did a PCB exchange the problem surely should still, i dont understand what did u mean with a live pcb swap?, a hot swap?, u cant did on seagate, by adaptive ROM information, a head exchange on this models, 8 heads need´s experience , u can broke MR Sensors easily if u dont have experience , its not a DIY wek , at the best case if u get sucess on this process, im not telling u did , but thinking on a sucess, maybe u get another problem LBA 0 after that , caused by translator corruption, then u need special tools to access , special tracks, wich was record on factory , if u solve that or if u dont get this problem u need hardware control to read the sectors to keep track possible damage " bad sectors" at surface for example, or a head wich cannot be read by damaged on this case u need the hw control. thats only a part why u need a proof company


By the way read our blog on spanish!

Regards

Thanks for everybody's help. I think you've saved me some time trying out different things. I've contacted Beto, but will record the click and upload it to see if anyone can give me additional help.

R

Sound won't really help.
Pro diagnostics has to be done.
Don't cause any more damage to your drive by powering it up.

_________________
www.datarecoveryne.com

Agree.
Don't powerup again, let beto diagnose it...

Janos