Hard Drive problem

Jz1397-5 · Mar 14, 2004

I have 2 HDDs, both WD (see sig.) the 200GB drive that i have stopped working today, when it turns on all it will do is just spin. Now on that drive i have everything i have been collecting for the past 3-4 years around the internet. so is there anyway to do any data recovery?

it will start up and just click, then spin, shutdown and startup again. any ideas?

LeeJend · Mar 14, 2004

First - Get out the western digital floppy that came with it (it's on their web site if you lost it). Run the diagnostics and if it says it failed print out the results. I think it even tells you how to get an RMA (that drive has a 3 year warantee so you should still be covered).

Second - search the forum here. There were a couple threads this year about how to recover data (and the names of the tools used). But if windows can't even see the disk you are hosed. Does the bios recognize it?

Also, there is the standard list of troubleshooting items.
-Reseat and/or replace the IDE cable,
-try the drive in another computer,
-boot from a DOS boot disk and see if you can read the drive.

If the drive was going bad you should have had some kind of warning from "SMART", assuming you had it enabled. If it's not enabled, enable it. If you don't know what SMART is search the forum. It's been explained multiple times. Probably in the same thread as the recovery tools.

And get some kind of cooling solution for the HDs. The high density ones need airflow across them. They run hot.

Jz1397-5 · Mar 14, 2004

i just want a way to salvage the data

breezie · Mar 14, 2004

taken from storage review

Drive refuses to spin up (no noises):
- Clean contacts between board and motor.
- Make sure the board is not shorting out against the drive.
- Check power cables, connectors, etc.
- Board swap, trying to match make, model, vintage.

Drive refuses to spin up (chirps or other noises):
- Tap drive (or firmly shake it) while it tries to spin.

Drive spins, but loudly clicks/chirps:
- Freezer trick: pack drive in ESD bag, tape shut, shove in freezer for a few hours (or overnight). Remove from freezer and immediately plug into a known working system as a slave drive, then hope it spins up and behaves long enough to copy data.

Jz1397-5 · Mar 14, 2004

sorry, didn't see your post. am going to run the diagnostics, but BIOS dosn't see it either.

LeeJend · Mar 14, 2004

Wow, that is the worst set of advice I've ever seen. What site did that come from?

The information looks like it might have been written for the old sub-gigahertz drives from the 90's. I put in my comments. ( I design and repair high speed electromechanical devices for a living.)

Drive refuses to spin up (no noises):
- Clean contacts between board and motor.
Not accessible, forget it.
- Make sure the board is not shorting out against the drive.
Actualyl against the PC case or an adjacent drive.
- Check power cables, connectors, etc.
Good advice.
- Board swap, trying to match make, model, vintage.
This one is absurd. Requires microelectroncis tools and replacemet parts.

Drive refuses to spin up (chirps or other noises):
- Tap drive (or firmly shake it) while it tries to spin.
Good way to make the heads impact the platter destroying your data.

Drive spins, but loudly clicks/chirps:
- Freezer trick:
This will result in condensation and water build up on the platters and electronics ruining anything that might have been salvageable. With a 7200 RPM drive the water condensate could be heavy enough to unbalance the platter and cause catastrophic failure.

For several hundred dollars you can return the drive to the manufacturer and have them attempt data recovery. If the drive is not recognized by bios and the BIOS is set to "auto detect" go check the other threads for the tools to try and recover with.

rnielsen151 · Mar 14, 2004

not to insult anyones intelligence, but are the jumpers set correctly?

or...in the bios...is the primary master and slave enabled?

Did you do any bios updates before this happened?