Is my SATA drive dead?

LHC · Aug 31, 2006, 12:41 AM

Ok, well my SATA drive was working fine and everything until I cleared the CMOS. I cleared the CMOS by means of the jumper (the drive was still connected) and my comp finally booted. However, when I did start it up I smelt something that smelt like burning rubber, so I shut my computer off instantly. I sniffed around and it smelt like it was coming from the SATA drive.

Well, I had to go out for a few hours, and when I came back home I didn't smell anything anymore so I decided to try it again. I turned it on, and the smell never came back, but my SATA drive was not recognized. I've tried two different channels, but my BIOS wont even recognize it. It does, however, see both of my IDE drives, which were both connected also.

It'll suck if it is dead, because it's got all my stuff on it (i used it as my backup drive

)

Thanks for the help

CDsDontBurn · Aug 31, 2006, 12:55 AM

sounds like it is. if you smelled something burn up, then all i can say is that some metallic object touched the PCB of HDD and shorted something out. doesn't matter how small it is/was.

one way to test if it in fact is dead, is put it another machine at home (or a friend's house if you don't have another comp.) that supports SATA . if it works in that machine, then your drive is not dead. if your data is THAT important to you, then you'll take the drive to a data recovery place, but don't expect it to be cheap. i hear data recovery runs anywhere from $500-$900 (USD). otherwise, send the drive in for warranty and get your replacement drive.

Necrosis · Aug 31, 2006, 12:57 AM

Hopefully it's just a failed controller. If it is and you're feeling luck you can always buy another drive of the same model, and swap the controllers.

CDsDontBurn · Aug 31, 2006, 12:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Necrosis

Hopefully it's just a failed controller. If it is and you're feeling luck you can always buy another drive of the same model, and swap the controllers.

and then say that the new one you bought is dead and get your money back

. which, after you swap the controller, it would be, lol.

Lelisevis · Aug 31, 2006, 01:01 AM

Totally sympathise with you, Im having a hard-drive nightmare this year. Lost a 200GB Maxtor Sata drive, a 60GB WD hard-drive and a 40GB Hitachi laptop drive. All had stuff I wanted to keep and all rather bizarrely were being used by my fiancee at the time.

LHC · Aug 31, 2006, 01:06 AM

Anywhere I could read on swapping controllers? lol It sucks because I just reformatted too and put all the stuff onto that drive (capacity of the drive is 300GB) and it figures that it decides to die now

meh, all the pictures i take were on that drive

(i print the ones i really like out, but still)

Lelisevis · Aug 31, 2006, 01:11 AM

http://www.runtime.org/gdb.htm No idea how good it is but I believe you can download a freetrial or maybe someone knows of 'another way' of obtaining this program

.

CDsDontBurn · Aug 31, 2006, 01:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LHC

Anywhere I could read on swapping controllers?

the controller is basically just the PCB part of the HDD. it's usually attached to the HDD itself by 4-6 screws. usually allan wrench type screws. in the center of the HDD, there will be 4 (i think it's 4 at least) contacts between the PCB and the HDD enclosure. just make sure that those contacts make contact, and re-attach the new controller and viola!

LHC · Aug 31, 2006, 01:14 AM

I have a program, called File Scavenger, that can undelete like that.. only thing is, it has to see the drive.. maybe i'll give that program a shot..

CDsDontBurn · Aug 31, 2006, 01:22 AM

worth a shot, but if you say it requires to see the drive, i'm not so sure if it'll work though =\.

LHC · Aug 31, 2006, 01:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CDsDontBurn

the controller is basically just the PCB part of the HDD. it's usually attached to the HDD itself by 4-6 screws. usually allan wrench type screws. in the center of the HDD, there will be 4 (i think it's 4 at least) contacts between the PCB and the HDD enclosure. just make sure that those contacts make contact, and re-attach the new controller and viola!

So you're saying just replace the circuit board on the bottom pretty much? What about the ribbon that goes to the middle on the bottom? I can still faintly smell the burning smell on that part..

CDsDontBurn · Aug 31, 2006, 01:32 AM

i've only done this on maxtor HDDs, and it just had contacts on it, not a ribbon cable. just make sure that the ribbon cable can easily detach and re-attach to the drive before doing anything.

LHC · Aug 31, 2006, 01:43 AM

*shrug* That's the one.. brand is Seagate

CDsDontBurn · Aug 31, 2006, 01:45 AM

hmm....pop that sucker open! find out how that ribbon cable is attached to the PCB.

LHC · Aug 31, 2006, 02:07 AM

Ugh..

The ribbon seems to be on pretty tight too

Do you think it's possible that it was just knoicked loose or something? because when I was clearing the CMOS, the drive did move a little bit (it was screwed in poorly I guess)

LHC · Aug 31, 2006, 03:35 AM

In this case, freezing it overnight will do nothing, right?

CDsDontBurn · Aug 31, 2006, 05:35 AM

why would freezing the drive help you out? IMO, the whole freezing the drive deal is complete myth. but i haven't been proven right or wrong on that, so i dunno...

and as far as the PCB being connected to the enclosure, did the ribbon cable come off the PCB, or was it just making contact w/the enclosure? that's what it appears to be doing in the pix you provided. and remember, the purpose of having taken it apart like that was to go out and buy another of the same brand/model HDD and replace the PCB of the new and old HDD in hopes of getting the old HDD to work again.

LHC · Aug 31, 2006, 05:54 AM

It was just making contact.

Tomorrow I'm going to call Seagate customer support and find out about the whole data recovery thing, and see how much it would actually cost (on the site it says depending on the situation it's different). The drive is still under warranty also, but I don't know where I can get another one. Hardly any sites have it, and I sure as hell am not going to buy another one at Best Buy for $100 more than what I bought it for.

CDsDontBurn · Aug 31, 2006, 06:04 AM

what model is it?

LHC · Aug 31, 2006, 06:18 AM

St3300822as

The_Neon_Cowboy · Aug 31, 2006, 06:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LHC

find out about the whole data recovery thing, and see how much it would actually cost

more then a drive

CDsDontBurn · Aug 31, 2006, 05:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The_Neon_Cowboy

more then a drive

i stated that in my first post of this thread.

Quote:

Originally Posted by CDsDontBurn

i hear data recovery runs anywhere from $500-$900 (USD)

@LHC: yea.....so now that you know how the drive connects, why don't you try to do what i said? if it doesn't work, at least you gave it a shot

. and if you REALLY want that data back, you'll spend the money to a data recovery place.

H3X4D3C1M4L · Aug 31, 2006, 05:56 PM

http://www.dragonsteelmods.com/index...d=351&Itemid=1

Too freakily similar...

Everything is blowing up these days. I'm afraid to turn my PC off then on again because of all this

LHC · Aug 31, 2006, 06:45 PM

Looking at it today in broad daylight, I found what I missed last night!

It's a really small chip though, and since it was dark I didnt really notice it lol but I guess that means I could just replace the PCB and all will be well, right? Seagate's estimate was anywhere from $700-$2900

Only thing is, not many places offer a refund for hard drives.. I wanna order it from Deal Sonic since that's basically the price I got it for, but I'm pretty sure they don't offer a refund on hard drives

http://www.dealsonic.com/sest30sa728m.html

LHC · Aug 31, 2006, 07:21 PM

But damn, wait a second.. I can get Seagate to send me a new drive (same model) before I send back my bad one. So, if I do this, I could switch the PCB's, get my drive to be recognized, move all my stuff from the SATA to one of my IDE ones, switch the PCB's back, and send back the defunct one? Then just move all the data that was on the bad one onto the new one?

It may be crazy enough to work.. it'll cost $25

CDsDontBurn · Aug 31, 2006, 07:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LHC

Looking at it today in broad daylight, I found what I missed last night!

It's a really small chip though, and since it was dark I didnt really notice it lol but I guess that means I could just replace the PCB and all will be well, right? Seagate's estimate was anywhere from $700-$2900

Only thing is, not many places offer a refund for hard drives.. I wanna order it from Deal Sonic since that's basically the price I got it for, but I'm pretty sure they don't offer a refund on hard drives

http://www.dealsonic.com/sest30sa728m.html

HAHAAH.....your hard drive is Pwn3d!!!!11!!!one!!1 lol.

but umm yea.....to fix that issue, just buy the same hard drive again and replace the PCB and all *should* be well again. then once you know everything is working well, send off the new HDD w/the old PCB and say it was DOA or something.

LHC · Aug 31, 2006, 07:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CDsDontBurn

HAHAAH.....your hard drive is Pwn3d!!!!11!!!one!!1 lol.

but umm yea.....to fix that issue, just buy the same hard drive again and replace the PCB and all *should* be well again. then once you know everything is working well, send off the new HDD w/the old PCB and say it was DOA or something.

Or check out my other reply since the drive is still under warranty

(I've already contacted Seagate and all)

CDsDontBurn · Aug 31, 2006, 07:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LHC

Or check out my other reply since the drive is still under warranty

(I've already contacted Seagate and all)

i did see it......i hit the "quote" button and that was your last post, by the time i finished my post you had already posted again

LHC · Aug 31, 2006, 07:43 PM

So yea, I think I'm going to go down that road, because it's only $25 to try it

H3X4D3C1M4L · Aug 31, 2006, 07:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LHC

But damn, wait a second.. I can get Seagate to send me a new drive (same model) before I send back my bad one. So, if I do this, I could switch the PCB's, get my drive to be recognized, move all my stuff from the SATA to one of my IDE ones, switch the PCB's back, and send back the defunct one? Then just move all the data that was on the bad one onto the new one?

It may be crazy enough to work.. it'll cost $25

Gotta make sure its the exact same PCB revision and fimware or it won't work, so you'd have to check the drive out at the retailer before you bought it.

And then hope the new one doesn't explode

If it works back up everything and buy a Western Digital drive... looks like they're the only unaffected ones in the whole world.

Aug 31, 2006, 12:41 AM	#1
LHC Stingy and Stubborn Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: New Jersey Posts: 1,325 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	Is my SATA drive dead? Ok, well my SATA drive was working fine and everything until I cleared the CMOS. I cleared the CMOS by means of the jumper (the drive was still connected) and my comp finally booted. However, when I did start it up I smelt something that smelt like burning rubber, so I shut my computer off instantly. I sniffed around and it smelt like it was coming from the SATA drive. Well, I had to go out for a few hours, and when I came back home I didn't smell anything anymore so I decided to try it again. I turned it on, and the smell never came back, but my SATA drive was not recognized. I've tried two different channels, but my BIOS wont even recognize it. It does, however, see both of my IDE drives, which were both connected also. It'll suck if it is dead, because it's got all my stuff on it (i used it as my backup drive ) Thanks for the help __________________

Aug 31, 2006, 12:55 AM	#2
CDsDontBurn Lurking DriverHeaven Join Date: May 2003 Location: Southern California Posts: 22,779 Rep Power: 235 System Specs	sounds like it is. if you smelled something burn up, then all i can say is that some metallic object touched the PCB of HDD and shorted something out. doesn't matter how small it is/was. one way to test if it in fact is dead, is put it another machine at home (or a friend's house if you don't have another comp.) that supports SATA . if it works in that machine, then your drive is not dead. if your data is THAT important to you, then you'll take the drive to a data recovery place, but don't expect it to be cheap. i hear data recovery runs anywhere from $500-$900 (USD). otherwise, send the drive in for warranty and get your replacement drive. __________________ Her First Day \| A year later

Aug 31, 2006, 01:06 AM	Thread Starter #6
LHC Stingy and Stubborn Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: New Jersey Posts: 1,325 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	Anywhere I could read on swapping controllers? lol It sucks because I just reformatted too and put all the stuff onto that drive (capacity of the drive is 300GB) and it figures that it decides to die now meh, all the pictures i take were on that drive (i print the ones i really like out, but still) __________________

Aug 31, 2006, 01:14 AM	Thread Starter #9
LHC Stingy and Stubborn Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: New Jersey Posts: 1,325 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	I have a program, called File Scavenger, that can undelete like that.. only thing is, it has to see the drive.. maybe i'll give that program a shot.. __________________

Aug 31, 2006, 01:22 AM	#10
CDsDontBurn Lurking DriverHeaven Join Date: May 2003 Location: Southern California Posts: 22,779 Rep Power: 235 System Specs	worth a shot, but if you say it requires to see the drive, i'm not so sure if it'll work though =\. __________________ Her First Day \| A year later

Aug 31, 2006, 12:57 AM	#3
Necrosis HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Ohio Posts: 8,838 Rep Power: 131 System Specs	Hopefully it's just a failed controller. If it is and you're feeling luck you can always buy another drive of the same model, and swap the controllers.

Aug 31, 2006, 01:01 AM	#5
Lelisevis Howlin at the moon Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 1,663 Rep Power: 0	Totally sympathise with you, Im having a hard-drive nightmare this year. Lost a 200GB Maxtor Sata drive, a 60GB WD hard-drive and a 40GB Hitachi laptop drive. All had stuff I wanted to keep and all rather bizarrely were being used by my fiancee at the time.

Aug 31, 2006, 01:11 AM	#7
Lelisevis Howlin at the moon Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 1,663 Rep Power: 0	http://www.runtime.org/gdb.htm No idea how good it is but I believe you can download a freetrial or maybe someone knows of 'another way' of obtaining this program .

Aug 31, 2006, 01:32 AM	#12
CDsDontBurn Lurking DriverHeaven Join Date: May 2003 Location: Southern California Posts: 22,779 Rep Power: 235 System Specs	i've only done this on maxtor HDDs, and it just had contacts on it, not a ribbon cable. just make sure that the ribbon cable can easily detach and re-attach to the drive before doing anything. __________________ Her First Day \| A year later

Aug 31, 2006, 01:43 AM	Thread Starter #13
LHC Stingy and Stubborn Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: New Jersey Posts: 1,325 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	shrug That's the one.. brand is Seagate __________________

Aug 31, 2006, 01:45 AM	#14
CDsDontBurn Lurking DriverHeaven Join Date: May 2003 Location: Southern California Posts: 22,779 Rep Power: 235 System Specs	hmm....pop that sucker open! find out how that ribbon cable is attached to the PCB. __________________ Her First Day \| A year later

Aug 31, 2006, 02:07 AM	Thread Starter #15
LHC Stingy and Stubborn Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: New Jersey Posts: 1,325 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	Ugh.. The ribbon seems to be on pretty tight too Do you think it's possible that it was just knoicked loose or something? because when I was clearing the CMOS, the drive did move a little bit (it was screwed in poorly I guess) __________________

Aug 31, 2006, 03:35 AM	Thread Starter #16
LHC Stingy and Stubborn Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: New Jersey Posts: 1,325 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	In this case, freezing it overnight will do nothing, right? __________________

Aug 31, 2006, 05:35 AM	#17
CDsDontBurn Lurking DriverHeaven Join Date: May 2003 Location: Southern California Posts: 22,779 Rep Power: 235 System Specs	why would freezing the drive help you out? IMO, the whole freezing the drive deal is complete myth. but i haven't been proven right or wrong on that, so i dunno... and as far as the PCB being connected to the enclosure, did the ribbon cable come off the PCB, or was it just making contact w/the enclosure? that's what it appears to be doing in the pix you provided. and remember, the purpose of having taken it apart like that was to go out and buy another of the same brand/model HDD and replace the PCB of the new and old HDD in hopes of getting the old HDD to work again. __________________ Her First Day \| A year later

Aug 31, 2006, 05:54 AM	Thread Starter #18
LHC Stingy and Stubborn Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: New Jersey Posts: 1,325 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	It was just making contact. Tomorrow I'm going to call Seagate customer support and find out about the whole data recovery thing, and see how much it would actually cost (on the site it says depending on the situation it's different). The drive is still under warranty also, but I don't know where I can get another one. Hardly any sites have it, and I sure as hell am not going to buy another one at Best Buy for $100 more than what I bought it for. __________________

Aug 31, 2006, 06:04 AM	#19
CDsDontBurn Lurking DriverHeaven Join Date: May 2003 Location: Southern California Posts: 22,779 Rep Power: 235 System Specs	what model is it? __________________ Her First Day \| A year later

Aug 31, 2006, 06:18 AM	Thread Starter #20
LHC Stingy and Stubborn Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: New Jersey Posts: 1,325 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	St3300822as __________________

Aug 31, 2006, 05:56 PM	#23
H3X4D3C1M4L DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 6,794 Rep Power: 0	http://www.dragonsteelmods.com/index...d=351&Itemid=1 Too freakily similar... Everything is blowing up these days. I'm afraid to turn my PC off then on again because of all this

Aug 31, 2006, 06:45 PM	Thread Starter #24
LHC Stingy and Stubborn Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: New Jersey Posts: 1,325 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	Looking at it today in broad daylight, I found what I missed last night! It's a really small chip though, and since it was dark I didnt really notice it lol but I guess that means I could just replace the PCB and all will be well, right? Seagate's estimate was anywhere from $700-$2900 Only thing is, not many places offer a refund for hard drives.. I wanna order it from Deal Sonic since that's basically the price I got it for, but I'm pretty sure they don't offer a refund on hard drives http://www.dealsonic.com/sest30sa728m.html __________________ Last edited by LHC; Aug 31, 2006 at 07:09 PM.

Aug 31, 2006, 07:21 PM	Thread Starter #25
LHC Stingy and Stubborn Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: New Jersey Posts: 1,325 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	But damn, wait a second.. I can get Seagate to send me a new drive (same model) before I send back my bad one. So, if I do this, I could switch the PCB's, get my drive to be recognized, move all my stuff from the SATA to one of my IDE ones, switch the PCB's back, and send back the defunct one? Then just move all the data that was on the bad one onto the new one? It may be crazy enough to work.. it'll cost $25 __________________

Aug 31, 2006, 07:43 PM	Thread Starter #29
LHC Stingy and Stubborn Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: New Jersey Posts: 1,325 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	So yea, I think I'm going to go down that road, because it's only $25 to try it __________________