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Jan 17, 2008, 06:04 PM
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DH's oldest Geek
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Dead HDD
Gentlemen (and Grace
 )I have a problem with a 'dead' hdd. It's the last of my PATA drives, and I was using it for data storage. I REALLY would like to get the data off of it if possible. I have a LOT of MP3's, older drivers, utilities and other stuff. I'm somethig of a 'packrat' and have kept most of what I've D/Led over the years. It seems like it isn't powering up. No 'click of death' , or anything unsual. Happened when I was moving everything into a new case. It was running off a Promise IDE controller I've tried using different Power cables using connections that I know work on other devices. Also tried using a new ribbon connector. I've tried using it on the MB IDE controller. Using the same cable and power connector that the DVD drive is using. Pretty much every combination that I can think of  I'm wondering if swapping out the circuit board (IF I can find one) might help? Anyone have any suggestions other than what I've already tried?
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When looking for a reason as to why things go wrong, never rule out sheer STUPIDITY 
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Jan 17, 2008, 07:35 PM
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HH's Asteroids' Dominator
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Hellas->Macedonia->Thessaloniki
Posts: 13,465
Rep Power: 349   
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HAve you tried another pc?
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  The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm Sic semper tyrannis. |
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Jan 17, 2008, 08:08 PM
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HH Old Fuddy Duddy
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Depending on the conditions when it was turned off and removed from the previous system, it could be that the head is simply 'stuck'. I've read that simply dropping a HDD a short distance onto a hard surface can often loosen the head and restore the function of the drive. I've never had to do this myself, but, I've read several sources that recommended this if you've tried everything else. Just hold it maybe 6 inches above the floor and then drop it flat.
Also, is the jumper configuration setup right and does it show up at all in BIOS?
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Jan 17, 2008, 10:30 PM
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Thread Starter
#4
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DH's oldest Geek
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Tried the 'drop it'...nada
Jumper is set to Master...using the MASTER end of the IDE cable. Doesn't show in BIOS, nor is it detected during boot. There is a guy on EBAY that has the PCB for 40.00. I'm gonna give that a try.
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When looking for a reason as to why things go wrong, never rule out sheer STUPIDITY
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Jan 18, 2008, 07:07 AM
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HH Old Fuddy Duddy
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Let us know the outcome. I'm curious.
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Jan 19, 2008, 12:51 PM
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HH's Tomboy
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Anywhere but in my house!
Posts: 776
Rep Power: 56 |
If there is no click or anything else, it's the servo motor or it's power feed. If it's the power feed, the new PCB might solve the problem. But in case it's the motor, the drive is as dead as it gets.
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Jan 19, 2008, 09:40 PM
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Thread Starter
#7
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DH's oldest Geek
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That's what I was thinking too Grace.
I figure that it's worth the gamble. I have a LOT of data that I want to get off of that drive. IF I'm successful, I think I'm gonna copy everything off to another drive I have, then replace it with a pair of 200G SATA's in RAID 1 so that I won't be in this position in the future.
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When looking for a reason as to why things go wrong, never rule out sheer STUPIDITY
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Jan 22, 2008, 03:33 AM
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HardwareHeaven Extreme Member
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PCB was what I would suggest, Other wise its probably the motor in
wich case I dunno could/would fix it . Can we say expensive data recovery? of possably "sesitive" data.
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Feb 1, 2008, 11:31 AM
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Thread Starter
#9
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DH's oldest Geek
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 I am one happy camper!!!!!!!!! PCB board finally came in... I swapped them out... Popped that puppy into the puter... Crossed my fingers, toes, and eyes, and powered up... The old 160G IDE drive lives! Got everything back!!!!!!!!!!! Copied all the data on it to the 300G SATA 'Just in case'. I'll keep using this one IDE until I can get a pair of 200G's in Raid 1 to replace it.
__________________
When looking for a reason as to why things go wrong, never rule out sheer STUPIDITY
Last edited by OldBuzzard; Feb 1, 2008 at 11:37 AM. |
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Feb 4, 2008, 07:10 PM
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DriverHeaven Extreme Member
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 6,794
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Good luck you've got there
 The gods were on your side clearly.Any pearls of wisdom for anyone who might do some PCB swapping in future  ?
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Feb 5, 2008, 02:08 AM
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Thread Starter
#11
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DH's oldest Geek
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Swapping the PCB was VERY easy. Just 5 screws and it lifted right off. Has a Foame 'shim" under it, so had to make sure I didn't booger that up.
Actually, the hardest part was finding the proper sized TORQX screwdriver. Sears had it. It's the T-8 size, and not too common.
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When looking for a reason as to why things go wrong, never rule out sheer STUPIDITY
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