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Anyway to fix my Hard drive/recover the data?

B

bmacd

Lifer
My maxtor 80 gig was making some noises about a week ago...sounded like the arm that spans across the platters was bouncing. It did it a few times, i got worried, then it stopped. Then the noise would come on and off, meanwhile the drive still functioned fine, just slow when the noise appeared. A day or two passed and the noise was permanently on...so i kept the computer off until i found a solution.

I called up Maxtor warranty division, who told me that my drive was still covered. They needed the serial number before they told me that, so i removed the IDE and power cable from the drive, and apparently broke the pin on the drive that goes to the red line on the IDE cable. Desperate to get the data off the drive, i'll try anything that doesn't void my warranty. The Maxtor CSR said if i attempted to open the drive, i'll be stuck with the full cost of the replacement they sent me. I have ~25 days to retrieve my data. What are my options for doing this myself? My BIOS won't recognize the drive.

pic of the broken pin
The pin is flush against the drive chassis right now, while the rest of the pins are intact.

-=bmacd=-
bmacd@msucycle.com
 
You could try taking a cable and cutting the appropriate wire and solder/clamp/glue that wire directly to point where the IDC socket is soldered to the PCB.

Or, you could cut a new pin from some old HD or MB and jam that pin into the cable at the appropriate spot. The pin should be long enough so it sticks out of the socket a little. The pin should be able to provide electrical contact even though it's not actually fixed into place. Just run the drive in a vertical position so the weight of the drive forces the contact with the pin.

If any of this works, you will have very little time to repair the drive before it complete dies of mechanical failure so be sure you'll totally setup to copy the files you need in a hurry.
 
i had an extra IDE cable lying around, so i took the metal pin off the back of a button and cut it to an appropriate length, then jammed it in the female end of the cable where the pin would normally slide into on the cable side. I had to also remove the plastic retainer off of the top of the cable since my first attempt didn't work, so i made sure that the cable was pierced with my quick fix, but still no luck.

-=bmacd=-
 
Do any of your friends/family have the same model of drive? Do you have any really good contacts at a computer store?

Get a drive of the same model and temporarily swap the circuit boards (just long enough to get your data to CD or another drive), then swap back and RMA it.

or

"Hardwire" the connection by connecting a small piece of wire to pin 1 on the back of the drive connector (where you can see the pin come out of the connector and it's soldered to the circuit board ... make sure it doesn't touch any of the other pins) and strip a little bit of the red wire in the IDE cable (above the connector) to attach it to.

Thorin
 
Originally posted by: thorin
Do any of your friends/family have the same model of drive? Do you have any really good contacts at a computer store?

Get a drive of the same model and temporarily swap the circuit boards (just long enough to get your data to CD or another drive), then swap back and RMA it.

Thorin
Click to expand...

Currently, i have THREE of the same drive. The first is the unit that went bad. The second is another (same) drive that i'm currently using in another computer, but would be willing to remove it and take the board off ASSUMING that there would be no damage or data loss to it. The third drive is the RMA'd drive.

-=bmacd=-
 
Ummm ok

#1 - Bad (what's wrong with it? Or is it the one that's going back?)
#2 - Working in another sys
#3 - The drive "to be RMA'd" ? Or the working replacement they already sent you?

Sorry for my confusion but you post isn't too clear. As long as you're extremely careful and don't rush then swapping the boards isn't a big deal. (I'll see if I can dig up some instructions or pics for you.

Thorin
 
Originally posted by: thorin
Ummm ok

#1 - Bad (what's wrong with it? Or is it the one that's going back?)
#2 - Working in another sys
#3 - The drive "to be RMA'd" ? Or the working replacement they already sent you?

Sorry for my confusion but you post isn't too clear. As long as you're extremely careful and don't rush then swapping the boards isn't a big deal. (I'll see if I can dig up some instructions or pics for you.

Thorin
Click to expand...


Sorry for the confusion and i REALLY appreciate your help in this.

Drive #1: has the broken pin, as well as the loud knocking, could also be described as a bad engine pinging. Needs to be sent back to Maxtor.
Drive #2: In perfect working condition, currently being used on another system.
Drive #3: Virgin drive, recently sent to me from Maxtor per the warranty exchange program. Never mounted, installed, etc.

-=bmacd=-
 
I posted a similar thread on my motorcycle message board and also got a few responses regarding sticking the drive in the freezer. It was a no go, and i got the same response switching the boards (one with the broken pin with a new board). I opened up the drive and thought about switching the platters, but apparently, they're micro-aligned and there'd be no way for the drive to ever run at 100% of what it should be if i went through with it. I really can't lose this data, but it's certainly not $1000 worth of data.

-=bmacd=-
 
You opened the drive and you're worried about switching the circuit boards? Your warranty is already void.

Thorin
 
Plus the drive will definitely not work after you open it. They're assembled in a clean room to prevent dust contamination. You're really screwed now.
 
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