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How should I proceed to fix my Maxtor 160GB dead drive?

K

kwo

Golden Member
First, my old thread - which I put in OT, instead of..I guess here... seems to have been deleted instead of simply moved. I apologize.

Second, I've been attempting to recover data off of a 160GB Maxtor HD that died on me two days ago **as I was backing up data** (go figure).

Anyway, I'm trying to figure out what I should/can do short of shelling out a thousand dollars for professional recovery.

Here's what I know:
1. It passes the BIOS and Maxtor's Powermax identification tests.
2. It fails all read/write tests.
3. It makes a nasty clicking noise.

Here's my assumptions (could very well be wrong)...
1. I think, based on #1 above that the PCB is ok. (I don't have another PCB to test anyway, unless one from a 120GB Maxtor drive would work (??)
2. There is a mechanical failure somewhere in the drive.

Here's what I've tried:
1. Freeze and quickly attempt to access via a USB external adapter.

This did not work, as it just kept clunking on me.

Question: Where do I go from here?

I was looking through this thread (especially the replies at the bottom), and found some interesting info on actually attempting to work *inside* the drive.

I have no idea what kinds of tools I'd need for this Maxtor drive, nor if simple repair parts are available.... (anyone have any thoughts?)

I have access (being a scientist) to biocontainment hoods which have stringent filtering specifications so I'm thinking I *could* use this as a "clean room", if necessary.

But....from there....I'm at a loss.

Any thoughts/ ideas would be greatly appreciated.....

Thank-you very much in advance for your time in reading and possibly answering....
 
Scattershot ideas:

As a scientist you must have some good IT people around who could help suggest solutions. Ask them.

I just now Googled "HDD data recovery service" & got tons of hits. Your problem must be a very common occurence because a lot of companies are in that business.

Your comment about it costing a thousand dollars for data recovery sounds like a wild exaggeration. That couldn't be anywhere near realistic.

Call around for some actual prices & maybe you'll be relieved to find it's cheap compared to what the data's worth to you.

How about asking Maxtor customer service for data recovery help? If the HDD's still in warranty they might even do it free.

Are you on a network? Then there must be a backup somewhere.

Have you sent some of your files to others? Ask them to return copies to you.

In future consider use of a dedicated mirror backup drive. That works real well protecting all my stuff.

If you hit on a good solution, kwo, please post it here to help the next guy with your problem!

Good luck! Happy New Year!



 
scott,

thanks for the replies.

yes, we have some IT guys downstairs - and I will be asking them for their thoughts.

My comment is *not* exaggerated. Cheapest is $750 (w/ discount), ranging from $800 - $3000. I contacted 4 companies.

The drive is out of warranty.

This *was* my backup drive that I was using for temporary storage of stuff before I got a chance to burn to DVD - which I was going to do this holiday vacation.

Yes, I have *no* one to blame for myself, as I know all too well the risks of only having one copy of data. I risked, and lost...but..if there's a relatively inexpensive chance....

I would love to find someone around here who's actually tried a "platter-transfer" or something and see if it actually worked..... 🙂
 
If the drive is still recognized by BIOS you may be able to recover some data using a recovery utility like DIY's iRecover. If the drive cannot be recognized in BIOS then you either pay the $600+ for a recovery service or toss it.

The only way to recover the data if the drive is mechanically unreadable is to remove the platters and move them to another identical drive (and this assumes the platters aren't damaged which is possible if the heads are jammed against them).

You need special tools and a clean room. Impossible to do in a garage.

In the early days HDD densities and head fly distance was so large that you MIGHT have gotten away with it (only long enough to read the data though - without a clean room a contaminated drive would suffer a head crash almost immediately).

But with the current high density designs it's not possible.





 
I just got finished recovering data off of my backup HDD
(I had accidently deleted it while setting up new partitions on my main drive to reload my OS)
as long as the HDD is still operable I used RecoverLostData software and I was able to recover all of my data without any problems.:thumbsup:

Danny
 
Thanks for the reply, Danny.

I think the keyword in your post is 'operable'....I have "GetDataBAck for NTFS" which is a great program, but - as you pointed out, the drive needs to be operable first.....and this one isn't. 🙁

 
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