Another knackered HD

Philo says `hmmmm`, can you blame him ?. Do you want to try to rescue your
drive, or throw it in the bin ? Run the hitachi drive test tools on it. If
they say the drive has recoverable errors, you can fdisk\reformat it and
start again. best wishes..J

"anern" <anern.RemoveThis@safe-mail.net> wrote in message
news:Snnhe.2891$RJ6.495@newsfe1-win.ntli.net...
 > Hi, Sorry if this ground has been thoroughly covered but :
 >
 > Anyone got good URLS for physical HD repair ?
 > Do you HAVE to have a clean room for once only recovery ?
 >
 > Sequence of events (approx)
 > 100% CPU use, system process (RED in Taskmanger) reboot to fix
 > [REBOOT]Unable to find kernal.DLL
 > [REBOOT]Access to FAT partition (disk has FAT & NTFS parts) OK then Disk
 > error
 > [REBOOT]BIOS reports DISK error, but drive detected
 > [REBOOT]Failure of BIOS to recognise drive (at all)
 > FDISK reports no fixed disks
 > It's a HITACHI 10Mb DK23BA-10 2.5in Laptop drive, sabotage a possibility,
 > the machine has not been physically abused during operation. The drive
 > still
 > spins up.
 > I did run the Hitachi utility on it but I can't remember weather it picked
 > up the drive or not, I seem to recall a non-specific drive failure error.
 > Will run again if it's important.
 >
 > Will bios ignore drive if it can't read anything from it ? (Virus doing
 > LowLevel format-like activity - but drive actually OK)
 >
 > Cheers for any Help.
 >
 ><!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Another knackered HD 

"anern" <anern.TakeThisOut@safe-mail.net> wrote in message
news:Snnhe.2891$RJ6.495@newsfe1-win.ntli.net...
 > Hi, Sorry if this ground has been thoroughly covered but :
 >
 > Anyone got good URLS for physical HD repair ?
 > Do you HAVE to have a clean room for once only recovery ?
 >
 > Sequence of events (approx)
 > 100% CPU use, system process (RED in Taskmanger) reboot to fix
 > [REBOOT]Unable to find kernal.DLL
 > [REBOOT]Access to FAT partition (disk has FAT & NTFS parts) OK then Disk
 > error
 > [REBOOT]BIOS reports DISK error, but drive detected
 > [REBOOT]Failure of BIOS to recognise drive (at all)
 > FDISK reports no fixed disks
 > It's a HITACHI 10Mb DK23BA-10 2.5in Laptop drive, sabotage a possibility,
Yeah they've gone and shrunk it sown to a tiny capacity - presumably you
mean 10 GB?

 > the machine has not been physically abused during operation. The drive
 > still
 > spins up.
 > I did run the Hitachi utility on it but I can't remember weather it picked
 > up the drive or not, I seem to recall a non-specific drive failure error.
 > Will run again if it's important.
Thats essential - how else are you supposed to diagnose the drives own
outputs. If you have another laptop of the same type then you could try
swapping drives just to rule out any controller or cable faults. If you
don't have another identical laptop then you could buy one of those adapters
that allows use of a 2.5" drive with a standard desktop machine IDE
controller - they're quite cheap and that would allow you to istall it as a
secondary drive in your desktop machine and the data may be able to be
copied off that way. As for undertaking any mechanical repairs - forget it.
If its an electrical PCB fault you may be able to rectify that by swapping
the board with another from an identical drive but other than that, if you
REALLY need the data of it then it means a visit to the data reclamation
specialists with a wheelbarrow full of money.

 > Will bios ignore drive if it can't read anything from it ? (Virus doing
 > LowLevel format-like activity - but drive actually OK)
 >
No, normally machines will still detect the actual HDD characteristics and
model, even if its completely empty/new/unpartitioned etc. My suggestion
above of connecting it via an adapter to a desktop machine should sort this
out.

Paul<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Another knackered HD 

"Paul Murphy" <p_murphynothanks.RemoveThis@tospamhotmail.com> wrote in message
news:42863b89$0$547$ed2619ec@ptn-nntp-reader03.plus.net...
 > "anern" <anern.RemoveThis@safe-mail.net> wrote in message
 > news:Snnhe.2891$RJ6.495@newsfe1-win.ntli.net...
  > > Hi, Sorry if this ground has been thoroughly covered but :
  > >
  > > Anyone got good URLS for physical HD repair ?
  > > Do you HAVE to have a clean room for once only recovery ?
  > >
  > > Sequence of events (approx)
  > > 100% CPU use, system process (RED in Taskmanger) reboot to fix
  > > [REBOOT]Unable to find kernal.DLL
  > > [REBOOT]Access to FAT partition (disk has FAT & NTFS parts) OK then Disk
  > > error
  > > [REBOOT]BIOS reports DISK error, but drive detected
  > > [REBOOT]Failure of BIOS to recognise drive (at all)
  > > FDISK reports no fixed disks
  > > It's a HITACHI 10Mb DK23BA-10 2.5in Laptop drive, sabotage a
possibility,
 > Yeah they've gone and shrunk it sown to a tiny capacity - presumably you
 > mean 10 GB?
 >
  > > the machine has not been physically abused during operation. The drive
  > > still
  > > spins up.
  > > I did run the Hitachi utility on it but I can't remember weather it
picked
  > > up the drive or not, I seem to recall a non-specific drive failure
error.
  > > Will run again if it's important.
 > Thats essential - how else are you supposed to diagnose the drives own
 > outputs. If you have another laptop of the same type then you could try
 > swapping drives just to rule out any controller or cable faults. If you
 > don't have another identical laptop then you could buy one of those
adapters
 > that allows use of a 2.5" drive with a standard desktop machine IDE
 > controller - they're quite cheap and that would allow you to istall it as
a
 > secondary drive in your desktop machine and the data may be able to be
 > copied off that way. As for undertaking any mechanical repairs - forget
it.
 > If its an electrical PCB fault you may be able to rectify that by swapping
 > the board with another from an identical drive but other than that, if you
 > REALLY need the data of it then it means a visit to the data reclamation
 > specialists with a wheelbarrow full of money.
 >
  > > Will bios ignore drive if it can't read anything from it ? (Virus doing
  > > LowLevel format-like activity - but drive actually OK)
  > >
 > No, normally machines will still detect the actual HDD characteristics and
 > model, even if its completely empty/new/unpartitioned etc. My suggestion
 > above of connecting it via an adapter to a desktop machine should sort
this
 > out.
 >
 > Paul
 >
 >
Sorry, yea the drive is 10Gb, Ran Hitachi's utility and it detected the
drive (not detected by BIOS)
When the machine was switched on, lots of seeking with loud periodic tick
(whack more like) went on for a bit then stopped
when I tried autodetect in BIOS, this happened again, the same, no drive
detected.
Booted from Hitachi Floppy, Run Quick Test, says defective sectors, chose
repeair defective sectors, askes for serial number (When the util detects
the drive, the serial number is blank, Is any part of the HD hardware
flashable ?) I stick in one of the numbers off the bottom of the drive
(there are two : H9AC100917,3892A873 niether marker S/N) Does some more
seeking, reports Failure code 0x75, Defective Device, Component failure.
Technical result code 75736688.
I've replaced the drive with a 40Gb model and this has given no trouble for
months.I interpret this as OK controller and cable.
The drives got 4months of development work on it (Yes, now I backup
obsessively !)

I'd really appreciate any help.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Another knackered HD 

Hi A. I think you`ve proved it`s scrap, and ALWAYS backup work you can`t
replace. I think most guys backup to second or spare hard drives. sorry
about your loss. best wishes..J

"anern" <anern RemoveThis @safe-mail.net> wrote in message
news:Snnhe.2891$RJ6.495@newsfe1-win.ntli.net...
 > Hi, Sorry if this ground has been thoroughly covered but :
 >
 > Anyone got good URLS for physical HD repair ?
 > Do you HAVE to have a clean room for once only recovery ?
 >
 > Sequence of events (approx)
 > 100% CPU use, system process (RED in Taskmanger) reboot to fix
 > [REBOOT]Unable to find kernal.DLL
 > [REBOOT]Access to FAT partition (disk has FAT & NTFS parts) OK then Disk
 > error
 > [REBOOT]BIOS reports DISK error, but drive detected
 > [REBOOT]Failure of BIOS to recognise drive (at all)
 > FDISK reports no fixed disks
 > It's a HITACHI 10Mb DK23BA-10 2.5in Laptop drive, sabotage a possibility,
 > the machine has not been physically abused during operation. The drive
 > still
 > spins up.
 > I did run the Hitachi utility on it but I can't remember weather it picked
 > up the drive or not, I seem to recall a non-specific drive failure error.
 > Will run again if it's important.
 >
 > Will bios ignore drive if it can't read anything from it ? (Virus doing
 > LowLevel format-like activity - but drive actually OK)
 >
 > Cheers for any Help.
 >
 ><!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Another knackered HD 

anern wrote:
 > Hi, Sorry if this ground has been thoroughly covered but :
 >
 > Anyone got good URLS for physical HD repair ?

<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.ontrack.com/" target="_blank">http://www.ontrack.com/</a>
<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.drivesavers.com/" target="_blank">http://www.drivesavers.com/</a>


 > Do you HAVE to have a clean room for once only recovery ?

Yes.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Another knackered HD 

"anern" <anern RemoveThis @safe-mail.net> wrote in message
news:aRrhe.6830$yY4.5306@newsfe5-win.ntli.net...
 >
 > "Paul Murphy" <p_murphynothanks RemoveThis @tospamhotmail.com> wrote in message
 > news:42863b89$0$547$ed2619ec@ptn-nntp-reader03.plus.net...
  >> "anern" <anern RemoveThis @safe-mail.net> wrote in message
  >> news:Snnhe.2891$RJ6.495@newsfe1-win.ntli.net...
   >> > Hi, Sorry if this ground has been thoroughly covered but :
   >> >
   >> > Anyone got good URLS for physical HD repair ?
   >> > Do you HAVE to have a clean room for once only recovery ?
   >> >
   >> > Sequence of events (approx)
   >> > 100% CPU use, system process (RED in Taskmanger) reboot to fix
   >> > [REBOOT]Unable to find kernal.DLL
   >> > [REBOOT]Access to FAT partition (disk has FAT & NTFS parts) OK then
   >> > Disk
   >> > error
   >> > [REBOOT]BIOS reports DISK error, but drive detected
   >> > [REBOOT]Failure of BIOS to recognise drive (at all)
   >> > FDISK reports no fixed disks
   >> > It's a HITACHI 10Mb DK23BA-10 2.5in Laptop drive, sabotage a
 > possibility,
  >> Yeah they've gone and shrunk it sown to a tiny capacity - presumably you
  >> mean 10 GB?
  >>
   >> > the machine has not been physically abused during operation. The drive
   >> > still
   >> > spins up.
   >> > I did run the Hitachi utility on it but I can't remember weather it
 > picked
   >> > up the drive or not, I seem to recall a non-specific drive failure
 > error.
   >> > Will run again if it's important.
  >> Thats essential - how else are you supposed to diagnose the drives own
  >> outputs. If you have another laptop of the same type then you could try
  >> swapping drives just to rule out any controller or cable faults. If you
  >> don't have another identical laptop then you could buy one of those
 > adapters
  >> that allows use of a 2.5" drive with a standard desktop machine IDE
  >> controller - they're quite cheap and that would allow you to istall it as
 > a
  >> secondary drive in your desktop machine and the data may be able to be
  >> copied off that way. As for undertaking any mechanical repairs - forget
 > it.
  >> If its an electrical PCB fault you may be able to rectify that by
  >> swapping
  >> the board with another from an identical drive but other than that, if
  >> you
  >> REALLY need the data of it then it means a visit to the data reclamation
  >> specialists with a wheelbarrow full of money.
  >>
   >> > Will bios ignore drive if it can't read anything from it ? (Virus doing
   >> > LowLevel format-like activity - but drive actually OK)
   >> >
  >> No, normally machines will still detect the actual HDD characteristics
  >> and
  >> model, even if its completely empty/new/unpartitioned etc. My suggestion
  >> above of connecting it via an adapter to a desktop machine should sort
 > this
  >> out.
  >>
  >> Paul
  >>
  >>
 > Sorry, yea the drive is 10Gb, Ran Hitachi's utility and it detected the
 > drive (not detected by BIOS)
 > When the machine was switched on, lots of seeking with loud periodic tick
 > (whack more like) went on for a bit then stopped
 > when I tried autodetect in BIOS, this happened again, the same, no drive
 > detected.
 > Booted from Hitachi Floppy, Run Quick Test, says defective sectors, chose
 > repeair defective sectors, askes for serial number (When the util detects
 > the drive, the serial number is blank, Is any part of the HD hardware
 > flashable ?) I stick in one of the numbers off the bottom of the drive
 > (there are two : H9AC100917,3892A873 niether marker S/N) Does some more
 > seeking, reports Failure code 0x75, Defective Device, Component failure.
 > Technical result code 75736688.
 > I've replaced the drive with a 40Gb model and this has given no trouble
 > for
 > months.I interpret this as OK controller and cable.
 > The drives got 4months of development work on it (Yes, now I backup
 > obsessively !)
 >
 > I'd really appreciate any help.
 >
The makers will know what that code indicates so it may be worth contacting
them about it, otherwise I'd suggest the old trick of wrapping it in an
antistatic bag and then sealing it in a zip-lock plastic bag (to help keep
moisture out) and putting it in the fridge for few hours. Then remove it and
connect it (as the only device) to the secondary channel on a desktop
machine (via a 2.5" -> 3.5" IDE adapter) and see how it goes in such a
configuration. As soon as its recognised don't delay in copying any data
from it right away as when it warms up it may fail again. The fact it's
currently "almost" being detected by the machine (and is being detected by
the makers util software) means not all hope is lost. What ever you do don't
attempt to write anything to it until you've copied any data from it that
its willing to release.

Paul<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Another knackered HD 

On Sat, 14 May 2005 18:56:06 GMT, "anern"
<anern.TakeThisOut@safe-mail.net> wrote:


 >The drives got 4months of development work on it (Yes, now I backup
 >obsessively !)

Given this, I'd not do anything more to the drive, rather
packing it up carefully and contacting some data recovery
agencies.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Another knackered HD 

anern, having bad sector problems with a HITACHI DK23BA-20 (IBM Thinkpad).
Do u have a link to the Hitachi utility you mention ? tks.
 >> Stay informed about: Another knackered HD