Hard drive - no spin up

LincLinc OwnerDetroit Icrontian
edited July 2005 in Hardware
I did a bad thing I think :( This happened last week but I'm just posting now because I don't think I can bear to hear what I'm pretty sure is true.

As I posted in another thread, I attempted to upgrade my system but it wouldn't boot (apparent BIOS issue) so I had to revert my system so I could at least use it until I can get a flash. Problem is... my system drive stopped working in the interim.

[begin non-technical blather you can skip] I had four drives (only two are relevant here). One was my C drive (Mario), the other was for archived documents and current projects (Yoshi). I needed the Yoshi for my new system's C drive, so I copied all of it to Mario so I could switch them. Yoshi also had the (outdated, but at least existing) backups for Mario. Of course Mario decided to choke right as it had everything on it and everything was deleted from Yoshi. [/blather]

Short version: Mario won't spin up (a 60 gig 3-year-old Maxtor). I've tried it on multiple connections on a new Antec PSU that all spin up other hard drives. I think I hear a single faint "click" when I power on. There was no hint of a coming failure - I fear I may have bumped it too hard while switching systems.

Is there any hope for me? :( Any ideas at all? The data on that drive is worth its ones and zeros in gold to me... years of work.

:bawling:

Comments

  • primesuspectprimesuspect Beepin n' Boopin Detroit, MI Icrontian
    edited July 2005
    This is bad hard drive week. I lost my 250 gigger which had thousands of digital photos and tons of other very important, sentimental data.

    I am in the DAYS long process of trying to recover at least some of the data using various tools, but since the drive is mechanically dying (click, click click) it is literally hours and hours between each "step".

    The ONLY thing I can think of is trying to get an exact matching drive and swapping controller boards on them... that MIGHT work for you :(
  • LincLinc Owner Detroit Icrontian
    edited July 2005
    What about a data-recovery service?
  • mmonninmmonnin Centreville, VA
    edited July 2005
    Cant really recover anything unless its not spinning.
  • TexTex Dallas/Ft. Worth
    edited July 2005
    A data recovery service can recover anything the anything unless the heads have droped and scratched the surface of the platters. For enough money (big bucks) They will disassemble the drive and read right off the platters.

    i have also successfully swaped the PCB boards on the bottom of the drive and got them working again.
  • profdlpprofdlp The Holy City Of Westlake, Ohio
    edited July 2005
    You could try sealing the drive in an anti-static bag and freezing it overnight, then give it another try. Just make sure you have another drive hooked up to the computer you're testing it on - you may only get one chance to copy anything.

    Often when the Spindle Motor seems dead it is because the controller on the logic board is toast. What others have mentioned about trying to replace the board is worth a shot, with the added security that you're not opening the chamber like you would for a head swap.

    What's the exact model of the drive? I have a bunch of dead Maxtors from that era. Most of mine are 80GB drives, but usually the only difference is that they left off (or disabled) the read/write head on one side of one platter. I could send you a logic board for it. As I said, it's a relatively safe way to try and fix it yourself. Can you post a picture of the board?

    Whatever you do, I'd recommend shutting the drive down right away if you don't see immediate results. If you've had a hard head crash you don't want to do any fancy etchwork across the platters by running it continuously. If you reach the point where professional data recovery is not an option (it can be quite expensive) there are a few other tricks you can try. They are mostly last-gasp make-or-break type things, though. :(
  • ShortyShorty Manchester, UK Icrontian
    edited July 2005
    Try those suggestions, the fridge for the night rescued my recent lost drive enough to get all the data off it :)

    Sorry to hear mate, Its never nice to hear :(
  • LincLinc Owner Detroit Icrontian
    edited July 2005
    I appreciate the suggestions guys, and I thought about it a good while.

    I had an identical drive, so I decided, after much depression-laden procrastination, that I would switch the boards. I had to get everything off the other drive first though, which required another working system. Hence I waited until the LAN and used Brian's system to transfer everything. I just switched the controller boards...

    ...and the damned thing spun up and is currently copying all my glorious and uncorrupted files!!! :D:D


    :celebrate :celebrate :celebrate :Rocker: :woowoo: :headbange :clap::rockon: :usflag: :cheers::vimp::respect:
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited July 2005
    I've frequently been an advocate - here, with friends, family, for routine, thorough backups. This has saved my butt so many times. The easiest, most secure means is a large capcity hard drive mounted in an USB/Firewire external case. Use the external drive exclusively for backups (disk/partition images or just important data). If the capacity is large, you can do regular images. Disconnect the drive from your computer and pull it's power cord when not in use.

    Keebs, I know that's no comfort to you. Sorry, I wish I had a recovery suggestion for you.

    Edit: I see you posted about the same time I did. Congratulations on your data recovery. That's awesome.
  • TheBaronTheBaron Austin, TX
    edited July 2005
    wow! congrats on that actually working! I would have thought the chances of success were around 10%
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