Drive Not Ready / Scraping Sound

[gwsmyda]

When I boot the computer there are a few scraping sounds and it eventually stops booting because "the drive is not ready." Is there any way that I can retrieve the files I need of of the computer?

[sgtspector]

Sounds liek ti might be a candidate for the freezer trick.

[SpikiestDog2]

Oh yes, an oldy but a goody. Try the freezer and tell us how it works.

[FLG]

Sounds like you HDD is gone (or almost), your only shot that might work is the freezer trick which is putting it in the freezer for a half hour or so then trying it, it may work or may not...either way you might have enough time to back up important files and thats about it.

http://www.meetmyattorney.com/slink/...es/000275.html

[gwsmyda]

i will try that as soon as i can get the thing out! The screws are so tight that i might just Dremel them off

[FLG]

Little elbow grease will do the trick, save the dremel for modding. Also be extra careful with it.

[tempus]

Originally Posted by gwsmyda i will try that as soon as i can get the thing out! The screws are so tight that i might just Dremel them off

Remember to turn counter clock wise to loosen the screws. And how tight can they possibly be?

[flanzig1]

When trying to loosen over tight philips head screws, use the biggest tip that will fit into the screw. I have found that I usually get a better bite and less chance to strip the screw head.

[gwsmyda]

No luck. i just pulled it out of the freezer and tried it. Does anyone know of anything that I could do to get the stuff off of this hard drive?

[tempus]

Originally Posted by gwsmyda No luck. i just pulled it out of the freezer and tried it. Does anyone know of anything that I could do to get the stuff off of this hard drive?

what you might try is to install the drive as a slave in another computer and try to read the files that way. It might work.

I have also heard of someone who opened his drive and discovered that the read/write head was loose. They glued it back and the drive worked.

What brand/model of drive is it?

[gwsmyda]

it is a "Quantum Fireball Plus AS" 3.5 series
40 GB
7200RPM
ATA 100

I'll try installing it as a slave

[gwsmyda]

I cant get it to work as a slave in my Dell Dimension XPS R400. It wont even boot up when the drive is plugged in, it gets stuck at a waiting screen.

[tempus]

Originally Posted by gwsmyda I cant get it to work as a slave in my Dell Dimension XPS R400. It wont even boot up when the drive is plugged in, it gets stuck at a waiting screen.

Do you have the jumper set to the right position?

[gwsmyda]

i've been trying different jumper combinations and none work. What should they be on? The hard drive cable has 2 spaces for drives, one labeled "HD 1" and the other "HD 2". I had the drives arranged according to those labels.

[glc]

Cable Select (CS).

With those symptoms and Quantum's reputation, I think your drive has gasped its last breath. It's going to need professional data recovery at $1000+.

[gwsmyda]

ok, the computer with both drives will at least boot up now, but it doesnt see the second drive. What can i do?

[gwsmyda]

i give up

the only hope that i possibly have is listening to tempus and opening up the drive
but that requires a Torx bit twice as small as the smallest one i have

if i go out and buy that bit, ill let you guys know

thanks for the help

[glc]

If you open it yourself, you are almost guaranteeing that your data won't be able to be even professionally recovered.

[FLG]

Im with g here, if you absolutely need the files use a professional service. The actuator on a HDD just barely is not touching the platter....the smallest spec of dust will cause the head to crash onto the platter thus sending more debris everywhere and pretty much rendering the HDD totally useless.

[tempus]

Originally Posted by FLG Im with g here, if you absolutely need the files use a professional service. The actuator on a HDD just barely is not touching the platter....the smallest spec of dust will cause the head to crash onto the platter thus sending more debris everywhere and pretty much rendering the HDD totally useless.

but if one is careful it can be done. perhaps with the helpof a microscope?
or find another drive that is the exact same model and firmware. by changing out the electronics I think data recovery is possible.

[glc]

The data recovery companies use clean rooms to open drives. That's a lot more than just being careful. However, you have a good chance if you can swap the circuit board - that's external and does not involve breaking the seal. An identical drive will be a lot cheaper than data recovery, the hard part is going to be finding one.

[gwsmyda]

honestly, i dont need the stuff on the drive that bad

my neighbor told me to take it out of the trash if there was a possibility that i could recover the data (which is mostly pictures of her with famous golfers)

professional data recovery is out of the question

[FLG]

Swapping the circuit board would only help if that was the problem, his problem seems to be a physical problem with the platter or head or motor in the HDD.

Since your gonna throw it out, ya might as well open it and give it a shot then if ya want.

[tempus]

Originally Posted by FLG Swapping the circuit board would only help if that was the problem, his problem seems to be a physical problem with the platter or head or motor in the HDD. Since your gonna throw it out, ya might as well open it and give it a shot then if ya want.

I agree with FLG. Go ahead and open it. You may get lucky and see something that is repairable.

[glc]

Originally Posted by FLG Swapping the circuit board would only help if that was the problem, his problem seems to be a physical problem with the platter or head or motor in the HDD.

Not necessarily - Quantums had issues with an overheating chip on the circuit board. This causes all kinds of clanking noises, but that's just the head arm slamming back and forth, the platters are probably okay.

[tempus]

Originally Posted by glc Not necessarily - Quantums had issues with an overheating chip on the circuit board. This causes all kinds of clanking noises, but that's just the head arm slamming back and forth, the platters are probably okay.

So finding a replacement circuit board could solve the problem?

[gwsmyda]

I see a few cheap ones on Ebay, maybe I'll go ahead and buy one for the circuit board. And if that doesnt work i'll have a cheap replacement HDD for the computer