"WARNING 0200: Failure Fixed Disk 0" on a SOTEC PC with a MAXTOR HDD

Either the hard drive is bad or the hard drive controller is bad.

The drive comes out some way...
I would first try the drive in another system (ideally not as the boot drive) and if you can get it running save all your data.

If you -HAVE- to, put the systems close together and run the cables box to box.
I do not recommend using power to the drive from one box and data cables from the other box.
Leave the Sotec box unplugged while you do this.

If the drive does not work on a known good controller then the drive is bad.

As it's not even being recognised (Powermax can't even get in) I'd guess it's the drive's controller board (not the disks or heads) and those boards can be switched out with one from the same model drive to recover your data.

I love that list of links...

There may be one problem though, as I mentioned up there, I can't get the thing out of the box as it's (maybe) welded in or something like that. It might take a bit of case destruction to get it out.

PCBONEZ,

Thanks for giving me some hope. I'll try taking the thing out again and let you know how I get on.

Cheers for now.

>>    I can't get the thing out of the box as it's (maybe) welded in or something like that  <<< never heard that ! most disks are screwed in the bays, or use a slide with a locking mechanism. So check it out first

Yeah, I doubt welding hard drives is approved my Maxtor.
It's gotta come out some way....

Idea... Sometimes the screws are on the bottom of the drive instead of on the sides.
There are standard threaded mounting holes on drives there but their use isn't common.

Right, here's where I am...

I managed to get the hdd out of the machine and put it into another. Unfortuantely, the BIOS didn't recognise it. Maybe I was doing something wrong there, but I couldn't get the BIOS to acknowledge its existence. First, I tried to put it in as a slave, but then I tried it as master. Neither worked. I had to go into the bios again to get the regular master working, which was easy enough.

Then, I took the good drive and put it in the broken machine, where it was recognised by the BIOS, which then tried (unsuccessfully for some reason) to boot Windows. It gave me options for Safe Mode and all that, but it wouldn't boot.

I'm thinking that the old computer is maybe OK, but the HDD is toast. Would that be a fair assessment? If so, we're up the proverbial creek without the required implement, as I don't think the staff have been very conscientious about the whole backing-up files thing.

Oh, and when I say 'old' - it's about 4 years old, I think.

Thanks again for the help.

>>   Unfortuantely, the BIOS didn't recognise it  <<  then nothing can help you recover the data, except a data recovery company like :   http://www.gillware.com/      

or buying another identical disk, and swapping the logic boards :

http://www.deadharddrive.com/

>>  which then tried (unsuccessfully for some reason) to boot Windows   <<  that is normal, if you change the hardware, you need minimum a repair install.

>>   but the HDD is toast   <<   yes, but see above.

and if possible, try to implement a backup routine

I like that story (deadharddrive) and I'll try to do that (though I'm not going to get my hopes up). It seems cheaper than going to one of those companies.

Well, thanks for all your help...

here another one :

http://www.hackaday.com/entry/1234000840067578/

Thanks again. I'm going to try freezing tonight. If that doesn't work I'll try swapping the logic boards if I can find an exact match for my hard drive.

Have you tried repairing the boot sector?  Boot up into a Windows 2000 or XP repair console and run a FIXMBR.  This beauty has saved me more times than not when I thought a hard drive was dead.

Freezing sometimes works (more often than you'd think!) when there is a mechanical problem and this drive seems to be having electronics problems. - But it's easy and free so it worth a shot...
Let us know..

Update...

I took the drive home (from my office) and put it in my home PC as a slave (after freezing it for 3-4 hours). Like originally, the BIOS recognised the name, but no details - like the size of the drive or the number of cylinders. I got a 'primary slave drive fail' error message. Unfortunately, I hadn't seen the Windows repair console idea before I brought it back to my office (though to be honest, although I'm no expert, I can't see that one working in this case).

I've ordered another of the same model, which should come tomorrow. I'm going to get myself a torque srewdriver and try to replace the logic board. If that fails, we'll have to cough up the cash to pay a company. I'm in Japan, and the prices seem to average around \100,000 - about US$1000.

D'oh!

Are you seeing a definitive name(eg type number), or only a generic "family name" (eg Romulus)?

If it is the latter, then you are probably in serious trouble. What this means is that the firmware on board the drive has failed - you may want to try downloading "The Ultimate Boot CD" which has a number of hard disc tools on it which may or may not help. Unfortunately changing logic boards is unlikely to help(I believe the firmware is located within the drive mechanism itself).

I had a similar problem myself, but the local company I used was unable to retreive any data :(

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but that was the way it panned out for me.

Stuart

Btw the url for the ultimate boot cd is - http://www.ultimatebootcd.com

Stuart

Stuart,
Thanks for that. As you said, it says 'ROMULUS'. (Bad news then).
I'll try the UltimateBoot CD tonight - do I need to go to the Windows version or will the one on the main page be OK?

if the bios does not recognise your disk, no software can help, as i said before, no ultimate boot disk, no recovery soft, nothing

The standard version should be ok. I can't promise anything with the tools on it, but there is a faint possibility that it may be able to reflash the firmware (I think you need to set the bad disk as the master disk).

I'm afraid that nobus may well be right - your disk has Failed Under Continuous Test .....

Stuart

Nobus,
Good point. I won't bother with the software, I'll just try to swap the logic board tomorrow.

if the interface, and the signals are ok, the drive will be recognised. The fact that it is NOT recognised, points to an interface problem. Replacing the logic board can help but is not guaranteed. If not, use the software recovery company i suggested.

The logic board will not help - the firmware for maxtor drives appears to be located within the drive mechanism itself. I had EXACTLY the same problem - using an alternative logic board did not work.

Salvation data claim to be able to supply software that can reflash the firmware, they also supply some of the tools on the UBCD which is why I recommended it.

Here's the question that I raised.

http://www.experts-exchange.com/Hardware/Q_21645600.html

Stuart

Stuart
The problem is electronic but not necessarily the actual firmware chip.
A firmware chip is effectively the same thing as a BIOS chip.
There are also I/O circuits and memory chips (the buffer) on the logic board that can fail and cause THIS problem.

I'm still waiting for a replacement drive to take the logic board from. Someone said that if I use a logic board from a drive which is the same model but from a different lot - I guess he meant with different firmware - then all the data could be lost. What do you think?

They don't put lot numbers on Maxtor hard drives. Revision numbers maybe.
That should not be an issue as long as the part numbers on the drive's PC Circuit boards are the same.
Maxtor often uses the same PC Boards on a number of different models but there is no way (I know of) to cross reference.
I've been racking my brain because I DID see an online cross reference for drive logic boards a few months ago on a data recovery site but I don't remember WHERE.

'as long as the part numbers on the drive's PC circuit boards are the same'...

Does that mean if they're different, I could lose the data? Also, where am i supposed to look for these part numbers?

read the link deadharddrive completely, it will show you exactly what to look for

PCBONEZ,

"Don't get your knickers in a twist.
-- You data is -CURRENTLY- lost... Is it not?"

Erm... I guess some things come across differently in print. I wasn't getting anything in a twist. I appreciate the help and I just had a couple of questions about your last post. What I meant was that I kind of see the data as being on the disc - it's just difficult to get at (I could be wrong - maybe it's not there at all or maybe it's irretrievable, but...). I was hoping not to do anything that would make the situation worse.

"Sorry, but there are no guarantees you can get it back.
Even those $1000 services won't give you a guarantee."

Yes, I'm aware of that. I'm just optimistic, I suppose.
 
"I seriously doubt there will be a problem with this.
Maxtor doesn't usually change the PC Boards once they go into production.
- And you haven't even seen the new board yet."

Great. The board's in my office and I'm going to try to fix it soon.

"Numbers are usually printed on the circuit board.
- Sometimes it's on the side against the drive.
- Sometimes they are on a sticker"

Yeah... There are lots of numbers all over the board, I just wasn't sure which one's you had in mind there. The board I ordered is the same model, so hopefully...

"'as long as the part numbers on the drive's PC circuit boards are the same'
That means that *IF* this method will work in the first place.. (and no one here is sure of that)
... then you have the greatest chance of getting your data back."

Yaay!

"If (as someone here else said) the firmware is located 'inside' the drive...
... then there is a fair chance any PC Board that's close will work.
- It that case all the PC Board is is the controller and the drive's geometry is stored inside."

Cool.


Anyway, I'll keep you posted. Thank you all for your continued support. I want to give everyone lots of these 'points', but I guess it can only be 500...

stuartindigo
The thinking that lead us to this point is that as the drive is not even detected as -there- it's a simple I/O failure on the drive's PCB and not a mechanical or firmware/geometry problem.

BonRouge
My fingers are crossed too!

Right...

I tried the logic board swap and I got exactly the same reaction from the PC on start-up - the error message at the start of this thread. (Big sad face goes here).

The next step is to try a data recovery company, a friend of an acquaintance got his fixed for \30,000 - about $300...

The thing with the data is that it was/is accounts and things like that. We'll have to try to put as much of it back together as we can from receipts and records. There are also a lot of files we I personally need that were/are only there - files that took a long time to prepare.

I know the moral of the story - back up your data and all that, but I thought someone else was actually doing it. Maybe the moral of the story is actually, "if you want something doing, do it yourself."

here the link again  i gave you :   http://www.gillware.com/

Thanks nobus. Do you work for that company by any chance? However, I've mentioned a couple of times that I actually live in Japan, so your recommendation doesn't really work for me (all though I'm sure they're very nice people and all that).

I don't know the cost but ontrack has a presence in Japan.
I've used their software for data recovery and it's first rate.
http://www.ontrack-japan.com/english/contact.htm

>>    Do you work for that company by any chance  <<  not at all