Hard disk Seagate Barracuda 2TB damaged
Dear all,
Allow me to explain my sad story. I had configured one Seagate Barracuda 2TB in one computer (Dell Optiplex XE2) as a "manual backup server" a months ago; I was really making tests with the Windows 7 NT backup scheduled to make backups monthly and it seems to work... "acceptable" (because I'd never make restore tests) well... one night... suddenly the guard let in some raiders inside the plant an they stole 8 laptops (they were catched by CCTV) fortunately, all the laptops has BIOS and HD password to run so, they will not able to do much with that laptops but, data came with those laptops. I had the hope to recover the stolen data from my backup computer but, another tragedy comes... backups HD dies... how? I don´t know but firts it shows me the users folders and the data but ir doesn't allow me to copy them, (unknown error says) so, I tried to extract HD and install it in another computer but it becomes worst because now the HD becomes unrecognizable by the BIOS. So, I decided to send the HD to a lab (Ondata International here in México City) and after a month they sends me a letter with the following:
"Severe failure in the internal mechanical block. The device requires stabilization and calibration of mechanical part as well as stability process and logic integrity verification .
Due to the fault detected in the above mentioned diagnosis , it has not been able to generate image data contained in the device because it is severely damaged the magnetic plates."
Sounds wierd because this computer were in the servers site always, always very good environmental conditions I have never kicked or let falls the computer to the floor.
That HD contains 14 years of information that has been lost with this issue. Any other recomendation?
Thanks.
Allow me to explain my sad story. I had configured one Seagate Barracuda 2TB in one computer (Dell Optiplex XE2) as a "manual backup server" a months ago; I was really making tests with the Windows 7 NT backup scheduled to make backups monthly and it seems to work... "acceptable" (because I'd never make restore tests) well... one night... suddenly the guard let in some raiders inside the plant an they stole 8 laptops (they were catched by CCTV) fortunately, all the laptops has BIOS and HD password to run so, they will not able to do much with that laptops but, data came with those laptops. I had the hope to recover the stolen data from my backup computer but, another tragedy comes... backups HD dies... how? I don´t know but firts it shows me the users folders and the data but ir doesn't allow me to copy them, (unknown error says) so, I tried to extract HD and install it in another computer but it becomes worst because now the HD becomes unrecognizable by the BIOS. So, I decided to send the HD to a lab (Ondata International here in México City) and after a month they sends me a letter with the following:
"Severe failure in the internal mechanical block. The device requires stabilization and calibration of mechanical part as well as stability process and logic integrity verification .
Due to the fault detected in the above mentioned diagnosis , it has not been able to generate image data contained in the device because it is severely damaged the magnetic plates."
Sounds wierd because this computer were in the servers site always, always very good environmental conditions I have never kicked or let falls the computer to the floor.
That HD contains 14 years of information that has been lost with this issue. Any other recomendation?
Thanks.
I am conflicted with this one because I have seen drives go out for clean-room repairs, only to come back with a letter similar to yours - but then I've plugged the drive in with a new PCB and wham, there's your data.
What does the disk sound like? Does it spin-up at all? (I ask that question carefully because the more you turn this thing on, the less of a chance of recovery you have) - but do you recall any physical symptoms or was it mainly BIOS failure-to-recognize?
What does the disk sound like? Does it spin-up at all? (I ask that question carefully because the more you turn this thing on, the less of a chance of recovery you have) - but do you recall any physical symptoms or was it mainly BIOS failure-to-recognize?
There are lots of things that could have been done differently, but I understand that is not the question. Since this is critical, I would be asking for another opinion. Find another recovery lab, tell them what you know so far and see if they can do any more. Even if the plates are damaged like they said there should be something further that can be done.
ASKER
Mainly BIOS doesn't recognize the HD and ... there is no "clack-clack, clack-clack" sound, in facts, there is no sound at all...
ASKER
Any lab you recommend even in the USA? (I'm in México City).
ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION
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It's very strange to me how this drive could have such dramatic damage. Hard drives fail, yes. Sometimes irrecoverably. You said that the drive makes no noise AT ALL though? To me that suggests one of two things:
A) the PCB fried so the drive isn't receiving power
B) it's completely ceased and damaged to all hell.
I've not seen B very often without an accompanying story of "it got tossed down an escalator" or something to that effect.
You could order another drive with the exact same model as the one with the faulted data and swap the PCB and see if it spins up. There are articles online on how to swap PCB properly, if you decide to give it a go, make sure you use the right part.
Just a thought. Don't do this until all other measures have been exhausted.
A) the PCB fried so the drive isn't receiving power
B) it's completely ceased and damaged to all hell.
I've not seen B very often without an accompanying story of "it got tossed down an escalator" or something to that effect.
You could order another drive with the exact same model as the one with the faulted data and swap the PCB and see if it spins up. There are articles online on how to swap PCB properly, if you decide to give it a go, make sure you use the right part.
Just a thought. Don't do this until all other measures have been exhausted.
i suggest to try http://www.gillware.com/ they have a good name around here, and reasonable prices
Changing the pcb on a modern drive is a hit and miss affair, due to the individual HDD calibration data stored on the pcb itself.
Disk use a technique called PRML (Predictive Read Most Likelyhood) which basically guesses what the data is. It works like this - because of the high bit density, identifying an individual bit is very difficult so they read a chunk of bits (say 6) and compare that against a table of all possible bit patterns of 6 bits already written to that disk and choose the closest match. It is this table stored in a ROM on the pcb that makes each disk/pcb unique
Disk use a technique called PRML (Predictive Read Most Likelyhood) which basically guesses what the data is. It works like this - because of the high bit density, identifying an individual bit is very difficult so they read a chunk of bits (say 6) and compare that against a table of all possible bit patterns of 6 bits already written to that disk and choose the closest match. It is this table stored in a ROM on the pcb that makes each disk/pcb unique
ASKER
I have sent the disk to Ontrack, unfortunately the diagnosis was:
"Hello Daniel,
On January 15, 2016, we received your Seagate hard drive at Ontrack. In our diagnosis we looked at the drive physically, mechanically, and structurally. This diagnosis determined that your drive had a severe head crash. This head crash caused severe physical damage to the platters in your drive and has left the drive unrecoverable.
Hard drive failures can be caused by a number of different things. Here is a list of the most common:
Power surge (blackout or brownout)
Moisture
Heat
Natural Disaster (fire, flood)
Improper care of equipment
Normal everyday use
Unfortunately we have no way to determine the exact cause of your failure.
Aside from the outcome, I hope you were happy with your service. If you have any additional questions please feel free to contact me.
"
"Hello Daniel,
On January 15, 2016, we received your Seagate hard drive at Ontrack. In our diagnosis we looked at the drive physically, mechanically, and structurally. This diagnosis determined that your drive had a severe head crash. This head crash caused severe physical damage to the platters in your drive and has left the drive unrecoverable.
Hard drive failures can be caused by a number of different things. Here is a list of the most common:
Power surge (blackout or brownout)
Moisture
Heat
Natural Disaster (fire, flood)
Improper care of equipment
Normal everyday use
Unfortunately we have no way to determine the exact cause of your failure.
Aside from the outcome, I hope you were happy with your service. If you have any additional questions please feel free to contact me.
"
That is bad news indeed. Hopefully the people who own the data are able to get some value out of the lessons learned from this experience.
However I had hoped you would recognize the fact that I was the first one to suggest you send the drive to another lab. Please keep that in mind for other questions.
However I had hoped you would recognize the fact that I was the first one to suggest you send the drive to another lab. Please keep that in mind for other questions.
Before you do that, try putting the drive in a USB enclosure and plugging it into another computer. If its recognized, you can use software such as Recuva to try to do a deep scan and find the data.