[BetKing]

Just a quick question here. Why is it that some guides covers the connectors from the PCB at the front and some guides covers
the connectors on the left back? Like if you watch the youtube video vs the guide from mapleleafmountain.com.

Just a thing I noticed. Or do I have to read through all the pages of the threads here to find out?

Ok, I wont bore you with more dull questions.

[VideoRipper]

I'm not sure I understand your question
What other connectors are you talking about, other than these:
 05.jpg (66.66K)
Number of downloads: 6
and what do you need to know about them, other than how to connect
a TTL-serial device to the diagnostics port?

Greetz,

Peter.

[BetKing]

No I mean that in one guide he covers the connecting terminals "under" the PCB to the left and in the other guide it's the connectors to the center.

Here you see them both:


He also writes, quote:

Quote

(Note: Some guides on the web have suggested insulating the *other* set of contacts (the "head" contacts) you see in the lower left of the above photo to the right. I tried this originally and it didn't work for me but obviously others have had some success with it. In *my* case, with 1TB model drives, I can assure you that insulating the slightly easier to access motor contacts worked where the head contacts method didn't. I suspect the specific model of your drive will account for the varying levels of the results so if one way doesn't work for you, think about trying the other. You'll know to look here if the HyperTerminal session won't allow you to spin down the drive and continues to give you the BSY error in reply - "LED:01...blah blah blah". If you're allowed to spin down the drive, then this bit isn't your issue.)

Was just wondering if anybody knew why, and so on. More than just a random trial and error.

[VideoRipper]

Ah... those

In my opinion, it's better to cover either only the actuator/heads contacts or just
both contacts (or remove the PCB completely) at the beginning of the procedure
for this very simple reason:

The contacts in the middle are for the platter-motor and the one on the side is
for the actuator-arm and the heads.

When only covering the middle (motor) contacts, the platters will not spin, but
the actuator/heads will move over the platters.
Since, under normal circumstances, the heads are "Flying" above the platters
induced by a thin layer of air, they will not get in contact with each other.

But... if you would disconnect the motor, the platters will not spin and therefor
the heads will not hover above the platters which could *potentially* have
dramatic consequences (heads crashing onto platters)

But... this is just based on what I know about the internals of harddrives.

Greetz,

Peter.

[jaclaz]

BetKing, on 18 May 2010 - 05:54 PM, said:

Was just wondering if anybody knew why, and so on. More than just a random trial and error.

It seems to me quite clear, if you re-read what you quoted:

Quote

(Note: Some guides on the web have suggested insulating the *other* set of contacts (the "head" contacts) you see in the lower left of the above photo to the right. I tried this originally and it didn't work for me but obviously others have had some success with it. In *my* case, with 1TB model drives, I can assure you that insulating the slightly easier to access motor contacts worked where the head contacts method didn't. I suspect the specific model of your drive will account for the varying levels of the results so if one way doesn't work for you, think about trying the other. You'll know to look here if the HyperTerminal session won't allow you to spin down the drive and continues to give you the BSY error in reply - "LED:01...blah blah blah". If you're allowed to spin down the drive, then this bit isn't your issue.)

The original info's were about completely detaching the PCB (thus insulating BOTH contacts).
Re-assembling the PCB whilst powered on is tricky and risky, as it is possible that the motors don't get enough current (for the lack of ground connection) and some components on the board will overheat.
Using a cardstock (and quickly and fully tighten the screws) is much easier and avoids possible mis-placement of the board or wrong contacts (that may blow the PCB).
So, you have to choose WHICH contacs to put the cardboard between.
And the answer, is, as it seems to me clearly written in the quote:

• try with the HEADs contacts.
  
• If it doesn't work on your drive, try with the MOTOR ones.

We don't have a database of which contacts for which model are better, but you do not risk anything by using trial and error, in most cases #1 will work, in some it won't and you'll have to use method #2.

jaclaz

[BetKing]

I read through what I quoted, ofc. But I was just wondering if someone had a better explanation, that's all.

Well, now I know, I'm going to cover both of them with cardstock. Method #3.

If you don't have any problems, you can always make some.

This post has been edited by BetKing: 19 May 2010 - 07:49 AM

[jaclaz]

BetKing, on 19 May 2010 - 07:09 AM, said:

Well, now I know, I'm going to cover both of them with cardstock. Method #3.

Excellent.

Another nice way to introduce a possibly risky variation for NO apparent reason whatsoever.

Out of curiosity, WHICH cardstock will you pull out FIRST?

Or are you planning to build a robotic arm to pull BOTH at the same time?

jaclaz

[nethergate]

Hey peoples. Im a victom of the dreaded barracuda 7200.11, since i bought the drive its always been a bit dicky, it used to require for me to restart the computer on boot for it to detect, i always assumed it was the motherboard as the board was secondhand and the drive was brand new, till one day restarting it wouldnt cure it, its got all the typical symptoms of the firmware problem, so i sent it back to seagate to get the firmware updated and they said that its not the problem, they have said the engineers report states that the "drive is not ready".

Can someone please tell me what this means and if my data is able to be recovered. I have told them to not replace the drive and send me back my dead drive. The drive was only a few months old when it kicked the bucket and when i learned that seagate dont fix they only replace i put it aside until i could find someone to fix it. I stumbled onto this thread and the firmware update seems to be exactly what was wrong.

Can someone please shead some light onto what may be the problem?

Thanks for your time

ps. is pcb transplant plausable?

Attached File(s)

•  2531_001.jpg (29.52K)
  Number of downloads: 7

[jaclaz]

nethergate, on 18 August 2010 - 10:06 PM, said:

Can someone please shead some light onto what may be the problem?

Thanks for your time

I don't want to seem more grumpy that I really am, but evidently you completely failed:

• to read the stickies and, expecially, the read-me-first:
  http://www.msfn.org/...-read-me-first/
  
• to take some time browsing and searching on the "main" thread:
  http://www.msfn.org/...te-720011-hdds/

nethergate, on 18 August 2010 - 10:06 PM, said:

ps. is pcb transplant plausable?

NO.
(please note how the last character in the above line is a "dot" or "full stop" or "period")

JFYI :
http://www.msfn.org/...=128807&st=3063

jaclaz

[nethergate]

I read the read me first before i posted, but that was all about firmware updating which is not relivent to me, Yes i did not do a search, but i did google "drive not ready" and didnt come up with much, this thread discusses the bsy fault so i thought id ask here to see if drive not ready and bsy is the same thing.

sorry i didnt mean to get anyones nose out of joint but i did read this thread post to post to page 30 got jack of it and skipped to page 60.
Thanks for the link mate

[HallBert]

Hello
I have a "Barracuda.ES.2" affected by the "BSY error".

Serial N°: 9QM8DLBE
Model: ST3500320NS
Part N°: 9CA154-052
Firmware: MA07
DateCode: 09173
(manufac. date): (2008 October 27th)
SiteCode: KRATSG
PurchaseDate: ????-??-??
FailedDate: 2010-07-08
OEM/RETAIL: OEM (Dell)
UserName: HallBert
Country of User: Canada
fail reason/fine: no detect in bios
OS/PSU: WinXP/LITEON

I'm trying to un-brick the drive using a CA-42 cable (chinese clone).
A problem arise when i type "Ctrl+z" in the hyper terminal, i don't get the prompt "F3 T>". Nothing happens.

When the PCB is mounted on the HDD in a normal way (no isolation between the contact head and the PCB),i get this message

about every minute: "LED: 000000CC FAddr: 0024AFF9" (should indicate that the drive is in a busy state ?)

I'm stuck there...Bad cable??? problem specific to the HDD model ???
I have done some research without finding a solution.
So i need some HELP!!!
Thank you!!!

P/S A soldering between a point on the USB PCB and a small black cable was broken.After resoldering,the loopback test was OK.Also,this CA-42 cable have previously been used to un-brick a couple of affected drives.

[jaclaz]

HallBert, on 25 August 2010 - 10:26 AM, said:

P/S A soldering between a point on the USB PCB and a small black cable was broken.After resoldering,the loopback test was OK.Also,this CA-42 cable have previously been used to un-brick a couple of affected drives.

So the cable cannot be the problem, right?

Your drive is a .ES2, which should mean that it is "tricky business"
http://www.msfn.org/...howtopic=129551

Be very, very, and I mean VERY thorough in checking the PCB (if it resembles one of those for which we do have a picture) AND in identifying the right pads to short.

Your mileage may (and will ) vary....

jaclaz

This post has been edited by jaclaz: 25 August 2010 - 11:01 AM

[shilbert]

Hello all,

My brother gave me a busted 7200.11 drive to fix (originally was in a retail Maxtor USB enclosure.) It's an ST3500320AS (500 GB), Firmware SD35. It will not show up in BIOS. I had originally suspected it had the BSY error, and I am able to connect to it via a serial port as described in the various guides, but the drive spin-down command (Z) always results in LED errors when covering the head contacts. (When covering the motor contacts, spin-down works, but when I remove the insulator & try to spin up (U) that hangs forever.)

Anyway, after listening more closely to the drive, I suspect the problem is it's mechanically broken -- when I power it on it makes a short "bzzzt" noise every second or so, as if it's trying to spin up but failing. Also, when I try spinning the drive in my hand, I can only hear it move in one direction (i.e., it'll spin clockwise but not counterclockwise), and it just sounds different than all the other drives I own (less 'smooth.')

Is it toast? I have heard that sometimes diodes fail on the controller PCB, but the fact that it sounds odd mechanically spinning in my hands makes me suspect this is not the case.

Some more details from the label:
S/N 9QM0MGVQ
ST3500320AS
P/N 9BX154-568
Firmware SD35
Date Code: 08274
Site Code: KRATSG
WWN: 5000C50009AED7D15
Product of Thailand

This post has been edited by shilbert: 26 August 2010 - 02:25 PM

[jaclaz]

shilbert, on 26 August 2010 - 02:11 PM, said:

Anyway, after listening more closely to the drive, I suspect the problem is it's mechanically broken -- when I power it on it makes a short "bzzzt" noise every second or so, as if it's trying to spin up but failing. Also, when I try spinning the drive in my hand, I can only hear it move in one direction (i.e., it'll spin clockwise but not counterclockwise), and it just sounds different than all the other drives I own (less 'smooth.')

Please name a drive model that spins BOTH clockwise and counterclockwise.
The repeated "bzzzt" sounds you hear could be the heads desperately trying (and completely failing) to calibrate and find a track.
But it's not clear if the drive spins at all.
Easy test, holding the drive in your hand, with NO power attached, then try slowly rotating it from a horizontal position to a vertical one and continue until you have completely flipped over the drive.
Power it up and try doing the same movements, you'll notice immediately (if it is spinning ) a kind of resistance due to the gyroscopic effect of the rotating platter(s).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyroscope

shilbert, on 26 August 2010 - 02:11 PM, said:

Is it toast?

Unfortunately, it sounds like it is, which does not necessarily mean that it cannot be repaired, only that it needs diagnosing and repairing tools well above our heads (and pockets) or, simply, not worth it.

shilbert, on 26 August 2010 - 02:11 PM, said:

I have heard that sometimes diodes fail on the controller PCB, but the fact that it sounds odd mechanically spinning in my hands makes me suspect this is not the case.

Most probably you are referring to the TVS diodes.
Normally there are two of them, one on the +5V and one on the +12V line, they are there to hopefully protect the PCB components from overvoltage or excessive spikes.
The idea is that if something is not "kosher" in the power line, a TVS diode will blow, shorting the +5V or +12V to ground.
When they do actually blow, drive:

• WON'T spin up (not even attempt to)
  
• you'll find a short between the +5V or +12V nad ground and your PSU will either self switch off (if auto-protected, like most PC PSU's) or simply blow (if using an el-cheapo external drive power supply)

jaclaz

[shilbert]

jaclaz, on 27 August 2010 - 03:19 AM, said:

Please name a drive model that spins BOTH clockwise and counterclockwise.
The repeated "bzzzt" sounds you hear could be the heads desperately trying (and completely failing) to calibrate and find a track.
But it's not clear if the drive spins at all.
Easy test, holding the drive in your hand, with NO power attached, then try slowly rotating it from a horizontal position to a vertical one and continue until you have completely flipped over the drive.
Power it up and try doing the same movements, you'll notice immediately (if it is spinning ) a kind of resistance due to the gyroscopic effect of the rotating platter(s).

Yeah, definitely not spinning. Tried it with a working drive & the Seagate, I can feel what you're talking about on the good drive and it's not there on the Seagate at all.

jaclaz, on 27 August 2010 - 03:19 AM, said:

Most probably you are referring to the TVS diodes.
Normally there are two of them, one on the +5V and one on the +12V line, they are there to hopefully protect the PCB components from overvoltage or excessive spikes.
The idea is that if something is not "kosher" in the power line, a TVS diode will blow, shorting the +5V or +12V to ground.
When they do actually blow, drive:

• WON'T spin up (not even attempt to)
  
• you'll find a short between the +5V or +12V nad ground and your PSU will either self switch off (if auto-protected, like most PC PSU's) or simply blow (if using an el-cheapo external drive power supply)

jaclaz

Well, the PSU doesn't turn off (and I've tried two of them), so it doesn't sound like any of the diodes blew.

Thank you for your help.

[jaclaz]

shilbert, on 27 August 2010 - 08:16 AM, said:

Yeah, definitely not spinning. Tried it with a working drive & the Seagate, I can feel what you're talking about on the good drive and it's not there on the Seagate at all.

Then it's either:

• bad motor
  
• bad PCB (in the motor regulating part)
  
• stuck heads or bearing (statistically the most likely, expecially if it was external unit. It usually means it was dropped)

Nothing you can fix I am afraid.

DO NOT EVEN THINK of doing this:
http://forum.hddguru...spin-t7040.html

shilbert, on 27 August 2010 - 08:16 AM, said:

Thank you for your help.

You are welcome.

jaclaz

[HallBert]

Hi jaclaz
Thanks for your reply
I have now tested the CA-42 cable on another Barracuda drive (ST3500320AS) and had no problem to get the prompt F3 T>.

That let the "ES.2" problem !!!??? Wich is as you said, " a tricky business" . I will try to find again the posts about the ES.2/...Ns models,read carrefully (english is not my first language),and take notes.

HallBert

This post has been edited by HallBert: 27 August 2010 - 05:24 PM

[ElKazador]

Hi, I have my 1.5TB disk ye afflicted with this problem and bought the adapter cable to see if I can solve, but when attempting to make the connection and do not like and not seen the connection schemes must attend in I like the tutorial please if someone has sent me or give me the page where you can see them.

http://cgi.ebay.com/...343891981415822

This post has been edited by ElKazador: 05 October 2010 - 06:40 AM

[BlouBul]

ElKazador, on 05 October 2010 - 06:38 AM, said:

Hi, I have my 1.5TB disk ye afflicted with this problem and bought the adapter cable to see if I can solve, but when attempting to make the connection and do not like and not seen the connection schemes must attend in I like the tutorial please if someone has sent me or give me the page where you can see them.

http://cgi.ebay.com/...343891981415822

Please do not double-post

See reply here http://www.msfn.org/...post__p__941713

This post has been edited by BlouBul: 06 October 2010 - 12:18 AM

[QMEDLAM]

Hello to everyone.
I´m new to this forum so I apolozie in advance for any mistake I should do in my posting.
I live in Argentina and I bought a second PC with a SAMSUNG disk of 320 Gb. This happened in February 2009.
This are the main data of the machine:
Motherboard: ASUS M3N78-VM
Processor: Athlon 64x2 dual 6000+
RAM 4 Gbytes

Soon afterwards I discovered that it was short of disk space and in March 2009 I bought a second disk: a SEAGATE. This was a brand I trusted for many years ago but....
This are the data fron the label of the disk:
Seagate Barracuda GT 7200.11
500 Gbytes
S/N:
ST3500320AS
P/N: 98x154-305
Firware: SD1A
Data Code:09264
Site Code: WUXISG
WWN: 5000C50012328F2F
Product made in China

A week ago when I start up the PC in the morning, as ever, I din´t found the Seagate any more!
It appeared in WExplorer but the directories only. When I try to open them nothing happens.
I began, in great despair, to google and somewhere I read ¨bricked¨ and from there on I reach your site.
After reading many pages I am in a really mess and I don´t know what to do.
According with some of you, I noticed that it appeared in the POST correctly with 500 Gb, UDMA 6, etc.
Going to the setup it appeared also with 500 Gb, SATA 2, etc.
I take it off the PC, and tried it in my hand and it seems to me that it spin well, without any noises.
In the site of Seagate it appeared that I have the last firmware update. Of course I don´t update for myself, it is as I bought it.
I need a great help, I suppose. Can you help me?