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The Solution for Seagate 7200.11 HDDs

Gradius2
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ukiahaprasim

ukiahaprasim

Posted
Posted

too high Voltage signal on RXD - TXD?..

Both converters are theoretically "3.3V to 5V Power Input."...

I was thinking about use another power source (like AA batteries), not usb cable- using two aditional pins (they are labeled as gnd-+5v, but I suppose it can works with +3,3v - +5v)

I am not sure about chip used, MAX232CPE - MAX232EPE... I don´t know if they works exactly as MAX232

Ukiah

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jaclaz

jaclaz

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I am not sure about chip used, MAX232CPE - MAX232EPE... I don´t know if they works exactly as MAX232

I am sure.

99% of adapters built around a MAX232 will give 5V TTL signal level (NO good).

Usually converters based on Maxim are with chip MAX 3232 which operates at 3.3V TTL levels (good :)).

There is NORMALLY no connection between Power voltage and TTL level, it depends not only on the chip used but also on the circuitry, you can well build a converter powered at 5 V AND using a MAX232 BUT outputting 3.3V TTL level (good :)):

http://www.mbarron.net/mbus/

http://www.panuworld.net/nuukiaworld/hardware/cables/basics.htm

A MAX 232 with no transistor or zener to pull down the level WILL NOT work, some adapters may (if powered at around 3 V)

see more on points #6 and #10 of read-me-first:

Since you are paying money to buy the adapter you should be able to ask the seller EXACT specs (and if not compatible get another adapter, by now several tens reported to be working were listed in this thread).

jaclaz

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martinlink

martinlink

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http://www.ebay.com/itm/PL2303HX-USB-TTL-Converter-Module-/180734359719?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a149b78a7

Will this one work? As I see from the pictures, it has pins to power it at 5v and 3,3v. If it should work, how do I connect the 3,3v pin to power it at that voltage? Do I connect it with a jumper to the VCC pin on the end?

Thanks!

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jaclaz

jaclaz

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http://www.ebay.com/itm/PL2303HX-USB-TTL-Converter-Module-/180734359719?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a149b78a7

Will this one work? As I see from the pictures, it has pins to power it at 5v and 3,3v. If it should work, how do I connect the 3,3v pin to power it at that voltage? Do I connect it with a jumper to the VCC pin on the end?

Thanks!

WHY it is so difficult to READ the READ-ME-FIRST? :w00t:

And in this particular case, READing the message just above yours? :unsure:

VOLTAGE (POWER) is NOT connected to TTL level (if not on a few particular adapters, mentioned in the READ-ME-FIRST).

Ask the seller of the item for PROPER specifications (or find another seller that provides them)! :realmad:

You CANNOT from a picture decide what an adapter does.

For the record that adapter is powered at 5 V from the USB bus (and can power - selecting it with the jumper you saw - target devices at either 3.3 Volts or 5Volts) BUT THIS IS POWER, NOT, NOT, NOT TTL levels!

The PL2303 chip USUALLY is used in adapters that will output 3.3V TTL Levels (good :)) but you CANNOT SAY FOR SURE.

Had you spent 5 (five minutes) searching on the board for PL2303 (AFTER having READ the READ-ME-FIRST) you would have found at least:

So, yes, for all we know PL2303 based converters èrovide the "right" TTL level, but this has NOTHING to do with the way and POWER voltage level.

jaclaz

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ljhall

ljhall

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1000 Thanks to Gradius2. Your instructions were clear, concise, and just plain worked. Got the serial adaptor off of Ebay (from Bulgaria, of all places). After that, worked like a charm.

Let me know how I can send you something in thanks, I really appreciate it.

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ljhall

ljhall

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FYI, this adaptor off of Ebay was what I used. http://www.ebay.com/itm/FT232BM-BL-Seagate-Barracuda-7200-11-Firmware-Fix-tool-complete-USB-powered-/280748167812?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item415de51284

It worked perfectly, no soldering required, only needed a USB cable.

It is marketed to work for this specific problem, using the solution provided on these pages, and, it worked for me.

Upsides: No soldering required, includes pretty much everything you need...and works. Oh, and at $20 bucks shipped, its reasonable in price.

Downside: Ships from Bulgaria, so you'll be waiting a couple of weeks to use it.

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rodyefew

rodyefew

Posted
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Hi All,

I have 2x Seagate Barracuda XT ST32000641AS drives. CC13 firmware.

One of them dropped out of BIOS, and I lost access to valuable data (no recent backup).

I cut a CA-42 cable and could access the terminal, however, the methods of disconnecting the motor or heads from the PCB didn't work. Whenever either was disconnected and power switched on to the Hard Drive, there would be no terminal access at all. Not sure if this is a symptom of voltage or whatnot. I didn't muck around with any batteries or test the voltage.

So I basically just worked with the terminal and issued the various commands.

Also, as described here: http://computersciencelabs.blogspot.com/2011/02/seagate-720012-sim-error-firmware-fault.html I had SMART failing when I type N1, so I had to issue the m0 command first. I had slightly different output to the page, but that was the first time I saw the "(P) SATA Reset" message.

So yay my data is back. I'm putting them in mirror mode now. Can't trust them any more.

I hope this helps someone.

Also, thought I'd add - these drives are just under 8m old. My PC has an oddity - when I touch the power switch, it switches on for a few seconds and then switches off - 3 times. After that sometimes it POSTs, and other times the fan goes crazy and it hangs. Even reset doesn't work. I then need to flip the power switch on the PSU, then switch it on again, then press the power button. Usually after this it works. So that's 4 power cycles to get the machine going. I haven't been able to figure this problem out yet, but I suspect it had at least contributed to the SMART problem. I usually leave my machine running to avoid the power cycling.

My mobo / CPU combo is probably shot. Checked thermals, PSU, power overloading, different RAM sticks, removal of all extra peripherals, CMOS reset, etc.

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jaclaz

jaclaz

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I cut a CA-42 cable and could access the terminal, however, the methods of disconnecting the motor or heads from the PCB didn't work. Whenever either was disconnected and power switched on to the Hard Drive, there would be no terminal access at all. Not sure if this is a symptom of voltage or whatnot. I didn't muck around with any batteries or test the voltage.

So I basically just worked with the terminal and issued the various commands.

I am not getting it. :ph34r:

This thread is about Seagate 7200.11.

The XT are not 7200.11 (or are they? :unsure: )

Basically on 7200.11's you can "work with terminal" in 4 (four) modes (all of them with the PCB powered through the SATA power connector):

  1. PCB attached to the drive (BOTH Head and Motor contacts connected)
  2. PCB NOT attached to the drive (NO contacts connected)
  3. PCB attached to the drive BUT with Head contacts insulated (and with Motor contacts connected)
  4. PCB attached to the drive BUT with Motor contacts insulated (and with Head contacts connected)

If you are suffering from LBA0 you use mode #1 above

If you are suffering from BSY you use mode #2 above (and you need to re-connect the board "live")

Modes #3 and #4 are workarounds or im'provements of mode #2 to reduce or eliminate the risk of re-connecting the whole PCB "live".

Your report is VERY interesting, BUT you should post (in a NEW thread) a complete description of:

  • the EXACT issue you had
  • the EXACT sequence of commands you used
  • WHICH EXACTLY of the above described modes you used

this way we would hopefully have a resource for the XT family of drives :yes: .

Without more data it simply means that this:

Notwithstanding the above, this info may be useful to solve a number of similar problems on a whole range of similar hard disks, but in this case information here needs to be checked and verified if applies to your different HD.

In other words your mileage may (and WILL) vary.

is true, but without exact symptoms and exact (working :)) cure it would be of little help to other users.

From here your other problems sound a lot like either a defective PSU (more common) or a particular setup with different peripherals drawing power from a same line (more rare) or, as you think, a shot mobo/CPU, but this is really rare. :ph34r:

jaclaz

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rodyefew

rodyefew

Posted
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This thread is about Seagate 7200.11.

The XT are not 7200.11 (or are they? :unsure: )

Ahh.. I suppose they're not. I assumed it was just a beefier version.

If you are suffering from

Hmm. To be honest, I don't know which problem I had, only that it failed to be detected in BIOS (and would hang it for a while) or Windows or any software. No funny clicks or whirrs.

Without more data it simply means that this:

Funnily enough, I "read" it, but didn't think too much and plunged into it.

I appreciate your reply and will try and piece together what I did in a new thread, as you mentioned. Perhaps when the second XT dies, I would have more solid information. Just hoping it doesn't come to that, or if it does, that it would be as painless as this time to fix it. (Although it took me a good month or two to get around to it).

Thank you jaclaz

rodyefew

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Hicky

Hicky

Posted
Posted

Hey..

Have been reading this thread all the way up to page 100, had to let it rest now and ask for help...

Not much about Barracuda ES2 drives here...

My issue....

I have this ST31000340NS ES2 drive who was working well until as a test I did a pcb board and rom chip swap and tested it on an ST3750330NS ES2 drive, both have identical board no, but different revision, but ought to be compatible as long as I do the rom chip swap...

After this test ST31000340NS drive spins up clicks 11 times spins down..My humble hope, maybe its been stuck in busy state, not ruined by this silly swap attempt..

It show up after a while when pc initialize, but not detected by BIOS, and off course neither by Windows, SeaTools etc..

ES2 disks has as you sure know terminal lock so I cant enter any commands after hitting CTRL+Z and getting F3 T> prompt without unlocking terminal...

I've been shorting read channels, lifting board from HDA contacts as soon as I get F3 T> promp for days and hours,.but F3 T> will stand forever when I do this, but as soon as I go on and hit the command 2 + enter this "FlashLED - Failure Code 000000CC Failure Adress 0025c8af" pops up over 2 lines in Hyperterminal, and repeats itself every 60 second or so..

I'm stuck, and hopefully someone can give some advice..

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Bke1981

Bke1981

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Hi

Thank you all for sharing this information. I was able to recover the lost data from my hard disk (although it took me more than 7 hours to get it working, but that was my own fault).

My experience:

I attempted to make my own serial-to-TTL adapter, but it turned out the MAX232 only works properly for 5 V.

Finally I ended up using this module from GHI electronics: http://www.ghielectronics.com/catalog/product/266. It has an USB connection at one side, and two JST3AA connections at the other side (one for RX,one for TX). Works very nice, and you have a LED indication for both Rx and Tx data traffic ...

Connecting the RX/TX/GND to the connector at the back of the HDD can be tricky, but I found a nice solution: I took an old audio cable that came with an old CD-ROM player (you know: the cable at the back that goes between the player and the audio card). I took the side that goes into the CD-ROM player, and took of the plastic holder. The pins will fit perfectly into the connector at the back of the HDD... I then placed some thermal heat shrink over the contacts, to prevent they can touch each other.

I did my communications with putty. One big thing to realize: you shouldn't wait too long to press CTRL+Z after powering up the drive. Otherwise you won't be able to access the menu. You won't be able to access the menu at all if you didn't place a paper card between the head contacts and the PCB.

P.S. now the data is rescued, I will have some fun trying to destroy this stupid HDD (let's see how fast it can rotate before it blows!). No Seagate for me ever again!

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