[VideoRipper]

If you're not at least a bit technical, it's highly unlikely you will succeed
in unbricking the drive yourself
Some people offer their help here, maybe there's someone in your neighbourhood
that is willing to help (for something like a bottle of wine perhaps)
Just tell where you're from; maybe we can work something out?

The drive first needs to be unbricked before anything can be salvaged from it;
in fact the drive isn't even really defective, its just the firmware (that's
the software inside the drive) that's hanging, similar to a program on your PC
that's freezing, which is why the drive isn't recognized by your PC anymore.

If you do know someone with a little knowlegde of electronics, it can indeed
be done with a (modified) interface like the Nokia CA-42 USB cable, so see your
friends and relatives and ask around, maybe you're lucky

List of things you'll need:

• A friend or relative with at least a bit of DIY knowledge (preferably in electronics)
  
• A computer with HyperTerminal (or similar)
  
• A serial interface that outputs TTL levels (like a CA-42 USB cable)
  
• A pair of cutting pliers and a way to connect the cut wires to the drive.
  (See some of the hints in this topic; even sticky tape *could* work, but is not recommended)
  
• A SATA-power supply (can be taken from the "un-brick computer")
  
• The first page of this thread

After that it's just:

• Modifying the CA-42 interface (cut off the connector that originally
  went to the mobile phone)
  
• Connecting the interface to your PC and installing the drivers
  
• Insulating the drive's PCB from the drive's contacts
  
• Connecting the interface to the diagnostics port of the drive
  
• Applying power to the drive's PCB
  
• Creating a terminal connection with HyperTerminal
  
• Following the first instructions (press CTRL+Z, spin down the drive)
  
• Removing insulation that separated the PCB from the drive's contacts
  
• Following the rest of the instructions (spin drive up again and follow
  further directions).
  
• Removing power supply from drive
  
• Re-attaching the drive to the PC in the normal way
  
• Starting PC and see if the drive is recognized again

If all went well you should:

• Backup the (most important) files on the drive
  
• Download, burn to CD and run SeaTools for DOS (reboot from burned CD)
  
• Test drive with a short and long DST-test (it most likely will give
  you some error code)
  
• Create an RMA at Seagate to have the drive swapped using the reported errorcode

Greetz and good luck,

Peter.

[jaclaz]

VideoRipper, on 05 April 2010 - 02:33 AM, said:

• A serial interface that outputs TTL levels (like a CA-42 USB cable)

Small correction (again) :

• A serial interface that outputs TTL levels (like a WORKING CA-42 USB cable) or, better a proper, documented, converter.

@WiNuWiNu
The easiest (as it is complete and well detailed) tutorial is this one:
http://www.mapleleaf...agatebrick.html
with pictures AND links to a "good brand" adapter, please note that there are tens of these that are good, including a number (BUT NOT ALL) Nokia cables, simply review the present thread, a lot of people have posted where they found the converter they successfully used.
Depending on what computer(s) you have available you may want to go for either a RS-232 serial to TTL or to a USB to TTL converter.


jaclaz

This post has been edited by jaclaz: 05 April 2010 - 05:43 AM

[hiro]

See this page!

http://www.msfn.org/...c-00006008-fix/

hurn, on 04 April 2010 - 01:48 PM, said:

i can get the drive to spindown F3 2>z spin down complete elapsed time 0.140 msecsbut get error 1009 DETSEC 00006008 spin error elapsed time 1min 57sec r/w status 2 r/w error 8415
gftfvnvfdsx

F3 2>Z

Spin Down Complete
Elapsed Time 0.140 msecs
F3 2>U

Error 1009 DETSEC 00006008
Spin Error
Elapsed Time 1 mins 57 secs
R/W Status 2 R/W Error 84150180
F3 2>






0180 please help or advise thanks

[jaclaz]

hiro, on 05 April 2010 - 07:02 AM, said:

See this page!

http://www.msfn.org/...c-00006008-fix/

Well, NO.

Generally, it is NOT adviced to use "nail thinner" as it could adversely affect the plastic parts of the connectors/PCB, as it usually contains trichloroethane, if using anything like it or acetone:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acetone
be very careful NOT to use it on plastic parts.

To clean contacts use isopropil alcohol:
http://en.wikipedia....opropyl_alcohol
or a dedicated electric contact cleaner.

A very good way to clean gold plated contacts is to use an abrasive rubber, such as (now really difficult to find) typewriter erasers.

jaclaz

[mundy5]

WiNuWiNu, on 05 April 2010 - 01:15 AM, said:

Ok...So, I have this problem, just found this thread, I've read several different versions of the instructions, even the ones on the google page.

BUT, my sata power cable I think for the harddrive? all the sections are black, and there's only four wires, whereas the ones pictured have six I believe with easily distinguishable colors.

I also don't have a serial port, so i'm assuming I'll have to use the nokia thingy for usb.

But the instructions seem like they're for advanced DIY'ers, I am far and away, an amateur. So is it possible to get the steps in laymens terms X:

Also perhaps a list of links to everything I would need to buy that I might not have? A retail list would be amazing.

Or perhaps there's a simpler way just to get the data off the drive? I care little for the drive it self, There's just a few folders I wish to save, maybe 10~20 gb's.


Any help is GREATLY appreciated, the 'bricking' of this drive has made the computer unusable[I'm saving up to build a whole new computer, didn't feel like spending the money on a replacement harddrive for this outdated one.

OH, also a list of programs I might need to do it? XP was on the harddrive so I'm not really sure what all I need.

see the post from VideoRipper. I would suggest that you find someone to help you as it seems that this is beyond your technical expertise. Where do you live? Maybe someone local can help. Have you read the first post in this thread?

This post has been edited by mundy5: 05 April 2010 - 10:16 AM

[Buch0]

Thanks to Seagate's utter incompetence and willingness to disregard their customers, I find myself here after finding my ST3500320AS is now completely bricked.

I have studied this thread as thoroughly as I think I need to complete the fix, although with minimal electronics knowledge I have one main question. I am going to use the CA-42 cabling method as I have a few on hand that seem to be in working order, but my question comes in regards to the connection between the cable wires and the PCB. I have no soldering equipment so anything to do with that is not an option, are there some sort of jumpers I can purchase that will fit the PCB connection? What would the consequence be if the RX-TX wires accidently shorted during the terminal session?

If someone could provide close up pictures of their cable wire to PCB connections it would be much appreciated. Are there any hints or tricks without the need of a soldering iron? I don't want the connections to drop out midway through the terminal session or at any stage of the process to be honest. Cheers in advance for anyone who provide help

This post has been edited by Buch0: 08 April 2010 - 09:30 PM

[jaclaz]

Buch0, on 08 April 2010 - 07:14 PM, said:

What would the consequence be if the RX-TX wires accidently shorted during the terminal session?

If someone could provide close up pictures of their cable wire to PCB connections it would be much appreciated. Are there any hints or tricks without the need of a soldering iron? I don't want the connections to drop out midway through the terminal session or at any stage of the process to be honest. Cheers in advance for anyone who provide help

No problem if you short TX-RX, you will simply do a "loopback" test.

There are several detailed view of the connections in the thread, take your time on it and you will find them.

Best, without a soldering iron, is to use some copper wire non-flexible, typically telephone cables (not the ones from the phone to the wall outlet, the ones from the wall outlet onwards) or network cables are good.
You simply get a nail, slightly smaller in diameter than the HD pins and wrap a piexe of the naked cable around it in a TIGHT spiral.
You will see how you can easily slip it off the nail (or pin) if turning it in one direction and how steady it is if you try turning it in the other direction o simply try to pull it off.
Then you simply intertwine the other end of the piece of cable with the wire coming off the converter and wrap it in insulating tape.
The technique is called "wirewrap" and is was commonly used in telephone PBX's and the like:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wire_wrap

If you want to create your own "poorman's" wire wrapper tool, all you need is a small metal tube (Hint: the needle of a big syringe - like those sometimes used to apply lubricants or compounds) with a cut notch on one side will do.

jaclaz

[Gavilan]

Guys: im really desperated here...
I have done everything, followed all detailed instructions, triple checked everything....i got no error message (see attached image), but when i reboot my computer...bios is "locked" and cant find my Seagate...

what im i doing wrong here???
Please have a look at the pic attached and please tell me... i have so so many important docs on that hdd...
(

Sebastian  seagate.JPG (98.64K)
Number of downloads: 27

[Hoggett]

Hello,
I'm new here, this is a great thread but I have a problem, I have done exactly what has been said on here regarding unbricking my seagate drive, however when I come to switch off the power then switch back on, I cannot talkle to the drive via Hyperterminal, I can only talk if I unplug my drive a second time, then of course the commands don't work.

I'm using a computer with xp, a nokia CA-42 data cable so using the right stuff, don't know what is the matter.

Has anyone else had this problem?

Ian

[mundy5]

Hoggett, on 09 April 2010 - 02:12 PM, said:

Hello,
I'm new here, this is a great thread but I have a problem, I have done exactly what has been said on here regarding unbricking my seagate drive, however when I come to switch off the power then switch back on, I cannot talkle to the drive via Hyperterminal, I can only talk if I unplug my drive a second time, then of course the commands don't work.

I'm using a computer with xp, a nokia CA-42 data cable so using the right stuff, don't know what is the matter.

Has anyone else had this problem?

Ian

You're the 2nd person in recent days to say the exact same thing. I have 2 questions.

1. How are you powering your sata hdd? Using your old computer?
2. Are you making sure that it is sharing the same ground?

When I did it, I was using a the desktop with a different hdd and the CA-42 cable. They were sharing the same ground.

[VideoRipper]

Gavilan, on 09 April 2010 - 10:58 AM, said:

but when i reboot my computer...bios is "locked" and cant find my Seagate...

The HyperTerminal-log in the pic looks fine to me...

But... It can be that the SATA-interface is defective as well, like I had.

After my Seagate bricked itself (connected to my mobo's VIA controler) and I tried
to connect another (working) drive instead, on that same controler, it wasn't seen
and the BIOS hanged (until a timeout) while searching for attached devices.

At first I thought only my controler was defective, but I soon found out that both
my drive as the controler were dead

Luckilly my Asus K8V SE Deluxe motherboard also has an extra promise SATA controler,
so I was able to use that one instead...

mundy5, on 09 April 2010 - 02:36 PM, said:

You're the 2nd person in recent days to say the exact same thing. I have 2 questions.

Like Mundy says...

If you ever plan to experiment/work with harddrives, you should at least get yourself
an USB-to-(S)ATA adapter; these cheap devices are really they're money's worth


When you use such an interface:

• You don't have to reboot your computer everytime you want to test things out
  
• The drive is powered externally, so you don't need to use the (short) power
  leads from your PC's power supply and you can apply power to the drive when you
  wish (you don't have to power down your PC).
  (You do have to make sure though, that the ground-signal of both drive as RS232-
  interface are connected if only the RS232 connection is used).
  
• It's just a nifty little tool to quickly diagnose (S)ATA devices without opening
  (or possibly destructing) your computer

Greetz,

Peter.

[Hoggett]

mundy5, on 09 April 2010 - 02:36 PM, said:

Hoggett, on 09 April 2010 - 02:12 PM, said:

Hello,
I'm new here, this is a great thread but I have a problem, I have done exactly what has been said on here regarding unbricking my seagate drive, however when I come to switch off the power then switch back on, I cannot talkle to the drive via Hyperterminal, I can only talk if I unplug my drive a second time, then of course the commands don't work.

I'm using a computer with xp, a nokia CA-42 data cable so using the right stuff, don't know what is the matter.

Has anyone else had this problem?

Ian

You're the 2nd person in recent days to say the exact same thing. I have 2 questions.

1. How are you powering your sata hdd? Using your old computer?
2. Are you making sure that it is sharing the same ground?

When I did it, I was using a the desktop with a different hdd and the CA-42 cable. They were sharing the same ground.

[Hoggett]

Hoggett, on 10 April 2010 - 03:17 AM, said:

mundy5, on 09 April 2010 - 02:36 PM, said:

Hoggett, on 09 April 2010 - 02:12 PM, said:

Hello,
I'm new here, this is a great thread but I have a problem, I have done exactly what has been said on here regarding unbricking my seagate drive, however when I come to switch off the power then switch back on, I cannot talkle to the drive via Hyperterminal, I can only talk if I unplug my drive a second time, then of course the commands don't work.

I'm using a computer with xp, a nokia CA-42 data cable so using the right stuff, don't know what is the matter.

Has anyone else had this problem?

Ian

You're the 2nd person in recent days to say the exact same thing. I have 2 questions.

1. How are you powering your sata hdd? Using your old computer?
2. Are you making sure that it is sharing the same ground?

When I did it, I was using a the desktop with a different hdd and the CA-42 cable. They were sharing the same ground.

Hi,
I am using a proper external power pack coupled upto the drive, a Nokia CA-42 cable to connect drive to the computer (a laptop) the three pins on the drive are all connected via the CA-42. I have also tried using a cmos/ttl serial port via a USB connection and that had the same trouble. I don't know what I'm dong wrong.

Regards

Ian

This post has been edited by Hoggett: 10 April 2010 - 03:21 AM

[bigleg]

Hi there,

Just received this USB-TTL adapter: Adapter Link

Unfortunately, when I connect this adapter to my computer the computer makes no indication that anything has been connected (no popup in the taskbar and the device manager doesn't refresh or display any new devices). I have tried this on two different computers and I've plugged the adapter in with and without VCC connected to GND.

Any suggestions?

[bigleg]

x

This post has been edited by bigleg: 10 April 2010 - 11:16 AM

[bsanchez5]

Hello,

I'm having problems with my Touchsmart PC I can't boot it up since it can't find the C drive. My PC has a Seagate 7200.11. Does this fix work in a HP Touchsmart PC?

[mundy5]

bsanchez5, on 10 April 2010 - 11:53 AM, said:

Hello,

I'm having problems with my Touchsmart PC I can't boot it up since it can't find the C drive. My PC has a Seagate 7200.11. Does this fix work in a HP Touchsmart PC?

If your PC has the faulty model and firmware, then yes, you will also have this problem. You can take the serial number of your seagate hdd and go to the seagate website and type in the serial number.

go here http://seagate.custk...7931&NewLang=en

and choose #2 "click here to use the serial number check utility"

it will tell you if it is one of the affected models. that is the sure way to know if it is this problem. btw, it doesn't matter the brand of your pc, if they used the faulty seagate hdd, then you will have this problem.

[Simba7]

VideoRipper, on 29 March 2010 - 05:39 AM, said:

Great job, Simba, that might be usefull for other members with your
type of drive/firmware

Although I would like to emphasize that playing with the command-line
options of the firmware-updater is at the user's own risk.

Flashing a drive with incorrect/incompatible firmware will kill it.

Greetz,

Peter.

This is true, but the drive came from an Iomega enclosure. The model numbers matched, but because it was an LC firmware (not SD), it wouldn't flash. So, I had to force it.

It's been a couple weeks and haven't bumped into any issues.

[VideoRipper]

Hoggett, on 10 April 2010 - 03:20 AM, said:

I am using a proper external power pack coupled upto the drive, a Nokia CA-42 cable to connect drive to the computer (a laptop) the three pins on the drive are all connected via the CA-42. I have also tried using a cmos/ttl serial port via a USB connection and that had the same trouble. I don't know what I'm dong wrong.

So don't we (to use Jaclaz' famous words: "I have my crystal ball at the shop for a retune")

First make sure you've got a properly working TTL-RS232 connection before doing anything else.

• Install the interface's (USB) drivers.
  
• Check that a loopback-test can be performed at (at least) 38400 baud
  (Remember that not all CA-42 adapters are created equal; see other posts in this thread)

Once you've got that working, come back here and describe exactly what you've tried and done.

bigleg, on 10 April 2010 - 11:14 AM, said:

Unfortunately, when I connect this adapter to my computer the computer makes no indication that anything has been connected

Like most (if not all) USB-devices, you first have to install the drivers before you plug it in.
(Though Windows *should* respond and detect an "Unknown Device" once you've attached it)

Possibility 2:
You *could* have received a DOA (Dead On Arrival), if so return the interface for a replacement.

Greetz,

Peter.

[Hoggett]

VideoRipper, on 11 April 2010 - 03:30 AM, said:

Hoggett, on 10 April 2010 - 03:20 AM, said:

I am using a proper external power pack coupled upto the drive, a Nokia CA-42 cable to connect drive to the computer (a laptop) the three pins on the drive are all connected via the CA-42. I have also tried using a cmos/ttl serial port via a USB connection and that had the same trouble. I don't know what I'm dong wrong.

So don't we (to use Jaclaz' famous words: "I have my crystal ball at the shop for a retune")

First make sure you've got a properly working TTL-RS232 connection before doing anything else.

• Install the interface's (USB) drivers.
  
• Check that a loopback-test can be performed at (at least) 38400 baud
  (Remember that not all CA-42 adapters are created equal; see other posts in this thread)

Once you've got that working, come back here and describe exactly what you've tried and done.

bigleg, on 10 April 2010 - 11:14 AM, said:

Unfortunately, when I connect this adapter to my computer the computer makes no indication that anything has been connected

Like most (if not all) USB-devices, you first have to install the drivers before you plug it in.
(Though Windows *should* respond and detect an "Unknown Device" once you've attached it)

Possibility 2:
You *could* have received a DOA (Dead On Arrival), if so return the interface for a replacement.

Greetz,

Peter.

Hi,
I can communicate with the drive, so I think the connection is correct, I can enter commands into hyperterminal ok unitl it comes to switching off the power at the HDD, once I connect it again I cannot enter anything into hyperterminal,(i've tried ctrl-z) the only way I can do that is by disconnecting the HDD power source again, but when I do that I can enter commands again but the process has been interupted and won't work

The CA-42 cable is connected to a laptop via a USB connection, I have got a connection on all the three prongs that are used on the HDD (gnd, tx,rx) and I am using a external power supply like the picture in videoripper's post.

I don't know what else I can try.

Regards

Ian