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robintay

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Posts posted by robintay

    Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 Troubles

    in Hard Drive and Removable Media

    Posted

    my 7200.11 drive is still broken since aug 09. i have bought a tonne of stuffs specified in this forum to try to fix it with no luck. if anyone that is based in london is willing to fix it i am willing to bring the drive over along with the stuffs bought and pay for your time to fix. please let me know. desperate to get the family pics off it.

    Does the drive sound "normal", when it is powered on, or does it exhibit any scratching or clicking noise or something like that? I mean does it spin up, like it used to when it was still working OK?

    yes it definately spins up. no strange noises or anything. just cant access the drive. appreciate if you're around london and able to fix it.

    I'm sorry, but I'd have quite a long way to London, from Bavaria, Germany :D.

    BUT, and that's the good news, your drive should be recoverable once the connection works. And that should definitely be possible to accomplish.

    Good luck! Just offer the poeple some money. Something like 10-20 pounds and I'm sure there will be someone to assist you with this. ;)

    Yeah definately dont mind that. thanks anyway

    0

    Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 Troubles

    in Hard Drive and Removable Media

    Posted

    my 7200.11 drive is still broken since aug 09. i have bought a tonne of stuffs specified in this forum to try to fix it with no luck. if anyone that is based in london is willing to fix it i am willing to bring the drive over along with the stuffs bought and pay for your time to fix. please let me know. desperate to get the family pics off it.

    Does the drive sound "normal", when it is powered on, or does it exhibit any scratching or clicking noise or something like that? I mean does it spin up, like it used to when it was still working OK?

    yes it definately spins up. no strange noises or anything. just cant access the drive. appreciate if you're around london and able to fix it.

    0

    Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 Troubles

    in Hard Drive and Removable Media

    Posted

    my 7200.11 drive is still broken since aug 09. i have bought a tonne of stuffs specified in this forum to try to fix it with no luck. if anyone that is based in london is willing to fix it i am willing to bring the drive over along with the stuffs bought and pay for your time to fix. please let me know. desperate to get the family pics off it.

    0

    The Solution for Seagate 7200.11 HDDs

    in Hard Drive and Removable Media

    Posted

    still no luck. tried switchin the tx/rx around. tried with/out the ground. used a laptop for hyperterminal and desktop for power to the drive. etc... getting no response at all. the pcb of the drive was getting hot. so definately has power but no response what so ever. argh!

    Did you try a loop-back test, before attaching the HD?

    See here:

    http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showto...8807&st=384

    http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showto...807&st=1194

    jaclaz

    yes loopback works fine

    0

    The Solution for Seagate 7200.11 HDDs

    in Hard Drive and Removable Media

    Posted

    Hi Robin

    As I successfully unbricked my ST31000340AS drive with the FTDI TTL-232R-3V3 cable I'd thought I'd share what I did to see if that offers you any useful tips to resolve your problems. I went for the FTDI cable as it avoided the need to play around with any secondary power source.

    First I used 2 computers to do this. The first was the desktop PC that had to failed drive. I unplugged the SATA data cable from the drive, but left the original SATA power cable plugged in. This seemed much easier than trying to rig up a power source for the drive. It also avoided the issue that people reported on some SATA extension power cables not containing all the required wires. It also meant I could use the normal PC on/off button to control the power to the drive. (if you had any other hard drives I would suggest unplugging them to avoid damaging them)

    The second PC was a laptop that was used to run the hyperterminal commands, and had the FTDI cable attached. I had to download and install the VCP drivers for the cable to be recognised as a COM port. You can get the drivers here http://www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/VCP.htm Once installed I started hyperterminal and doubled checked I had the right COM port by unplugging the FTDI cable and noting which COM port disappeared.

    As far as wiring for the FTDI cable I did the following

    - Orange (TXD) - Connected to 1st terminal pin on PCB (closest pin to SATA adapter)

    - Yellow (RXD) - Connected to 2nd terminal pin on PCB (2nd closest pin to SATA adapter)

    - Black (GND) - Connected to 3rd terminal pin on PCB (3rd closest pin to SATA adapter).

    I didn't do anything with any of the other cables.

    On the disk drive I place a business card over just the centre drive contacts. I then turned on the power to the desktop PC to provide the power to the hard disk PCB. I waited for the disk to spin up. On my drive I could hear it start to spin, and then after 10 seconds or so it didn't make any additional sounds. (it was this that made me think that the drive wasn't really dead, and lucky find this thread) I've had other disks die and they generally made a sound that doesn't sound healthy straight away.

    At that point I started Hyperterminal, and used the settings described, making sure to select the correct COM port for the FTDI cable.

    - Baud: 38400, Data Bits: 8, Stop Bits: 1, Parity: none, Flow Control: none

    As this point I could then use the CTRL+z and got the "F3 T>" prompt.

    I then following the exact commands as described by CarterInCanada on his web site.

    Hopefully the above gives you a few more pointers to check out if you are still struggling

    Hey zeddyh

    Thanks for your info. I'll have to set up the laptop to give this a try. Pray for the light at the end of the tunnel for this drive...

    still no luck. tried switchin the tx/rx around. tried with/out the ground. used a laptop for hyperterminal and desktop for power to the drive. etc... getting no response at all. the pcb of the drive was getting hot. so definately has power but no response what so ever. argh!

    0

    The Solution for Seagate 7200.11 HDDs

    in Hard Drive and Removable Media

    Posted

    Hi Robin

    As I successfully unbricked my ST31000340AS drive with the FTDI TTL-232R-3V3 cable I'd thought I'd share what I did to see if that offers you any useful tips to resolve your problems. I went for the FTDI cable as it avoided the need to play around with any secondary power source.

    First I used 2 computers to do this. The first was the desktop PC that had to failed drive. I unplugged the SATA data cable from the drive, but left the original SATA power cable plugged in. This seemed much easier than trying to rig up a power source for the drive. It also avoided the issue that people reported on some SATA extension power cables not containing all the required wires. It also meant I could use the normal PC on/off button to control the power to the drive. (if you had any other hard drives I would suggest unplugging them to avoid damaging them)

    The second PC was a laptop that was used to run the hyperterminal commands, and had the FTDI cable attached. I had to download and install the VCP drivers for the cable to be recognised as a COM port. You can get the drivers here http://www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/VCP.htm Once installed I started hyperterminal and doubled checked I had the right COM port by unplugging the FTDI cable and noting which COM port disappeared.

    As far as wiring for the FTDI cable I did the following

    - Orange (TXD) - Connected to 1st terminal pin on PCB (closest pin to SATA adapter)

    - Yellow (RXD) - Connected to 2nd terminal pin on PCB (2nd closest pin to SATA adapter)

    - Black (GND) - Connected to 3rd terminal pin on PCB (3rd closest pin to SATA adapter).

    I didn't do anything with any of the other cables.

    On the disk drive I place a business card over just the centre drive contacts. I then turned on the power to the desktop PC to provide the power to the hard disk PCB. I waited for the disk to spin up. On my drive I could hear it start to spin, and then after 10 seconds or so it didn't make any additional sounds. (it was this that made me think that the drive wasn't really dead, and lucky find this thread) I've had other disks die and they generally made a sound that doesn't sound healthy straight away.

    At that point I started Hyperterminal, and used the settings described, making sure to select the correct COM port for the FTDI cable.

    - Baud: 38400, Data Bits: 8, Stop Bits: 1, Parity: none, Flow Control: none

    As this point I could then use the CTRL+z and got the "F3 T>" prompt.

    I then following the exact commands as described by CarterInCanada on his web site.

    Hopefully the above gives you a few more pointers to check out if you are still struggling

    Hey zeddyh

    Thanks for your info. I'll have to set up the laptop to give this a try. Pray for the light at the end of the tunnel for this drive...

    0

    The Solution for Seagate 7200.11 HDDs

    in Hard Drive and Removable Media

    Posted · Edited by robintay

    ive got a st1000340as drive. dead since october last year. all the family vacation photos are on it. argh!

    following this forum ive purchased almost every single cable mentioned and none has worked. loop through all works. the last cable bought was the ftdi 232r 3v3 usb cable. plugged in the tx/rx to the drive. ground to the drive. rts and cts plugged in together etc. hyperterminal set up to 38400 bps... no response when entered ctrl-z or ctrl-Z.

    again i would like to ask if anyone is in the uk particularly in london, please help. i am willing to pay for your help and incovenience.

    Hi Robin,

    Hang in there! Your problem sounds like one a few posts back where the loopback works but the communication goes wonky once the drive is introduced. Have you confirmed the hard settings on your USB port aren't doing something to interfere? I'm talking about port settings on your computer's BIOS that might be over-riding the soft setting within Hyperterminal. Another friend of mine had similar problems and we discovered her BIOS had set the USB port to a hard setting different from what the drive expected. Flipped it to "auto/software controlled" and the prompt came right up.

    Since you've had a sucessful loopback (wires are dumb and don't care about settings), I'd focus on the communications settings on the port and inside windows just to make sure something there isn't fouled. Slim help I know but it sounds like you're really close to getting there.

    Good luck!

    CinC

    ps. Too bad I'm in Canada, but I come to London every fall so if you're still having problems in October...LOL (sorry, I know you don't find it funny but I couldn't resist)

    Oh well yeah could be... will have another try tonight. I was actually just browsing for another same drive to try the replace pcb trick. Heck if it is still not working by October let me know when you're in town. :)

    0

    The Solution for Seagate 7200.11 HDDs

    in Hard Drive and Removable Media

    Posted

    ive got a st1000340as drive. dead since october last year. all the family vacation photos are on it. argh!

    following this forum ive purchased almost every single cable mentioned and none has worked. loop through all works. the last cable bought was the ftdi 232r 3v3 usb cable. plugged in the tx/rx to the drive. ground to the drive. rts and cts plugged in together etc. hyperterminal set up to 38400 bps... no response when entered ctrl-z or ctrl-Z.

    again i would like to ask if anyone is in the uk particularly in london, please help. i am willing to pay for your help and incovenience.

    0

    The Solution for Seagate 7200.11 HDDs

    in Hard Drive and Removable Media

    Posted

    Hey Gradius2

    Thanks for assisting. The website you mentioned doesnt have the necessary driver for the cable I have. On their website it states that its "For Prolific USB VID_067B&PID_2303 Only". The hardware ID on mine doesnt match.

    Thanks anyway.

    Just got a normal COM-COM serial cable so will try it when I get home.

    Even so, did you tried to install? To me it installed w/o any "hack" on .inf

    Yes I tried but it didnt want to install. Anyway tried the serial cable and that didnt work either. Dang it!

    Wonder if there's anyone in London who's willing to help out? I can bring the drive out to you to fix no worries.

    0

    The Solution for Seagate 7200.11 HDDs

    in Hard Drive and Removable Media

    Posted

    Hi

    I’m still having trouble getting everything to work.

    I’ve got all the necessary parts required as listed in Post #1.

    Parts:

    - RS232 to TTL adapter from Active Robots (http://www.active-robots.co.uk/rs232-seria...dule-p-775.html)

    - USB to Serial cable from Amazon (http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000LU61ZM)

    - Cannibalised a USB cable from an old Logitech Cordless Mouse Receiver to supply the 5V required by the RS232 adapter

    - Jumper cables etc

    So I’ve connected up everything as shown in both Post #1 and Post #101 as I have a ST31000340AS SD15 drive.

    Exact steps:

    1. Removed the screw that was shown in Post #101 and used an old Christmas card to separate the PCB from the hard drive.

    2. Connect the RS232 adapter to the hard drive (TX-RX, RX-TX)

    3. Connect the USB to Serial cable to the RS232 adapter

    4. Supply the 5V from the USB cable to the RS232 adapter

    5. Plugged in the USB cable to the computer’s USB port and the RS232 LED lights up stating there is power

    6. Plugged in the USB to Serial cable to the computer as well

    7. Checked everything then plugged in the power supplied by the PSU to the hard drive. The drive then starts to hum (i.e. spin up).

    8. Loaded up HyperTerminal and created a new connection as stated in Post #1

    9. Entered CTRL Z and nothing happened

    10. So I unplugged the power to the hard drive and changed the (TX-RX) cables around and plugged back in the power

    11. Again tried HyperTerminal and pressed CTRL Z got some garbage. I disconnected and reconnected then and tried again then got nothing.

    12. Changed the TX-RX around again and repeated step 11. Same thing..

    I even tried removing the PCB from the hard drive all together and it was the same thing.

    Every time I entered CTRL Z, I get this funny arrow on the screen (that’s because I turned on echo my commands in HyperTerminal). I get that if I use CTRL z as well.

    I’m really lost now and really need some help. Do I need to change some other settings in HyperTerminal? At the moment I’ve set it to autodetect the emulation.

    The drive is still visible in the bios displaying 0 LBA. But it is not visible when system boots up.

    Please help.

    0

    Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 Troubles

    in Hard Drive and Removable Media

    Posted

    I've got a ST31000340AS 9BX158-303 SD15 drive. Dead! When powered on the drive spins but doesn't show up on the bios or anything. My current setup is using a Nforce4 controller.

    So I tried to load my drive on a different computer (Dell E520) which has a ICH8 controller. Setting the bios to Bios Sata control instead of Raid Sata control and I can see the drive is there but it is reporting that it cant detect the size.

    I've read that many have had some success with flashing the drive if your bios can see the drive. So I boot up the fixed ISO by kju135 to flash the drive and no luck! During scan it says it cant find the drive and then shows the Power Cycles message.

    Is my only solution now to recover my data is to obtain the parts as stated in http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=128807 and give it a shot?

    0

    Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 Troubles

    in Hard Drive and Removable Media

    Posted

    wow excellent news. i've been following this thread for the last few days now and am also plagued with the ST31000340AS SD15 drive. it died a few months back and was contemplating freezing the drive to attempt to recover the data thinking it might be a hardware fault or something.

    now i've actually downloaded the firmware update from seagate yesterday before it was taken down so im really interested in the setup that was used to recover the drive. i've got a nvidia chipset mobo and the bios cant detect the drive at all.

    thanks to all who are helping others to recover their drives. fingers crossed that i can get back our holiday pics. wife is already killing me for not backing those up.

    0
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