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The Solution for Seagate 7200.11 HDDs


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Many thanks KlingKlang for your prompt support; obviously I’ve already checked several times your post 1834 @ page 92. The pin out does not seem to correspond, I have nothing connected at pin #2 and something connected at pin #4 ….

Anyway, I messed too much with both ends of the cable and now it’s totally ruined… I’ve just ordered another one (5 € through Amazon). Therefore I guess I will have to do it again from scratch since all cables seem different (colors of wire …)

I’ll be probably back again here soon

Thanks again

JP

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Hi All,

Long time since my last post.

To KlingKlang,

Thanks for helping out so many people. Really appreciate your efforts.

Now to the problem:

The BAFO BF-810 converter I was using is a USB - RS232 converter. I read in this post that what is needed is a USB - RS232 - TTL converter. I have located a branch of FTDI CHIP in pune. Hopefully I will be able to get one. Till then, its hands off the HDD. No wonder I couldnt get any response in HT.

I am also looking for an original CA-42 (made in Thailand) cable, as that would solve my problem AND it comes much cheaper than the TTL converter.

Will update everyone once I have the correct tools and tried. I may have already damaged the HDD beyond repairs, when I opened the HDD cases and fiddled with the HDD Arm, and I may have also screwed the PCD while trying different cables and converters, but hey, everything comes for a price, and in this case, the price for my follies is 10 years worth of data. :(

Anyways, thanks to everyone here. Those who need help and those who provided it. A big thanks to Gradius and KlingKlang for everything they have done.

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Thank you so much, everyone!

I ordered a Nokia CA-42 cable and it worked like a charm!

Drive is back online, firmware upgraded and copying files like it's the end of the world :D

I must be lucky because the cable that I bought was a cheap copy (didn't know that until I received via express delivery). It had a chip on it that said something like RS2303 and the wires on it were labeled from 1 through 6. Anyway, it just watched the youtube video and figured out the Rx and Tx by collour and it worked!

Thank you very much for your support and your thoughtful answers! I couldn't have done it without you!

Love&Peace!

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Thank you very much for your guide, Gradius2. I'd also like to thank the person from this site who helped simplify things for me and got direct links to the parts needed in the UK. Everything went very smoothly and now I have my HDD back to normal with the latest firmware installed, thanks again:-)

util.jpg

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Guys,

first of all, thanks a lot for all your contributions. And, what can I say? I recovered my drive so I love you for your efforts.

But, my recovering the drive was not easy since I got an a.2 CA-42 cable and I couldn't find how to set it up (too many posts in this thread) so I decided to go on and do some testing and here are the results:

First of all, stuff I used:

* CA-42 cable

* CDROM audio cable

* Two AA batteries

* some tools (very small flat screw driver, torx 6, cutter, tape, etc...)

* A couple of wires

The hard part was making the CA-42 work. The CA-42 I had is the one which is wrapped in an isolating copper shield and, then in plastic. After removing all that stuff I reached the PCB, where no connector had any label. This CA-42 PCB has two sides, one with two cables (yellow and red) for power and the other one with three (blue, white and black) for data.

ca42dataside.jpgw1042.png

ca42powerside.jpgw1249.png

ca42.jpgw1938.png

So, this is how the cabling goes:

* Red for +3V (I've not verified if it works with +5V)

* Yellow for power GND

* White for DATA RX (to HDD TX)

* Blue for DATA (TX (to HDD RX)

* Black for DATA GND (which I connected to power GND and battery pack (-))

ca42cables.jpgw842.png

This CA-42 requires external power to work. Thus, I used two AA batteries connected in series, stuck together with a piece of adhesive tape and some aluminum foil in between to guarantee proper electrical connectivity. Once you connect the batteries to the wires, if you connect the cable to any USB port, Windows will recognize the device.

As for the drivers, I used Nokia's. It won't install a virtual COM port but it will install a modem which is connected to a serial port (not shown under ports). Go to your device manager, find the modem and within its properties you'll find the COM port the modem is using. Use putty, select 'Serial' connection and then use the port used by the modem with the proper settings (38400-8-N-1). And... hopefully there you go!

To power the drive I used an external SATA-to-USB/eSATA 3'5" case by AKASA.

Putting everything together I was able to reach the HDD's console and do the magic to recover it following Gradius2 instructions.

alltogetherz.jpgw2000.png

(Remember to add some isolation between the pins going to the HDD - mine was very amateur but worked).

isolationx.jpgw722.png

If you've never disassembled a CDROM (or any of this type of cables), simply insert a small screw driver (or pin or whatever) on the shiny spot in the middle of the connector and pull the cable.

cdromaudio.jpgw996.png

To watch the rest of the images:

http://img23.imageshack.us/gal.php?g=ca42cables.jpg

Again, thanks a lot for helping me recover my precious data.

Enjoy!

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Hi everyone, so i try to fix the error again with the Gradius2 instructions, i did everything like he says and when i mean everything its that right :) (btw i sweat like a pig when i screw again the pcb with the power on), i finish all the steps, turn off the pc, swap HDDs and.... THE SAME ERROR "error loading operating system" so now i want to cry for all my data, i dont know what else to do please help me mates! Cheers.

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Thank you!!!!! I chanced on this thread when I was doing a Google search on data recovery options for a dead seagate out of an HP system. With the only minor glitch being the CA-42 cable I initially ordered not installing as anything other than an error :realmad: (see post #1500 .. that was the same as the first cable I bought .. $33). It looks like gnakh solved the issue with this cable (post #1950). I was wondering if it just needed extra power, but since I was doing a recovery attempt for someone else, I didn't feel like tempting the fates any more than I had to .. lol

Bought this cable instead -

http://www.amazon.com/Data-Cable-Nokia-357...6306&sr=8-1

a penny + $2.98 shipping .. via US mail .. sent the 24th received today (09/26/09) .. Took me about an hour to fix the BSY (setting up cable, tracking down glitches caused by the circuit board not being secured enough) and another 45 secs to fix the 0 byte error that was also present after the BSY fix .. The drive is currently gettiing imaged after which it will get a firmware update .. lol

For the record, this is a drive that was going to be shipped out for professional data recovery. If I hadn't both found this forum post that showed me it WAS possible and come across nitrohelix's video that showed the CA-42 cable, my client was looking $1000+ for the recovery (rough quotes).

A HUGE thanks to gradius2 for coming up with this solution.

Edited by seamuso
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Hello Everyone,

I was able to recover my harddisk with following details from the BUSY (aka BSY) error by using the USB to TTL method of issuing serial ATA commands to the PCB. Its working fine now and have backed up all the data.

Model: ST31000333AS

S/N : 6TE08QZ5

P/N: 9FZ136-568

Firmware: SD35

Date Code: 09204

Site Code: SU

PCB (printed on right corner of PCB) : 100512588 Rev A

However it still needs a firmware update which is not yet posted on the seagate website for drives with firmware SD35.

Can anyone provide me with the firmware file, you can upload it to any sharing host or can directly email me on hyper.escape@gmail.com. The file I am looking for is " brinks-3d6h-sd3b.iso ". I have already done it for my other drives so I know the procedure.

It would be a great help and I would be thankful

Once again, Thank you everyone for this ground breaking tremendous effort to research and offer a practical remedy thousands of people like us.

Regards.

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hi again,

i had some success but unfortunatly i have some issues with hyperterminal.

i cant spin down the motor, i tried both contacts on the hdd-board but i get no answer after writing "/Z" in the console...

i think this will only take a sec. can someone help me and give me a hint.

i followed that guide:

http://www.mapleleafmountain.com/seagatebrick.html

thank u guys!

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To theflex:

Uhm.. You have to guide us a little more here.

What hardware are you using?

Have you done the loopbacktest?

You should only cover the PCB-contact at the sata-connector end, the contact

in the middle is not important. You know the one that goes to the motor?

****... got to sleep.. help you in the morning...

Edited by KlingKlang
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hi KlingKlang

yes of course, here we go :)

i use

http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewIt...e=STRK:MEWNX:IT

the loopback test worked....so i can see in the hyperterminal the letters i typed...

now i tried the spin off but how i said no success at all...

i am a little bit confused now. the guide i linked above says to try both contacts if the first doesnt work. so i started with the one in the lower left corner....no success, now i tried the one in the middle (3 contacs).....again no success....

nakeddrivecloseup.jpg

Edited by theflex
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To Valkyrio,

Thanks for your mini-guide. I un-bricked my drive last night using that FTDI cable and it worked great. Not bad for 20$.

Also thanks to Klingklang,Gradius,aviko, and CarterinCanada for the hard work.

Quick question for those who have Un-bricked your drive.

Did anyone lose any data after flashing the new firmware update SD1A??

Thanks,

Mcq360

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To theflex:

You should only cover the contacts by the "sata end" not the one marked on the picture above.

have you written the commands "case sensitive"?

How are you connecting to the drive, that is, how does your cables connect to the harddrive?

check the video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29FztWJVxbM

To mcq360:

I didn´t lose any data either. I only updated one drive..

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first, i covered the contacts at the sata end! (like in your video).

that is what u mean, isnt it?

------------

i had no success! loopbacktest was ok and i can type in hyperterminal:

"ctrl+z" --> ok

"/2" --> still working

"Z" --> no reply :(

-----------

now i covered the other contacs like guide (http://www.mapleleafmountain.com/seagatebrick.html) recommend.

and i have the same probs...

---------

i just want to know what i can try now.....

--------

like in the guide a have not connected anything to HDD-GROUND....

--------

RX (ttl) --> TX (HDD)

TX (ttl) --> RX (HDD)

GND (ttl) --> 4-pin fan connector like in the guide

VCC (ttl) --> 4-pin fan connector like in the guide

--------

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