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The Solution for Seagate 7200.11 HDDs


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I haven't attempted the fix yet, (need to order the Nokia CA-42 cable first) but I have some questions. I'm going to be using an old CD-ROM audio cable that I have laying around and I need a few clarifications in how to connect everything together, so correct me if I have it wrong.

Once I open the black plastic cover I have 3 cables exposed correct?

I pull the 3 cables out of the gold coloured pins, correct?

I then insert the cables from one end of the CA-42 cable into the gold pins?

Wrap each pin in electric tape and then insert into the back of the HDD?

Also if I pull out the original audio cables from the gold pins is it normal to have a few strands of cable still inside the pin? Its very small but it looks like when I pulled out the cable from the pin some strands must have remained, is this ok? Will it still work if I insert the CA-42 cable in there?

And finally whats the general consensus before I input this command "m0,2,2,0,0,0,0,22" in HyperTerminal. Should I first power down the drive by turning the PSU off or is it okay to input that command without turning it off?

Thanks.

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YES!!!!

I did it - thanks God, and all of you kind people around the world posting those messages and your experiences solving this awful problem.

God bless you all!!!

It was my fault for not having the most recent backup, but having the disk that is less then 1 year old I really didn't think this could have happened.

Especially not on this magnitude of thousands of soon-to-be ex-Seagate customers :-(

I made it with genuine Nokia CA-42 cable and Windows didn't recognize it until I provided 5V power to the cable from the my computers power supply, and connected hard disk to it. (I though that I broke the cable and almost went for another one.)

Another thing that caused some additional gray hair on my head was this DETSEC error after trying to spin it up, like in the commented post:

Oh dear... I followed the instructions but I seem to have made things a lot worse. :rolleyes:

...

I used a piece of card to isolate the heads contact and all seemed fine until the step to spin back up and I got this:

F3 2>U

Error 1009 DETSEC 00006008

Spin Error

Elapsed Time 13.550 secs

R/W Status 2 R/W Error 84150180

mrlondon, I don't know if you have already solved it, but in my case the reason was that I had the card that isolated PCB from the head contacts was mounted for a day or a two (until I've fixed the problem with the cable), and removing the card didn't really provide contact between the two.

So what I had to do additionally, was to carefully screw the PCB where it was supposed to be connected to head contacts. It solved the problem - spinning up and the rest of the instructions worked like a charm! :thumbup

Now, I am backing up my data, and as soon as that is finished, I am going back with this hard disk to the shop where I bought it!

Thank you all kind people! :hello:

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Hi banjaluka!

I am also in trouble with DETSEC error, my disk doesn't spin up after U command.

Could you help me where to screw the PCB?

I don't know where it was supposed to be connected to head contacts.

YES!!!!

I did it - thanks God, and all of you kind people around the world posting those messages and your experiences solving this awful problem.

God bless you all!!!

It was my fault for not having the most recent backup, but having the disk that is less then 1 year old I really didn't think this could have happened.

Especially not on this magnitude of thousands of soon-to-be ex-Seagate customers :-(

I made it with genuine Nokia CA-42 cable and Windows didn't recognize it until I provided 5V power to the cable from the my computers power supply, and connected hard disk to it. (I though that I broke the cable and almost went for another one.)

Another thing that caused some additional gray hair on my head was this DETSEC error after trying to spin it up, like in the commented post:

Oh dear... I followed the instructions but I seem to have made things a lot worse. :rolleyes:

...

I used a piece of card to isolate the heads contact and all seemed fine until the step to spin back up and I got this:

F3 2>U

Error 1009 DETSEC 00006008

Spin Error

Elapsed Time 13.550 secs

R/W Status 2 R/W Error 84150180

mrlondon, I don't know if you have already solved it, but in my case the reason was that I had the card that isolated PCB from the head contacts was mounted for a day or a two (until I've fixed the problem with the cable), and removing the card didn't really provide contact between the two.

So what I had to do additionally, was to carefully screw the PCB where it was supposed to be connected to head contacts. It solved the problem - spinning up and the rest of the instructions worked like a charm! :thumbup

Now, I am backing up my data, and as soon as that is finished, I am going back with this hard disk to the shop where I bought it!

Thank you all kind people! :hello:

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I've bought various components, including a soldering iron, various pins and jumper cables, but nothing I try works...

This is the first adapter I tried:

PA110558.jpg

PA110562.jpg

Nothing happens at all within hyperterminal, no matter what I do with the connections, I cannot even get it to do a loopback. I bought the other chip, along with the USB-Serial adapter cable. I only get marginally further with hyperterminal, in that it will see the relevant com port, but, again I get nothing on the screen when I try entering commands. When I select the "detect carrier loss" option, all I get is: "Unable to open COM7, please check your port settings", and that's before I even connect the chip to the adapter. I've tried this with 2 computers, one with XP, one with Vista, no difference. Second chip is below:

PA110572.jpg

PA110573.jpg

I had to solder the 4 pins on that one, as it didn't come with any, is there something glaringly obvious that I'm just not seeing? :wacko:

Edited by Sovereign01
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@Sovereign01

Don't take this as an offence :), but:

Did you try actually powering the FTDI interface with +5V and GROUND? :unsure:

http://www.msfn.org/board/solution-seagate...-page-1943.html

Same question also goes for second interface, which is a TTL to RS-232, the COM 7 you are seeing is the actual USB to RS232 cable that behaves like a COM port to which a "dead" something (or "nothing") is connected.

The only alternate explanation would be two DOA boards, which is improbable.

jaclaz

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To Jaclaz,

I had powered on/off earlier also, but did it again as you suggested. After the N1 command, I powered off for 1 minute, Yes! Opened the system clock and powered off for exactly 1 minute 5 seconds, then powered on the HDD, but it still does not detect and makes a clicking sound.

To people who have not read my earlier post,

I have a Seagate Barracuda 500GB SATA HDD converted to external using a USB External HDD casing. I checked my serial number on the Seagate website and found out that I was affected and needed the Firmware fix, but before I did any investigation, I had opened my drive (broke the warranty seal and opened the drive) and tried moving the HDD arm, since I thought maybe the arm was stuck.

Post my very intelligent activity, I searched on the web and found that the HDD had a firmware issue, hence here I am, trying to fix my HDD since I have void the warranty.

In any case, the data on the HDD is very dear and personal to me and is extremely confidential, so I realised that I was never gonna give it to any HDD recovery firm.

All in all, my case is a classic 'WHAT NOT TO DO' case, so I guess I can be of some help to others. Read all my posts and know what you should not do ever. :))

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Hi banjaluka!

I am also in trouble with DETSEC error, my disk doesn't spin up after U command.

Could you help me where to screw the PCB?

I don't know where it was supposed to be connected to head contacts.

Hello hiro,

on the attached image, you will see the red marked circle showing the screw that is fixing board to the head contacts. In my case, I had only two screws not fixed (the other one is marked with the yellow circle), since I followed instructions shown on nitrohelix's video you can find on the http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29FztWJVxbM.

As I wrote in previous post, I had the isolating card under the PCB for a few days, and it probably deformed the board little bit, making therefore the contact between the board and the contacts of the head loosen even after removing the card.

Actually, to play on the safe card, just be sure that you carefully (!) fixed all the screws after removing the card (before trying to spin-up the hard disk engine with the "U" command).

I hope this will solve your problem as well - thanks God, it solved mine.

post-263216-1255298116_thumb.jpg

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All in all, my case is a classic 'WHAT NOT TO DO' case, so I guess I can be of some help to others. Read all my posts and know what you should not do ever. :))

Unless when you opened the drive (taking precautions :whistle:) you actually damaged platter(s), you are probably in a condition where you have:

  • "good" data on the platters
  • a bent or misaligned arm

If this is the case the data may still be entirely recoverable with either of two approaches:

  • "transplant" the platter(s) of your hard disk on another one <-higher probabilities
  • "transplant" an arm from another hard disk on your one and align it accurately <-lower probabilities

This is something that YOU CANNOT DO by yourself.

Please note how the last character in the above sentence is a "dot" or "full stop", called also "period".

A professional data recovery firm may be able to recover the data with one of the two hinted approaches.

It will cost you lots of money, something in the above US$ 1000 range, but if the data is 10 years and worth it:

I must tell you that the data I have is of utmost importance to me, and very confidential. I have almost 10 years worth of data on the HDD.

Take your time asking for actual quotations from several firms and check that the firm is a known and reputed one, do not necessarily go for the cheapest one, they may be honestly quoting you a fair price or they may be some kids with a couple of data recovery softwares and a set of screwdrivers.

jaclaz

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I dont' become answers after ctrl-Z.

I use a serial port (probed using a mouse) it work (and COM port identify).

I have connected pins 3/2 to TX RX from hd (probed and probed inverted).

Connection parameters in Hyperterminal are correct.

I think the problem my be at power.

I have connected a external serial ATA interface and pin 3/2 of serial port to TX RX (GRND have a jumper with the pin at left).

Is it correct, or my be connect other extra power?

Using +3V battery where I have to connect it?

Excuse me for my horrible english!

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Here's hoping somebody has experienced the following issue and can provide an answer

I'm using the Nokia CA-42 cable powered with 2 AA batteries approach with the repair of my Seagate. The cable is recognized by the computer. However, once I enter the Hyperterminal settings, hit apply and OK the following error message comes up:

"Another program is using the Telephony device. Try again after the other program completes."

I have tried unplugging my Comcast ethernet internet connection and disabled all connection ports within the Network Connections control panel and disconnected/disabled my printer (with Fax capability). Along with this I've disabled most of the USB Root Hub listings within the device manager as well as network adapters listed therein. All to no avail. (There are no internal modems within the rig.)

I am at a total loss as to which program is apparently overriding the Nokia cable, preventing successful entry of the settings.

Any suggestions and/or workarounds shall be gratefully received.

Edited by Twittwilly
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And finally whats the general consensus before I input this command "m0,2,2,0,0,0,0,22" in HyperTerminal. Should I first power down the drive by turning the PSU off or is it okay to input that command without turning it off?

Thanks.

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

At this point, many say you need to disconnect the SATA power cable from the drive and wait one minute. Yes, count to sixty. Then plug the SATA power cable back into the drive. There is a bit of debate about this step in the forums but that is what I did and it worked fine in my case. *IF and only if* you choose not to disconnect drive power temporarily, you need to at least change back to the test level prompt (type F3 1>/T (enter)) at this point before continuing.

This is not a democracy. :unsure:

It doesn't matter if 51% agrees to one or the other.

AFAIK/AFAICR:

  • Disconnecting the power has been reported to work.
  • Disconnecting the power has NEVER been reported to create an unrecoverable problem.
  • NOT disconnecting the power has been reported to work.
  • NOT disconnecting the power has NEVER been reported to create an unrecoverable problem.

Just do it (whatever you think better), if it doesn't work, re-start from scratch and use the "other" method. ;)

jaclaz

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@Sovereign01

Don't take this as an offence :), but:

Did you try actually powering the FTDI interface with +5V and GROUND? :unsure:

http://www.msfn.org/board/solution-seagate...-page-1943.html

Same question also goes for second interface, which is a TTL to RS-232, the COM 7 you are seeing is the actual USB to RS232 cable that behaves like a COM port to which a "dead" something (or "nothing") is connected.

The only alternate explanation would be two DOA boards, which is improbable.

jaclaz

Well, I've made some progress. I'd already connected the battery but had no success, however, I tried again, and this time I was getting something back, and the little lights on the chip lit up when I pressed some keys, so that seems to be working. Bad news was, that when I hooked the HDD board up, nothing happened when I'd press CTRL-Z, other letters would appear, but it wouldn't being up F3>T. I'd press CTRL-Z, and all that appeared was a little arrow pointing to the right. I swapped the TX and RX connections, no difference. If I connected the PSU power supply to the board, I don't get anything appear on hyperterminal. Is there something in hyperterminal I need to change? I noticed there was a section on emulation, but I don't know what that should be set to, so I set it to auto.

This is how I've set it up, and what I get:

PA120574.jpg

PA120575.jpg

PA120576.jpg

HTT.jpg

I'd placed a piece of paper between the exposed heads of the wires to prevent a short, I removed it for the pictures. And yes, that's a bus ticket I'm using to put between the PCB and the HDD case :D

Edited by Sovereign01
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Hi

i bought CA-42 but it has five cables Black, Blue, Green, White and Orange. There is no markings on PCB indicatig what is which color cable. Only text there is " PL-2303HXA DKU-5 COB PCB ver 1.0 2006.06.05" so i dont know whitch cable conect. Can somebody help? Thnx alot

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Bump

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

At this point, many say you need to disconnect the SATA power cable from the drive and wait one minute. Yes, count to sixty. Then plug the SATA power cable back into the drive. There is a bit of debate about this step in the forums but that is what I did and it worked fine in my case. *IF and only if* you choose not to disconnect drive power temporarily, you need to at least change back to the test level prompt (type F3 1>/T (enter)) at this point before continuing.

This is not a democracy. :unsure:

It doesn't matter if 51% agrees to one or the other.

AFAIK/AFAICR:

  • Disconnecting the power has been reported to work.
  • Disconnecting the power has NEVER been reported to create an unrecoverable problem.
  • NOT disconnecting the power has been reported to work.
  • NOT disconnecting the power has NEVER been reported to create an unrecoverable problem.

Just do it (whatever you think better), if it doesn't work, re-start from scratch and use the "other" method. ;)

jaclaz

Thanks for the response jaclaz.

I've got another question.

I currently don't have a torx screwdriver to remove the PCB and put a paper underneath it, hopefully I should get the torx tomorrow.

What I want to know is can I still connect up the HDD via the CA42 cable and input letters and commands in the hyper terminal just to make sure it is working without putting a piece of paper under the PCB?

My cables work fine, via the loopback test but when I actually connected the RX, TX, GND pins into the HDD and start up HyperTerminal I can't input any commands, letters, numbers etc. Nothing shows up when I press the keyboard. Now I'am assuming this is because I have yet to separate the contact and the board via the paper or would it not matter?

Response would be appreciated.

EDIT: I just tried it again now and in the console window I get the message 'LED:000000CC FAddr:0024A051'

Is this normal to get if I haven't separated the contact and the board or does it signal a problem?

Edited by Strawhat12
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