The Solution for Seagate 7200.11 HDDs

[VideoRipper]

Of course it could be done that way, but you might want to pinch the connectors

a bit since the pins on the diagnostics port are a bit thinner.

[Buch0]

Of course it could be done that way, but you might want to pinch the connectors

a bit since the pins on the diagnostics port are a bit thinner.

Yer I planned on doing that, the connectors were a bit loose in there before I pinched them! Another thing, connecting the wires from the CA-42 cable to the other end of this audio cable, is it possible just to wrap them together in electrical tape or sticky tape? I know it would be best to solder them although I don't have the equipment on hand. Twisting the exposed wires from the two different cables together tightly together and then taping them should be fine yer?

[VideoRipper]

Even engineers like me twist wires to get a job done quickly

So yes: if you don't have a soldering iron or just want a quick fix:

• Strip off the insulation from both cable-ends (about 1 cm or a 1/4 inch)
  
• Twist two cables together
  
• Use some insulation-tape, just to be sure

(This is just some image I've found on the net, but you'll get the idea)

Greetz,

Peter.

[hwd3r3bsx98webwd]

gradius2 thank you for the great work on the seagate disk.

I save my disk data .

Chris

Edited April 15, 2010 by hwd3r3bsx98webwd

[Buch0]

Even engineers like me twist wires to get a job done quickly

So yes: if you don't have a soldering iron or just want a quick fix:

• Strip off the insulation from both cable-ends (about 1 cm or a 1/4 inch)
  
• Twist two cables together
  
• Use some insulation-tape, just to be sure

(This is just some image I've found on the net, but you'll get the idea)

Greetz,

Peter.

Cheers for that mate, I will post an update when I hopefully get my hands on my lost data again ._.

[Gram]

...And yet another successfuly recovered drive - like Jay's (post #2736), a Barracuda 500GB with LC11 firmware. It looks like it's not only the SA/SD batch that fouled up; I wonder how many unfortunates there are round the world who haven't found this or similar sites...

Thanks to all on here for their tips and experiences,

Gram

[VideoRipper]

Good job hwd3r3bsx98webwd and Gram!

I wonder how many unfortunates there are round the world who haven't found this or similar sites...

What I'm wondering about is how many people considered their data as lost and

swapped or binned the drive and how many actually paid hundreds of Euro's or

Dollars to get their precious data back...

I was originally quoted for €900, ex VAT!

[dooda]

I tried this guide last night.

I went fine until i sent the command: N1

To the SMART erase.

After that I got this:

Init SMART Fail

LED:000000CC FAddr:00239CED

Every minute or so i got another LED:000000CC FAddr:00239CED.

After a while i disconected to start over.

But now i can communicate with the drive. It say COM4 already open.

Anyone have any clues what i can do? Or is it totally bricked now?

It was fun anyhow and thanks to Gradius all you others in this thread.

TIA

dooda

[archangel76]

Help! I'm another victim!

I've read and read and read and I feel like I'm so close but can't get there. Here is where I'm at:

I have a 640gb 7200.11 drive and I think that I have the bsy error, but am not sure (when bios comes up, it just sits there for about 5 mins before moving on with no detection).

I have aldav serial port (not usb) ttl converter that has been mentioned by others.

I can get a loopback connection with no problem. I've turned off echo on winxp hyperterminal.

I have successfully connected to my older 7200.7 160gb drive (at 9600 baud). I hit cntrl-z in hyperterminal and drive info started popping up.

However, every time I try to connect to my 640gb drive at 38400 (8:none:1:none) (and I've also tried 9600 fyi), nothing happens when I hit cnrtrl-z. I've tried it with the board connected and the board disconnected to no avail. I've switched the tx/rx, but as it worked on my 7200.7 drive, it should be working on my 7200.11 drive.

Any helpful hints at this point? I'm pulling my hair out.

[VideoRipper]

But now i can communicate with the drive. It say COM4 already open.

When you get that message, it means the communication connection was not

closed properly and you can only re-connect after rebooting your computer.

I went fine until i sent the command: N1

To the SMART erase.

[...]

Or is it totally bricked now?

Actually, issuing the N1-command is the real first step in unbricking the drive,

so nothing's lost (the first two steps are only there to let you gain access to

the diagnostics-mode command prompt).

Though giving an error at this step *could* indicate that the drive is really faulty.

You can start all over again from the top (insultate PCB contacts, spin-down,

re-attach PCB, spin-up) and try the N1 command a second try.

Good luck,

Peter.

[VideoRipper]

Any helpful hints at this point? I'm pulling my hair out.

All 7200.11 drives *should* communicate at 38400 Baud, so that should be okay.

Just some pointers:

• Make sure TX, RX and GND are connected correctly
  (TX of RS232 to RX of drive, RX of RS232 to TX of drive, GND to GND)
  
• When the PCB is fully attached to the drive and you only apply power
  to it (so no SATA-data), you *should* hear it spin up as normal
  
• When powering up the drive (with RS232 attached) you should get some
  messages in the terminal display (even without CTRL+Z), like:
  

  LED:000000CC FAddr:0024A051
  LED:000000CC FAddr:0024A051

  
  

• When the PCB is not attached to the drive and you apply power to the PCB
  with the RS232 attached, you *should* get a prompt after pressing CTRL+Z
  (keys at the same time)

Apart from that, I can't think of anything else

Good luck,

Peter.

[archangel76]

Any helpful hints at this point? I'm pulling my hair out.

All 7200.11 drives *should* communicate at 38400 Baud, so that should be okay.

Just some pointers:

• Make sure TX, RX and GND are connected correctly
  (TX of RS232 to RX of drive, RX of RS232 to TX of drive, GND to GND)
  
• When the PCB is fully attached to the drive and you only apply power
  to it (so no SATA-data), you *should* hear it spin up as normal
  
• When powering up the drive (with RS232 attached) you should get some
  messages in the terminal display (even without CTRL+Z), like:
  

  LED:000000CC FAddr:0024A051
  LED:000000CC FAddr:0024A051

  
  

• When the PCB is not attached to the drive and you apply power to the PCB
  with the RS232 attached, you *should* get a prompt after pressing CTRL+Z
  (keys at the same time)

Apart from that, I can't think of anything else

Good luck,

Peter.

Hmm. I don't hear it spin up. That's probably the issue then. When the board is disconnected, I don't get anything, so that means my board is fried? Am I out of luck? Should I try a different board? I have a 7200.11 1 GB, and the boards look similar, but I'm guessing they aren't compatible.

[VideoRipper]

Hmm. I don't hear it spin up.

Ewww... that's bad

I guess it's indeed fried then...

...you don't see any blown-up components on the board, do you?

Some boards *might* look the same, but even with drives of the same type and

model you can never be certain they actually are

You *might* want to try it, but I think chances are slim and you will be doing

it entirely at your own risk

Greetz,

Peter.

Edited April 17, 2010 by VideoRipper

[archangel76]

Hmm. I don't hear it spin up.

Ewww... that's bad

I guess it's indeed fried then...

...you don't see any blown-up components on the board, do you?

Some boards *might* look the same, but even with drives of the same type and

model you can never be certain they actually are

You *might* want to try it, but I think chances are slim and you will be doing

it entirely at your own risk

Greetz,

Peter.

There are no burnt components. I was actually hoping that there were b/c at least then I could say what was wrong. It looks good, but just doesn't spin up.

[iw8pny]

When I write the command U the cursor

remain blinking without response.

Help me