The Solution for Seagate 7200.11 HDDs

[Confused07]

Sure , and since it's like almost 5 (five) years that on nearly each §@ç#ing page of this thread (including this #182 one) there is a post mentioning the Read-me-first and/or the FGA's (often by yours truly ) I am pretty sure that some (out of the many) actually read them before posting the same questions already asked and possibly this partially explains why I seem grumpier than what I normally am .

I didn't actually read all 182 pages, the pages that I did read, gotta tell you, never saw one warning. But even so, I found this thread/forum after I already tried the PCB solution.

[jaclaz]

I didn't actually read all 182 pages, the pages that I did read, gotta tell you, never saw one warning. But even so, I found this thread/forum after I already tried the PCB solution.

So, when you finally found this thread you did not read the last page (this one) and did not read the first page, just one page here and one there.

If you check it, the first post on it has:

Please make sure you've READ the Read-Me-First Sticky FIRST!

in large, friendly letters , BIGGISH, bolded and in different colours so that the particular message is highlighted.

Anyway, did the loopback test succeed?

jaclaz

Edited November 26, 2013 by jaclaz

[Confused07]

Connecting the RX to TX cables directly, it did loop back the messages on the Putty screen. I was able to see what I was typing.

When plugged correctly to the drive, a lot of times nothing happens. Sometimes on Hyper Terminal I can see what I'm typing, and if I press CTRL + Z, I would get a black arrow.

Does this mean the issue is with the PCB?

Edited November 26, 2013 by Confused07

[dencorso]

[...] as an example the new version of a "good" adapter has an added capacitor to prevent spikes that have killed tens of these particular TTL adapters in the past [...]

That's news to me... (which also serves to show it's been some time since I last ventured here, of course)... would you please kindly provide a link for more info about these adapters with the added capacitor? TIA.

And, BTW, you do rock!

[Confused07]

I tried the same cable on an old ST31000340AS, and it worked on Hyper Terminal. I got the, "F3 T>", message upon pressing CTRL+Z.

But it won't work on my ST31500341AS, any idea as to why ?

[dencorso]

Yes. The controller board is toast.

[Confused07]

Okay, I've contacted OnePCBSolution.com, see if they can help. Hopefully I can buy a replacement board from them (exact match) and mail them my current one so they can do the donor transfer.

EDIT:

Here's the reply from OnePCBSolution:

I think if the drive can be detected, it should at least give you a prompt in hyperterminal. I’m not confident replacing the board will make any difference, but we can provide a board for you if you want to give it a shot.

For this board, we need you to ship the dead board to us first, and then we have to clone the firmware from your board onto a new board. The reason is that the firmware of every single board of this model holds some drive specific data, and this unique data has to be copied over to ensure compatibility. The total cost including the board and firmware transfer is $49.99.

Alternatively, if you do not want to mail the dead circuit board to us, we can provide you with instructions on how to transfer the firmware yourself. This involves soldering and de-soldering an 8-pinned ROM chip (SO8).

If you would like to proceed, just let me know which option you would prefer.

Will give it a shot, beats the last resort if it works out. Edited November 27, 2013 by Confused07

[jaclaz]

That's news to me... (which also serves to show it's been some time since I last ventured here, of course)... would you please kindly provide a link for more info about these adapters with the added capacitor? TIA.

And, BTW, you do rock!

Here:

http://www.msfn.org/board/topic/128807-the-solution-for-seagate-720011-hdds/page-160#entry984522

http://www.msfn.org/board/topic/128807-the-solution-for-seagate-720011-hdds/page-173#entry1014506

http://www.pololu.com/catalog/product/126

http://www.pololu.com/docs/0J16

and as Note1 to the Guide by CarterinCanada:

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

Note 1: I received a nice email from an engineer at Pololu today (December 2010) advising me of something they've seen in the field with their adapter now that hundreds of you are out there unbricking your drives. It seems that there is a destructive LC voltage spike phenomenon that can occur when using particularly long or flimsy jumper wires. My reasonable guess is that this phenomenon can effect ANY brand of adapter so take heed. A strong enough spike can damage your adapter permanently so use reasonably short jumper wires in your setup - I just measured mine and they never exceeded 30cm (12 inches) in total and were made of 22 gauge solid (not stranded) copper wire. Also be sure your power supply is nice and healthy as one that is weak or ailing can exacerbate the issue. They have an interesting paper on the effect linked on the manufacturer's site above for those of you interested in such things as well as a very cheap preventative measure (a fifty-cent electrolytic cap inserted into the setup - with a photo and instructions even) which should completely prevent such spikes from effecting your adapter. Whether you add this extra component or just keep your jumpers nice and short is up to you but at least now you have the info at your disposal which should alleviate any tendency to panic about such things. Thanks to Ben at Pololu for the info from the field.

@Confused07

Usually the good guys @ Onepcbsolutions are very nice, and I am pretty sure that they can do the ROM swap for you alright, the point is however IF this will be effective.

What I mean if since you have this "intermittent" issue, it could be caused both by an actual hardware problem (that would be resolved by the "new" PCB with the transferred ROM) or if - for any reason - the firmware has entered into some kind of loop (different form the "usual" one) in which case it may not work.

Anyway, since what you risk (the 50 bucks) is much less than what you would have to pay for a dignosis by a recovery pro, it is still IMHO worth an attempt.

jaclaz

[Oswy]

Hello, I have a doubt regarding the loopback with this:

http://imageshack.com/a/img703/6950/ixlh.jpg

when I connect RX with TX and I try to write something on HyperTerminal, nothing appears on the screen but the LEDs light up

any idea?

[Confused07]

When I get the replacement PCB, should I try accessing the drive normally, or should try to communicate with it again through Hyper Terminal?

[jaclaz]

Hello, I have a doubt regarding the loopback with this:

http://imageshack.com/a/img703/6950/ixlh.jpg

when I connect RX with TX and I try to write something on HyperTerminal, nothing appears on the screen but the LEDs light up

any idea?

Difficult to say, it could be the actual adapter DOA or more simply a cold solder (or improper connection of the wires you are using).

You can try directly connecting the two Tx/Rx pins with - say - a pair of tweezers or little pliers to exclude the wires and use a multimeter to check continuity on the actual board.

When I get the replacement PCB, should I try accessing the drive normally, or should try to communicate with it again through Hyper Terminal?

If the issue is/was the actual PCB, there would be no need to communicate to the disk through hyperterminal and the TTL adapter, the disk should work "as is".

Be aware that there are reports in some "normal" cases of (successful) debricking - for unknown reasons - the MBR partition table and/or some other "key" sectors on disk were corrupted or however made invalid and that some partition/filesystem recovery was needed in addition, example:

http://www.msfn.org/board/topic/145574-seagate-750gb-one-partition-is-raw-after-bsy-fix/

What I would personally do with a (hopefully) unbricked disk would be to connect it to an already booted PC through a USB (or e-Sata) connection, i.e. "hot-plug" it, as there are also reports of such unbricked disks that when connected directly to the motherboard prevent the PC from booting.

jaclaz

[Confused07]

Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be success in mine. When I first plugged it into the SATA Docking station I had, it made no clicks, and detected a new device. But it installed it like a USB Drive, and I couldn't access the data or view the total size of the drive.

When I turned it off & on, nothing happened after that.

So then I tried the USB cable method again, and I only got the black arrow in Hyper Terminal, when I put the drive back together and powered it on again, the clicking came back, and it detects as an unknown drive that's not initialized.

[jaclaz]

Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be success in mine. When I first plugged it into the SATA Docking station I had, it made no clicks, and detected a new device. But it installed it like a USB Drive, and I couldn't access the data or view the total size of the drive.

When I turned it off & on, nothing happened after that.

So then I tried the USB cable method again, and I only got the black arrow in Hyper Terminal, when I put the drive back together and powered it on again, the clicking came back, and it detects as an unknown drive that's not initialized.

WHICH clicking?

You didn't said anything about clicking. (or I missed it ) (is it not by any chance something like 11 or 12 clicks, then a pause, etc.?)

WHAT "detects it as unknown device which is not initialized"?

When the disk is connected "normally" to a SATA port (and powered) what do you see in the BIOS?

What happenas if you simply connect the power (and not the SATA bus) cable to it and then switch on the PSU from which you get the power?

Does it spin, does it click with a "pattern"? (please describe).

jaclaz

[Confused07]

I don't know "which" clicking, one of the sources I read said it's because the header or whatever it is, is trying to access the platter's firmware and failing, the clicking is each time it tries and failing. I think it's somewhere between 8 - 10 times, I haven't plugged it back in.

It detects as ST_M13FQBL, with 3.86GB of space. On Windows, it shows as a "Not Initialized" disk.

It does sound like it spins up, then tries to read the platter firmware, after the clicking, it winds down.

[jaclaz]

The "WHICH" about the clicking was about the fact that you did not describe it in the "symptoms" earlier.

A clicking (like 10 or eleven or twelve times) plainly means "the issue is outside the scope of the present thread AND it is unfortunately something that ONLY a professional using professional tools may be able to fix/recover from", that is IF the contacts to the motor/heads are good. (have you checked them, cleaned them and properly tightened the PCB screws?).

Try again after having cleaned/checked the contacts between disk and PCB, if still it clicks the 8/10/11/12 times it is gone for good (as long as the possibilities of a DIY job are).

jaclaz