The Solution for Seagate 7200.11 HDDs

[piero]

my seagate barracuda 7200.11 hdd isn't recognized by BIOS (BSY error). my hdd was partitioned (one partition for OS and one for data). I have a doubt:

digiting "m0,2,2,,,,,22 (enter)" (partition regeneration), it would appear "User Partition Format Successful" (with other); what it means? it formats my partitions and I lose my data or it recognize the original partitions? or something else?

I hope it's all clear.

thank you for the topic.

[jaclaz]

Normally (i.e. if the cause of the BSY is the original problem) all data remains accessible "as before".

 

IF the cause of the BSY is another, the data recoverable may vary.

 

But the answer to your question is "something else", what happens when you issue that command through terminal is that "user partition (data) is regenerated", i.e. the part of the disk that is accessible to the user is reset to "usable".

 

That "partition" is at a completely different level (much lower) than the "partition" you see in (say) Disk Manager, it is the partitioning of the disk between "Seagate's Data" and "User Data".

 

If you prefer, usually (say 95% or more of cases ) after the disk has been unbricked, it will appear exactly as it was before, though in some instances it happened that partition based recovery was needed (and was rather easily accomplished ), example:

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

in an even minor number of cases, partition recovery was not possible or only partially possible , examples:

http://www.msfn.org/board/topic/157671-need-help-with-data-recovery-on-hdd/

http://www.msfn.org/board/topic/157688-still-no-partition-on-seagate-after-successful-unbrick/

http://www.msfn.org/board/topic/170881-seagate-720011-malediction/

 

There is no real way to know in advance as we don't have a way to diagnose the actual cause of the problem.

 

jaclaz

[gogeta]

Hi, i have recently bought a USB-->TTL adapter for fix my ST3500320AS. I have installed the driver on 2 pc: 1 on Windows 8.1 x64 and another with Windows 7 x32.

The adapter works fine if i put together the TX-RX connector (i see loopback on hyperterminal), but when i connect the hdd there are nothing on the screen, only blink cursor.

Now i cannot tried to remove the PCB because i don't have a Torx T6. there is a possibility that work if i try to remove the PCB? Or is possible to a driver problem?

 

The HDD was visible in bios, before the issue, but now isn't.

[jaclaz]

Hi, i have recently bought a USB-->TTL adapter for fix my ST3500320AS. I have installed the driver on 2 pc: 1 on Windows 8.1 x64 and another with Windows 7 x32.

The adapter works fine if i put together the TX-RX connector (i see loopback on hyperterminal), but when i connect the hdd there are nothing on the screen, only blink cursor.

Now i cannot tried to remove the PCB because i don't have a Torx T6. there is a possibility that work if i try to remove the PCB? Or is possible to a driver problem?

 

The HDD was visible in bios, before the issue, but now isn't.

 

If the disk is bricked, it is bricked.

 

If you do not remove (or loosen enough) the PCB and insulate either the motor or head contacts you won't normally have access to the disk interface via TTL.

 

 

 

Consider the usual carpenter comparison:

To join two planks of wood together you need (at least) three nails (of suitable length) and a hammer.

Put the two planks one over the other and drive the nails vertically in both the planks by hitting with the hammer the heads of the nails.

 

Q. I have the hammer but no nails. I tried banging the hammer on the planks really hard, but they don't stick together.

A. You need the nails.

 

The procedure REQUIRES that one set (or the other) of contacts are insulated (or the whole PCB is removed).

You *need* a suitable Torx screwdriver to losen or remove the screws.

If you really-really cannot afford (or procure one) usually these screws can be undone with *any* flat screwdriver of suitable size of which you have filed down a bit the edges, i.e. from:

 

 

 _| || ||_|

 

to

 

 

/ \| |\ /

 

However, quick check list:

• Is the disk powered?
• Did you try hitting CTRL+Z?
• Have you tried inverting Tx and Rx?
• Are all devices properly grounded?
• Have you made sure that the USB->TTL adapter provides the right (lower) TTL levels?

jaclaz Edited May 27, 2014 by jaclaz

[gogeta]

I have tried hit CTRl+z (not uppercase), swapped TX RX. I have bought a pl2303hx adapter, i think that is good for this job.

I thought that even without removing the PCB, something appeared on the screen, just for test.

Today i buy the Torx screwdriver and i will try to remove the PCB. I hope that will work! Thanks for now!

Edited May 27, 2014 by gogeta

[gogeta]

i have tried with PCB removed, with only isolation for the contact with a stripe of paper, but same situation... Driver problem for the TTL adapter?

Hyperterminal is correctly configured. OS: Windows 8.1 and Windows 7.

[jaclaz]

Driver problem for the TTL adapter?

NO, if a virtual COM port is created and the loopback test works then the driver is fine.

Have you checked ALL the points I listed in my previous posts?

Have you double-checked them?

Have you also double checked the speed/parity/etc?

JFYI, by convention when I terminate a sentence with that little "hook" which is called a "question mark", it means that the sentence is a question, for which I would like to have an answer.

There are cases where the PCB needs to be completely detached from the disk (as in the first original attempts/tutorial).

jaclaz

[gogeta]

 

Driver problem for the TTL adapter?

NO, if a virtual COM port is created and the loopback test works then the driver is fine.

Have you checked ALL the points I listed in my previous posts?

Have you double-checked them?

Have you also double checked the speed/parity/etc?

JFYI, by convention when I terminate a sentence with that little "hook" which is called a "question mark", it means that the sentence is a question, for which I would like to have an answer.

There are cases where the PCB needs to be completely detached from the disk (as in the first original attempts/tutorial).

jaclaz

 

 

Yes i have checked all the points on the previous post, many times. Now i have completely remove the PCB, swapped the TX-RX and i can finally enter in the terminal!!

Now another problem. When i put this commands the terminal give me these codes:

F3 T>/2F3 2>ZLED:000000CE FAddr:00280569LED:000000CE FAddr:00280569 

Last row is repeated about every minute.

I have isolated only the contact on the lower side of the PCB, that is listed on the guide.

I will wait your info, thanks!

Edited May 28, 2014 by gogeta

[jaclaz]

Type SLOWLY , AFTER having waited 15 or 20 seconds after having powered the PCB:

http://www.msfn.org/board/topic/128807-the-solution-for-seagate-720011-hdds/?p=841755

 

There isn't a "lower" or "upper" side (it depends on the way you look at it), there are the "motor" contacts (which are near the motor) and the head contacts (which are the other set), the recommended guide:

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

suggests to try insulating the "motor" contacts, but it may depend on the actual disk and the situation in which it is "bricked", just like the Tx/Rx (if it doesn't work invert the wires), if one sets of contacts does not work, try again insulating the "other" one.

 

jaclaz

[gogeta]

I have successfully send all the commands!

F3 T>/2       F3 2>Z      Spin Down CompleteElapsed Time 0.154 msecsF3 2>USpin Up CompleteElapsed Time 6.399 secsF3 2>/1F3 1>N1F3 1>/TF3 T>i4,1,22F3 T>F3 T>EchoInterfaceCmds: OnEchoInterfaceCmds: Offm0,2,2,,,,,22Max Wr Retries = 00, Max Rd Retries = 00, Max ECC T-Level = 14, Max Certify Rewrite Retries = 00C8User Partition Format Successful - Elapsed Time 0 mins 00 secsF3 T>

But still not recognized by windows! What to do now?

Thank you for your patience!

[jaclaz]

 

But still not recognized by windows! What to do now?

Thank you for your patience!

What do you mean "not recognized by windows"?

I.e. is the DISK device seen in Disk Manager BUT NO DRIVE letter appears in Explorer?

 

The actual original issue may have been:

1) a BSY the disk is NOT seen/detected by the BIOS

2) a LBA0 the disk is seen/detected by the BIOS

 

Is the disk now seen by the BIOS?

If yes, it should also be detected in Disk Manager and this means that it is not "bricked" anymore (i.e. the fix was successful ).

 

Still it is possible that further steps are needed to recover the pre-existing partition(s) or, should this fail, only the recoverable data, see:

http://www.msfn.org/board/topic/128807-the-solution-for-seagate-720011-hdds/?p=1078040

(for the record , not hidden a zillion pages back in the megathread, it is last post before your original one)

 

jaclaz

[gogeta]

 

 

But still not recognized by windows! What to do now?

Thank you for your patience!

What do you mean "not recognized by windows"?

I.e. is the DISK device seen in Disk Manager BUT NO DRIVE letter appears in Explorer?

 

The actual original issue may have been:

1) a BSY the disk is NOT seen/detected by the BIOS

2) a LBA0 the disk is seen/detected by the BIOS

 

Is the disk now seen by the BIOS?

If yes, it should also be detected in Disk Manager and this means that it is not "bricked" anymore (i.e. the fix was successful ).

 

Still it is possible that further steps are needed to recover the pre-existing partition(s) or, should this fail, only the recoverable data, see:

http://www.msfn.org/board/topic/128807-the-solution-for-seagate-720011-hdds/?p=1078040

(for the record , not hidden a zillion pages back in the megathread, it is last post before your original one)

 

jaclaz

 

 

I ear the sound that the device is connected in windows, appear unit "F:" but still in this issue.

Now the unit is detected by the bios.

Device manager is in "waiting" condition like before this operation for restoring the unit.

In the attached image in red i sign: Device manager and "This PC" in waiting condition - "F:" unit partially recognized.

 

I ear also the unit that sometimes work (tipical sound of hdd that read/write)

 

Ps: vedo che hai la bandierina italiana, possiamo parlare in italiano? Grazie

Edited May 28, 2014 by gogeta

[gogeta]

On my netbook with xubuntu i can use "fdisk -l" correctly, only for about one minutes... after the drive will not see anymore until restart the unit.

this is the response of the command

Disk /dev/sdf: 500.1 GB, 500107862016 bytes48 heads, 46 sectors/track, 442379 cylinders, total 976773168 sectorsUnits = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytesSector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytesI/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytesDisk identifier: 0xda688281   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System/dev/sdf1   *        2048   976771071   488384512    7  HPFS/NTFS/exFAT

I presume to have the same issue like this thread: http://www.msfn.org/board/topic/170881-seagate-720011-malediction/

 

Edit: with TestDisk in Xubuntu i recognize the NTFS partition and the files that there are in the HDD! I have write the partition table but still not recognized by Windows... 

We are one step closer to the solution!

 

Edit 2: for safe i still trying to copy important files to another hdd. But sometimes the drive hang up and no partition were found! After a while the partition reappear and i can continue

Edited May 28, 2014 by gogeta

[jaclaz]

Well, what you should attempt doing is to image the DISK (NOT the drive or partition or volume, NOR "files" inside them) "as is", using an appropriate tool.

You will need another hard disk, same size or bigger.

 

Under Linux the suitable tool would be ddrescue (actually it is advised to use Linux and ddrescue), as in the thread you mentioned:

http://www.msfn.org/board/topic/170881-seagate-720011-malediction/

and see also this:

http://www.msfn.org/board/topic/170938-damaged-logical-structure-of-seagate-720011/

 

The idea is that ddrescue attempts to read "good" data and keeps a log of what it managed to read, so that access to not read parts can be re-attempted later.

Once you have an "as good as possible" image on a surely working disk, then we can attempt recovering data.

 

 

Ps: vedo che hai la bandierina italiana, possiamo parlare in italiano? Grazie 

 

No, not here (this is an international board and the "common" language is English)

 

In any case. now that the disk is not "bricked" anymore, if you need assistance start a NEW thread (as opposed to continuing here on the "megathread").

 

jaclaz

Edited May 28, 2014 by jaclaz

[gogeta]

Ok i will open another thread for my specific issue, thanks!