The Solution for Seagate 7200.11 HDDs

[Anth]

Thanks,

I picked the other two because im in the UK and so where they and just thought of the delivery time.

Does it make any difference which i use, just one off them supplies the TTL with 5v and the other supplies it with 3.3v, the input voltage is not a problem as i can cover the range of input voltages for either device.

Thanks Again Anth

[Shuky]

Hi Shuky,

Yeah I tried changing the rx and the tx but in hyperterminal i got no response at all from the CTRL Z command.

I set hyperterminal up as per Gradius's instructions, then the only change i made from then (after nothing happened the first time) was to set the ASCII setup to echo typed characters locally, so I could see the commands i was typing.

I think it may be to do with the rs232 adapter I tried to use, thats why i was wondering if anyone knew if either of the ones in the above links would be suitable.

Thanks Anth

i think those will work

but this is a lot cheaper

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/MAX232-RS232-to-TTL-...%3A1|240%3A1318

you must have those zener diods to 2V7.

[Anth]

Hi everyone,

So do i buy the one with the 3.3v ttl output or the one with 5v ttl output.

Please Help

Thanks Anth

[jaclaz]

A small, maybe unuseful suggestion.

Using Hyperterminal manually is likely to create problems with the less experienced users and those (they are more than you can expect ) that cannot simply follow a tutorial EXACTLY.

Maybe someone could see if it is possible to use another terminal and, at least partially (macros), script the procedure, some apps that come to my mind:

http://realterm.sourceforge.net/

http://hem.passagen.se/downloadlka/lka/index.htm

And htpe:

http://www.hilgraeve.com/hyperterminal.html

http://www.hilgraeve.com/htpe/newfeatures.html

About powering the interface, three 1.2 V Rechargeable batteries for 3.6 V (read 3.3 V) and 5 for 6 V (read 5 V) or even a plain 9 V one that you can salvage off your TV remote could be an alternative:

http://hackaday.com/2005/01/20/how-to-make-a-usb-battery/

http://www.cortscorner.com/hardware/usb_battery.html

http://hackaday.com/2005/01/28/how-to-usb-battery-v2/

Video:

http://revision3.com/systm/usbcharger2/

Even if you spend a few bucks, it will have surely some other use in the future.

jaclaz

[dilosolid]

Hi everyone,

So do i buy the one with the 3.3v ttl output or the one with 5v ttl output.

Please Help

Thanks Anth

buy the 5v so u can use the Power supply RED cable to get the 5v u need

another thing is that my cable work with 3.3v and 5v dunno why they sell 2 diferent cables

[Anth]

Thanks,

But im not talking about the input voltage im talking about the RX - TX TTL voltage level for the hdd circuit board.

The input voltage for the 3.3 volt TTL is listed as anywhere from +5v to +20v (I could get this from a PC PSU RED) and the input voltage for the 5v one is detween +8v and +25v (I could get that from a PC PSU YELLOW).

So neither of them is an issue to power the rs232 converter. The issue is do i need the one that talks to the Hdd at 3.3v or does the Hdd need 5v ttl on the rx / tx to work.

Thanks Again Anth

[dilosolid]

Thanks,

But im not talking about the input voltage im talking about the RX - TX TTL voltage level for the hdd circuit board.

The input voltage for the 3.3 volt TTL is listed as anywhere from +5v to +20v (I could get this from a PC PSU RED) and the input voltage for the 5v one is detween +8v and +25v (I could get that from a PC PSU YELLOW).

So neither of them is an issue to power the rs232 converter. The issue is do i need the one that talks to the Hdd at 3.3v or does the Hdd need 5v ttl on the rx / tx to work.

Thanks Again Anth

ahh ok

well the HD jumpers pins output 3v so i think u need the 3.3v adapter

[Anth]

Great,

Thanks for your answer, I know i probably wasn't explaining what i ment very clearly at first. About the output ttl levels and not the supply input voltage.

So the hard drive rx tx pins use 3v.

Thanks for the info, ive been searching for the hdd ttl levels all afternoon.

Thanks Again, I'll look see what else i have here to use till i get the 3.3v rs232 converter delivered.

Anth

[StephenB]

Thanks,

But im not talking about the input voltage im talking about the RX - TX TTL voltage level for the hdd circuit board.

The input voltage for the 3.3 volt TTL is listed as anywhere from +5v to +20v (I could get this from a PC PSU RED) and the input voltage for the 5v one is detween +8v and +25v (I could get that from a PC PSU YELLOW).

So neither of them is an issue to power the rs232 converter. The issue is do i need the one that talks to the Hdd at 3.3v or does the Hdd need 5v ttl on the rx / tx to work.

Thanks Again Anth

I've done some measurements on the RS232 adapter I used to unlock my drive.

The logic 1 level on the HDD TXD pin is 2.6V. That is OK for both 3.3V and 5V RS232 adapter parts.

But the margin is lower on the 5V parts - max level needed to give logic 1 is 2.4V

I checked my adapter with power supplies set to 3.3V and 5V. It works fine at both settings.

3.3V would be my choice, but I don't think you would have a problem with the 5V parts.

You mentioned that you were trying to use a serial cable from a mobile phone. I have one similar cable which does not work in this application. Some of these cables used other pins on the RS232 interface to supply power to the IC, and would not work with a simple hyperterminal setup.

[Anth]

Thanks Stephen,

Yeah the rs232 adapter i used earlier was one robbed from a mobile data cable, but i put 3.3v volt to it tho, down the pin where it would have got its power from the mobile battery. The mobile pinout showed that was what it provided to power the rs232 ic.

It was grounded through the psu that supplied all the power (SATA Too).

And the rx and tx were crossed.

Im hoping that the problem does lie with this rs232 adapter, or maybe i just cannot get a terminal connection with my drive n my data is infact gone.

Anth

[kadolf]

I tried the 0 LBA fix (HDD is recognized by BIOS, but as 0MB), but it doesn't seem to work:

When I input "m0 2,2,0,0,0,0,22" it takes a few seconds until the first line ("Max Wr Retries"...) shows up completly but then appears the following error message:

Error 1008 DETSEC 0000500D

User Partition Format Failed - Elapsed Time 0 mins 00 secs

R/W Sense 00000002, R/W Error 00000084, File Error 00001002

Blk Addr 01080001, Blk Addr Type D0, Cyl 01590000, Hd 00

Anyone experienced the same or can help?

EDIT: Interface is a modified Sagem data-cable with SP232AET-chipset (equal to MAX232), but this interface seems to work as it gets an answer.

Edited January 19, 2009 by kadolf

[fatlip]

I think you have a bigger problem than just the LBA=0 problem. I don't know for sure, but that doesn't look good.

I tried the 0 LBA fix (HDD is recognized by BIOS, but as 0MB), but it doesn't seem to work:

When I input "m0 2,2,0,0,0,0,22" it takes a few seconds until the first line ("Max Wr Retries"...) shows up completly but then appears the following error message:

Error 1008 DETSEC 0000500D

User Partition Format Failed - Elapsed Time 0 mins 00 secs

R/W Sense 00000002, R/W Error 00000084, File Error 00001002

Blk Addr 01080001, Blk Addr Type D0, Cyl 01590000, Hd 00

Anyone experienced the same or can help?

EDIT: Interface is a modified Sagem data-cable with SP232AET-chipset (equal to MAX232), but this interface seems to work as it gets an answer.

Wanna hear something funny? Seagate's forums are censoring links to this forum.

I sent someone a private message with a link to this board and the "www.msfn.org/board" is being stripped.

I sent a test message with a link to google and it worked just fine!!!!

Here is what the link here looks like:

http://_____.php?act=ST&f=5&t=128807

[Gradius2]

thx Gradius2 and fatlip for the help

the drive is fixed now

another thing why the seagate serial checker say my drive is no affected went it is?

Hi dilosolid,

Glad to know is working fine now, grats!

About Seagate case...

I don't wanna start offtopic stuff here, you can use the other Seagate's topic for it, but I'll just try to resume what we know so far.

The probable cause for this might be two:

- Seagate's DBs are still incomplete and they're still working (?) to compile a complete and reliable (?) DB;

- They have absolutely NO idea how many drives are affected, so they prefer to watch a lot more p0rn than trying to fix this issue.

Or we're just suffering from a very smart retaliation move caused by some rivals companies.

Gradius

Edited January 19, 2009 by Gradius2

[Anth]

Kadolf

The connection you get using the sagem cable,

Are you just using the pc serial port or are you putting some power to the adapter from somewhere else,

Have you any more pin out information for how you connected it.

Thanks Anth

[Gradius2]

I tried the 0 LBA fix (HDD is recognized by BIOS, but as 0MB), but it doesn't seem to work:

When I input "m0 2,2,0,0,0,0,22" it takes a few seconds until the first line ("Max Wr Retries"...) shows up completly but then appears the following error message:

Error 1008 DETSEC 0000500D

User Partition Format Failed - Elapsed Time 0 mins 00 secs

R/W Sense 00000002, R/W Error 00000084, File Error 00001002

Blk Addr 01080001, Blk Addr Type D0, Cyl 01590000, Hd 00

Anyone experienced the same or can help?

EDIT: Interface is a modified Sagem data-cable with SP232AET-chipset (equal to MAX232), but this interface seems to work as it gets an answer.

Hi kadolf,

The right command for it isn't "m0 2,2"...

You forgot a comma after m0 this is the right command:

F3 T>m0,2,2,0,0,0,0,22 (enter)

Please, keep in mind the commands should be 100% equal to the guide. A mistake on command could leaving to data loss, or blinking the drive for good.

About the adapter, as long you get a terminal response, you're good. It doesn't matter at all if is a MAX232 based, similar, or something totally different. I'll be using a different one (non-MAX232) very soon (when it arrieves here) for my HDs.

Gradius

Edited January 19, 2009 by Gradius2