Seagate ST3500320AS SD15 500GB problem.

[NEO_AMiGA]

Hi folks

edit Sorry about the topic. Apparently when posting the limit of it is never displayed and you can't edit it once posted. =( Topic was supposed to be: Seagate ST3500320AS SD15 500GB. Suspected BSY but does not spin up when PCB is reseated.

I have fixed a few of these BSY disks now but stumbled across one yesterday that behaved differently. When I put the PCB back it sounds like it tries to spin up but fails and then repeatedly tries again. So it's like a 'bzzzzz', 'silence', 'bzzzzz', 'silence', 'bzzzzz', 'silence', 'bzzzzz', 'silence', 'bzzzzz', 'silence', 'bzzzzz' and so on. Have anyone stumbled across something similar and if so, is there a fix? The sound is not a 'click' but more a 'bzzzz' or 'buzzing'. All the symptoms indicated that it was a BSY error and I can log into the disk and spin it down but when i try to spin it up the terminal just get's stuck and the drive makes the said noises and I never get a reply from the terminal.

Edited February 11, 2011 by NEO_AMiGA

[zemigpt]

I'm having the same problem on a ST31000333-500 drive from a Iomega external drive.

Any sugestions?

Is the drive really dead?...

[jaclaz]

There has been reports that this kind of behaviour may be due to an imperfect contact of the "motor contacts" of the PCB with the actual drive.

When a drive spins up it needs an AWFUL amount of current, and In some cases a USB enclosure simply does not give enough power

In these cases, thoroughfully cleaning BOTH sides of the contacts (i.e. BOTH on PCB and drive) AND tighting screws properly has solved the problem in several occasions.

If using the cardboard trick, it may happen that contacts are slightly bent and have not enough "springiness" to make full contact after the cardboard has been removed, expecially immediately after the cardboard was removed.

Another cause could be semi-stuck bearings, in these cases, having the drive set vertically, and even SLIGHTLY tapping on it, once vertical, with something like a plastic or rubber screwdriver handle may help.

See here:

jaclaz