Help for Hard Drive Fix

DieMaker · 11-12-2002, 08:48 PM

My system locked up (Win200Pro) and after restarting I get a blue error screen. I had multiple partitions, so I installed again to a second partition. It was my only HD at the time, and I used the drive for a few months. I managed to get all my files off the drive. Since then, I have worked for about 6 months trying to fix the drive - no luck yet, I'm going to need some help!

It's a 10 Gig Seagate HD model ST310210A (Firmware V 3.17). The drive had about a 2 MB FAT partition, and 2 NTFS partitions that were about 2 Gig and 8 Gig. My thinking is that since nothing physical damaged the drive, if I can get everything reset, it might work again.

I have tried lots of things in the last few months:
(1) with the bad drive in my working system, WinXP can see the drive, but it can't initialize the drive (it just keeps running when I try to start initialization), so it can't format the drive. Also, PartitionMagic 8.0 can't start with the bad drive in the system. No Win based apps work on this drive.
(2) After many tries, I have found one DOS based wipe app (i think it was east-tec) that did complete - starting at the front going backward for 1 week, and then from the back to the front the second week. FinalRecovery (can't find a demo of Encase) still finds the files on the drive. It's a demo version, so I can't confirm that the files are recovered, but I can tell from the files it is finding real files.
(3) a simple low level format has not worked (IBM's wipe for example). It will not start because it says it's not an IBM drive. Others I've tried (one or two) will not start.
(4) Spinrite (it sees the 2 MB FAT partition, but that's it) reports that the drive does not have the correct cylinders/heads/sectors set (what the software reports about what the drive thinks it has is different from what is printed on the drive). Spinrite indicates that the drive will not work if these settings do not match. It can't be changed in my BIOS. I don't know where else to try to make changes to these settings.
(5) I can't find any firmware to try for this drive. Seagate only has firmware updates for tape drives.

So I can't initialize, format, write zeros, wipe or reset the drive, and I can't change firmware - much less try to fix what is broken! Any suggestions?

Richard Cranium · 11-12-2002, 09:04 PM

Hmmm, tough one there. May be Daid,

Try booting with a W98 boot disc and removing all partitions..

Or, get BC Wipe from www.jetico.com and see if it will overwrite the probs.

If Spinrite don't work, I don't know if these options will either.

Gluck
Doc

11-12-2002, 09:05 PM

Try Ontrack's diagnostics to see if the file system and physical drive is intact. If it is, it will tell you. If not, it should give you clues as to what the problem is.

Another option would be a low level format through the BIOS, if your mobo BIOS supports that feature. Takes a while, but basically renders the drive back to new specs as far as the platters are concerened.

Seagate use a proprietary ontrack proggie to do this as well. Have you tried seagates' software??

Also, dunno if most of seagate's drives are firmware upgradeable.

And just a question: you didn't have a DDO loaded, did you? That would cause some of those problems. Is it an old system??

G'luck.

Cheers
Mick

DieMaker · 11-12-2002, 10:10 PM

I've booted with Win98, but it can't see the HD. It has been some time back, but I think I first used my WinXP CD to delete partitions as though I was going to do a new install.

I have tried BCWipe, but it appears to be only a shell extension - doesn't work because Windows can't access the drive.

I did try Seagates "diagnostic" software. It offered to do some kind of reset which I tried. It also did an "analysis" and it told me the drive was bad and I would need to buy a new one (surprise).

I did not setup the drive initially (it was imaged at work), so I don't know if DD0 was loaded on the drive. Is there a way I can tell? I haven't read much on exactly how that app works.

I think the system is from around 1998-1999.

BTW, I'm now running the Ontrack Data Advisor 5.0. So far, everything appears to check OK: system memory, SMART check, 90 sec geometry check, file structure. The surface scan is 37% complete.

Inanis · 11-12-2002, 10:29 PM

My Suggestion:

Replace the drive with a Western Digital.

DieMaker · 11-12-2002, 10:52 PM

Results from Ontracks Data Advisor:

Drive 1 (ST310210A)
SMART Status Check Result: Passed
90-Second Test Result: Passed
File Structure Test Result: Unsupported
Complete Surface Scan Result: Passed with Minor Error(s)

As for WD, I now have 4 drives for my PC and 3 SCSI drives for my MAC. I have 2 100 Gig WD drives in my main system - so far so good! I'm just tired of throwing away drives, I've got two broken drives in my "spare" part drawer right now (I think these drives are really bad though).

sechs · 11-13-2002, 12:07 AM

Have you tried low-level formating it?

Inanis · 11-13-2002, 12:11 AM

I love the western digital low level format software .. works great.

Now, if only seagate had software like that, you would be in business.

DieMaker · 11-13-2002, 10:00 PM

I have not found anything yet that will complete a low level format of the drive. The drive is not in perfect working condition (what I am trying to fix) - so I need something DOS based that will just do the low level format. Any suggestions?

Richard Cranium · 11-13-2002, 10:22 PM

I now prefer Retail boxed Maxtors.

The 7200 rpm units so far have been Quantum Fireball drives with fluid bearings.

The data transfer rate is much higher than any other drive tested to date [in my shop] even higher than the OEM Quantums or Maxtors ?? Go figure..