Hard Drive Problem

H

hddespair

Geek Trainee
Hi all, i am new here and have a big problem, my hd yesterday was working fine, i turn off and go to sleep, today i wake and turn on, my pc shows that hd isn't present, i go to setup bios, and after a long time it shows my HD with is a Maxtor Fireball 3 40 gb, but the information about head and mb, was 0...
that way...

0 head
0 mb

and everything else off , this could be the logical board ? i can't lose my information..
I have tried in another computer and have the same error.
any sugestions ? Thanks in advance... please help me, i have searched by many forums and sites and have found nothing... :(
 
Well mate if you tried it in another computer and still the same i'd say your HDD is stuffed!
 
Make sure the Head/Cylinder/Etc. info in your BIOS is either set to "Auto" or to the exact settings listed on the HDD label. Also, make sure everything is connected properly. My hunch is that pelvis_3 is right and your HDD is wasted; Maxtor is not known for their reliability. You might try and see if the HDD will work in a different system long enough to get your important files backed up. Failing that, you're probably going to have to buy a new HDD and chalk it up as a total loss. In the future, Seagate or Western Digital HDDs have a better track record for stability and longevity than Maxtor. Also, backups of important files are never a bad idea.

All the best,
-AT
 
that i lost the hdd i know, but i wanted to know if there is any software to recover some files, this hd was my backup, i have a hdd of 120gb, ant this hdd have 40gb, he have 36gb occupied, i have saved something but not all, some idea on how to recover some files? maybe put him in the refrigerator for some hours and then try again ? :( any ideas will be tested, post suggestions, thanks for the fast response, i liked this forums...
 
hmmm thats a strange one, i've heard of maxtor drives dieing but not overnight..turn off...turn on...dead...thats weird.
do you boot from the 120GB hard drive then?
what connector is it..ide?...sata?
i highly doubt you've lost your information i think its just a problem with the HDD, maxtors bearings wear out much faster than others and maybe yours has just worn out. Can you hear any noise from that hard drive when you boot up? it may not be spinning and therefore cant find any information.
 
Sometimes freezing it overnight will allow a data recovery but not all the time, and after frozen and used it's completely ruined!
It may also help to tap the edges of the drive gently with a hammer so it loosens the bearings but this may also ruin the drive!
Try it if you dare!
 
Hi there

Ok, there’s no software which will help you recover the files if the HD logical board is damaged. If the data is very important to you, it can cost quite a bit to have it recovered by a specialist.

However the cheaper option could be that if you can find the exact same HD drive, e.g. model number, firmware version, you should be able to replace the logical board. Though this might only work if the logical board was the problem.
 
ok, thank you all, i will try everything that i can... if i accomplish something i will put here the result.. :)
 
bobbyk said:
I think there's a program called SpinRite that can recover data. It's at http://grc.com. I think it's the best data recovery program out there now.
Click to expand...
SpinRite can't recover data from a HDD if the controller board is dead. The only thing to do at that point is take it to a data recovery center, and we're talking serious $$$. Or, like Sniper suggested, you could buy an identical drive & (try to) swap the controller board, but even that's not a sure thing.
 
Another thing to try is to take out the logic board; clean it thoroughly for any condensates and stick it back in. I've done this with Seagate drives many times -- sometimes it made the drives work for a few more weeks. At the very least, if you're lucky, you'll be able to copy data off the drive. Good luck. :)
 
By the way, talking about drives, I have measured a Maxtor 40Gb ATA 133 Diamond Max +8 running at 52 deg celsius. These drives are hot. The current reaches 3.8 Amps! Seagates max out at 2.6 or so. These new Maxtors will increase your case temperature by at least 2 deg. so keep those system fans running. Personally, I junked the drive and used a SATA Segate instead.
 
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