dead head

[Guest]

so I have an old Seagate 500GB Hard Drive that wont spin up and is just beeping at me in 3 second intervals. Im pretty sure the issue is a stuck read/write head. Im considering taking the top off, but I don't want to destroy the hard drive even more. Are there any solutions that don't require me to either take off the top or send it to a data recovery service?

[MedievalMatt]

12 minutes ago, NovaMan01 said:

so I have an old Seagate 500GB Hard Drive that wont spin up and is just beeping at me in 3 second intervals. Im pretty sure the issue is a stuck read/write head. Im considering taking the top off, but I don't want to destroy the hard drive even more. Are there any solutions that don't require me to either take off the top or send it to a data recovery service?

if you can boot with a live CD of Linux, or other OS.  you can check the SMART status and see what it says.

[Guest]

1 minute ago, MedievalMatt said:

if you can boot with a live CD of Linux, or other OS.  you can check the SMART status and see what it says.

its just a data drive so it doesnt have an OS

[MedievalMatt]

1 minute ago, NovaMan01 said:

its just a data drive so it doesnt have an OS

thats why you boot with a live CD.  it loads the OS into RAM from the disc.  not the drive.  But you still have access to all the perhipherals as if you were running on a drive.

 

so you can use Gparted (on linux, for example) and check the SMART status.  thatll tell you a great deal about what the drive thinks is wrong.

[BigDamn]

If you take the top off you will destroy the hard drive. Try using another power source if possible. Unplug all other drives and see if it will then spin up, its possible its not receiving enough power.

[Pickles von Brine]

@NovaMan01 

I think we need to put some stuff into perspective here. 

 

The big thing is do not power on the drive anymore. You could cause more damage. 

 

I use to work as a data recovery engineer. What you described does indeed sound like a stuck head but it could also be a stuck spindle (an absolute nightmare of a thing to deal with). 

 

First, taking the lid off the hard drive will NOT destroy the data. However, what you will end up doing is allowing dust inside the drive. Not the end of the world if you get the dust out. Horrible if you do not and can lead to platter damage. If you have a clean room or a really dust free environment you can use a can of air and CAREFULLY blow out the drive and reassemble it. That being said, this is not advised if you do not know what you are doing. 

 

Second, if it is a stuck head, there are ways to rescue said stuck head. This really all depends on the drive, how the heads themselves park (either on the platter or on a ramp) and exactly how stuck the heads are on the platter. There are special tools I have used in the past called head combs. These were very carefully machined and engeineered to glide across the platters without touching it, get under the armature and carefully lift the heads off the platter. This would then allow you to remove them or reposiition the head. 

 

Another method (one I used often) was to apply downward pressure on the bearing of the head stack and very slight rotational torque in the direction I needed the heads to move. Then, using either a small finishing hammer or a screw driver, tap on the drive to cause the heads to "jump" and the rotational torque would then quickly move them into position where they needed to be. 

 

Now, a few caveats with this:

 

1) If the heads become stuck on the platter, generally they can become slightly bent and misaligned, potentially leading to some nasty results if the heads were to be reused. 

2) Possibility for the stuck head to rip off and remain stuck on the platter < - This is a non-recovery event generally. 

3) The "jumping" method if done incorrectly can cause marring on the platter and will usually end up causing the heads to become mangled. Head replacement is advised at this point. 

 

Now, once the heads have been rescued from the platter it is a matter of examaing the platters to make sure there is no platter damage, marring, etc. Once confirmed generally a head exchange is done. 

 

On seagate drives, the first part of the part number MUST match, secondly the second and third characters of the serial number MUST match. This, however, still doesn't guarantee a successful head exchange. Sometimes the  preamp for the head stack must also be taken into account. 

 

Worse case it could be a stuck spindle. That is a whole other can of worms I really do not want to get into as it is generally a model by model drive my drive basis. 

 

Now that is all cleared up, please send your drive to a reputable data recovery company. I recommend either Drive Savers or Salvage Data. Both are very good at what they do and their technicians are top notch. 

 

Long story short - There is nothing you can do. You must send it into the pros for recovery. 

 

Keep in mind what you may be dealing with will ultimately cost you a pretty penny. 

 

 

Edited September 29, 2018 by Lord Xeb
Fixed some spelling errors.