Backup Drive unaccessable/non-functioning-help me please!

Babyalien

Babyalien

Babyalien

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2 Mar 2011
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31
Hi guys.

After eventually getting my P67 i5 build working I appears to now have an issue with one of my backup HDD's. Basically, my problem appears to have been caused either the continuous blue screening during the new setup process or the older firmware version compatablity problem with P67 boards that causes the clicking sound from the drive. On the old setup all was fine, Win7 on my WD 500Gb with the Samsung F3 500Gb for backup. There is 450Gb of data on the backup drive, always accessible on the old system.

Once the new build was running I connected the backup HDD but the system would barely function. It was painfully slow on boot-up, then when eventually in Windows the system was unstable, would rarely function and execute programs and would have to shut the system down by holding the power button in on the front of the PC. I built the old system up so I could try to solve the problem and still have a functioning computer in the form of the new build. I bought a new 1TB Samsung F3 to install a fresh copy of Win7 and have enough space to try and pull the data from the 500Gb Samsung drive. Well, for about 1 week now I have not been able to succeed. Sometimes the 'faulty' backup drive will cause no HDD's to be shown in the BIOS and therefore sometimes Windows will not start. Disconnect the 'faulty' drive and all is fine and Windows boots. Sometimes trying different SATA ports and many restarts later the drive will show, Windows eventually boots and the drive can be seen.

I have tried many Data Recovery programs to get the data from the Samsung 500Gb to the Samsung 1Tb but it takes ages with the 'time-left' to completion showing as 300hrs, this is with Easeus Data Recovery Pro which is virtually the only program that seems to be able to scan. I have tried others such as iCare Data Recovery, Power Data Recovery, Get Data Recover My Files Pro, Paretologic Data Recovery Pro amongst others but these barely function at all. Eve if the 500Gb Samsung is not able to be used for backup anymore I would be satisfied just getting the data from it but when the dirve causes such problems this is proving majorly frustrating, ironic that regular backing-up of data should be done to avoid such problems but it is the drive used to 'backup' our data that is the problem. There are irreplaceable photo's etc which makes it worse. Any help will be gratefully received.

Sorry for the big post, just want to show all that has been tried so far.
 
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Seriously, put in some paragraphs. That's painful to read.

Edit: Right after reading that, you mentioned that you tried to put the drive into the old system. I didn't actually understand if that worked or not?

As I understand if you remove the drive from your new build everything functions fine, when you plug it back in it starts falling over. Have you noticed any patterns if it starts failing on a particular SATA port? e.g. the 3Gbps ports rather than the 6Gbps ports?
 
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Note taken, now edited with paragraphs.

Putting the backup HDD in to the old system gave the same issue.

The ports do not appear to be the problem as it is the same problem if connected to the 6Gb/s or the 3Gb/s of the P67 build or if it is connected to any of the 3Gb/s ports on the old LGA 775 build.
 
So is this "backup" drive actually a backup (ie there is another copy elsewhere) or is it the sole copy of the data?
 
If the drive isn't making the clicking noise to indicate that it's failed, you may be able to just replace the board on it (from the exact same model etc) in order to get access to your data again. Not something I've personally had experience with, but I have heard people achieving some success with that method.
 
Replacing the board, mmm, seems seems drastic, not that I'm doubting it may work, just it would be a lot of work I would presume, plus if it is something more internal as I fear it may be then I might not be any better off.

rpstewart, by backup I mean the data used to be on the OS HDD so was backed-up on to the Samsung 500Gb so the data would be safe in case of OS failure/issues. I wouldn't be too concerned if there was another copy elsewhere as I would happily just try formatting the 'faulty' drive and see if this makes it functional again or not.

I presume using a Sata to USB external enclosure wouldn't make any difference if the fault is internal (just a thought, clutching at straws now)

SpinRite has been suggested to me though I have no experience of this so no idea if this would work or not.
 
Well you don't have that many boards internally really (last I opened up one of mine there was one just near the hands). Just the main PCB that you can see on the back of the drive.
In terms of replacing it, I assume the hardest part would be sourcing one. It should be fairly easy to replace it.

As you've tried it in your old system and it produced the same issues, I wouldn't think that putting the drive into an enclosure would make any difference.
 
Chiribo said:
As you've tried it in your old system and it produced the same issues, I wouldn't think that putting the drive into an enclosure would make any difference.
Click to expand...

Yup, I thought that might be the case.

As for sourcing the PCB, I would think buying a new drive would be the only real way to do it then swap them over. Nice way to void a warranty on a brand new drive though.

I also fear the chance of contaminating the drive internally with dust/hairs or similar if taking the drive apart as I presume the main data holding internal parts would be exposed, feel free to correct me on this though.

Any thoughts on SpinRite or has anyone has any experience of this program? Is it worth a go do you think?
 
A board swap doesn't require the sealed portion of the disk to be opened, it's all on the underside.

Have you tried the freezer trick? Put the drive in a zip lock bag in the freezer for 30mins or so then give it try, sometimes it works wonders.
 
No, I have heard of the freezer technique but never tried it. What exactly does this do and what would this do to the drive to make it function? Also, how long would I have before it was to become too warm again or is that like asking how long a piece of string is?

I have discussed the board swap with someone else also who stated I would need to find a drive that is not only the same model but also the same production series, that is to say, have the same approximate manufacture date, have the same circuit boards, same size and the same firmware although I might be able to get away with some variation, but for my best chance I need to have an exact match.
 
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Well, tried SpinRite but to no avail. Without quoting exactly what it stated, it basically said due to the 'unconfirmed partition size' it recommended against running the program due to a high risk of data loss. Naturally I ended the process.

Well, I think I have only 2 possible options left to try:
1) The freezer technique- Hoping I would (if it works) have enough time to move data from the back-up drive to the OS drive.
Or:
2) As a last resort, try formatting the drive hoping this will make it functional again, if it allows me to actually format at all, then if it does make it functional try to run a data recovery program the retrieve the footprint of the files that were stored on the drive. This will be an extreme last resort but as all else has failed there is nothing really left to lose (that hasn't been lost already anyway).
 
He's already tried it. It's his backup drive which he tried putting into his old system (where it previously worked fine).

To be honest Babyalien, I think that formatting the drive won't help because the BIOS itself struggles to see the drive at times. If it didn't struggle to see the drive and just an issue with data then a format would seem reasonable (as well as data recovering programs actually working too).

Try the freezer trick see if that helps. Other than that I think replacing the pcb is the main way to attempt to recover the data.
 
I have found another Samsung 500Gb HD502HJ drive that I might be able to use the board from. How will I know if all the requirements are there. It is the same model (F3), same capacity (500Gb) and both are Revision but production dates are different. The one holding the data is Dec 2009 and the other is Aug 2010, would this make them incompatible? Was else do I need to know?
 
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