Clicking Drive - Need to Recover Data off Very Old HDD

TheMadMardigan

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I have an external seagate 60GB Momentus 5400.2 drive. Model number is ST96812A. It's an IDE drive.

When I turn it on it gives 4 distinct clicks in quick succession (about 2 clicks per second). It then sounds like it is trying to spin up and cannot. It then turns itself off (even if it's still connected to its power source).

Already checked whether the head is on the plate. It is not.

In order to recover the data, I'm wondering if I'd have to obtain a donor drive and swap out the control board or something.

Would really appreciate any help!

If a donor is needed, looks like I could pay $60 (yay, for an IDE drive - whoop!) and get it on eBay, but I don't think I'd have any guarantee it'd work to just swap out the boards, right?
http://www.ebay.com/p/Seagate-Momentus-5400-2-60-GB-Internal-5400-RPM-2-5-ST96812A-HDD/69755805
 
Solution
If the PCB does not work your only hope is a head swap. I have done successful head swaps but consider this a last resort. I bought a "comb" kit like this: http://s622.photobucket.com/user/drivestar/media/hdd%20tool/28pcs-head-replace-toolkit-1.jpg.html?t=1352338663
It cost over $160 but they do sell individual combs, you just need to know how many platters you have so you buy the right one.
Basically, on the donor drive, you put the comb in place where the heads would come off the platters, then when you remove the magnets and take out the bolt holding the head assembly in place, you can move the heads off the platters and they ride onto the plastic comb without touching each other. There is a pin that holds the comb in place on the...

BadAsAl

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Have you taken the drive out of the enclosure and attached directly to PC via IDE cable or have you tried another enclosure?
The enclosure has a board and so does the drive. If it still clicks while out of the original enclosure then it isn't the enclosure and you need to try something else.

I always boot a Linux Live CD to see if the drive can be read from Linux. If it can then you can copy data to another drive. If not then it is likely you are dealing with a hardware issue.

There is no guarantee that swapping the PCB (that is what that board on the hard drive itself is called) will help but it is a relatively cheap and non-destructive first step.
If you want to order the donor drive, make sure the firmware matches your drive, it should be on the label.
If PCB swap doesn't fix it then you might have a bad head or the head has contacted the platter.

It is at this point you have to decide whether or not the data is worth $1000 or more for you to pay a professional service to retrieve it. If you are never going to pay that, then I can offer some more tips.
 

TheMadMardigan

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Thanks for your note. I opened it before posting and can see the head is not out of position/over the plate.


 

TheMadMardigan

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Awesome ideas. Thank you. I have now pulled off the previous enclosure's connection and tried another enclosure. The same clicking sound occurs. Also tried Linux as you suggested, but no dice. I'll ponder whether to go in on a donor drive and keep you posted. If I did do that and the PCB swap doesn't fix the issue, would it be ill-advised of me to try to also swap out the heads from my donor drive?

In any case, thanks for your detailed response. Will let you know how this goes if I proceed!



 

BadAsAl

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If the PCB does not work your only hope is a head swap. I have done successful head swaps but consider this a last resort. I bought a "comb" kit like this: http://s622.photobucket.com/user/drivestar/media/hdd%20tool/28pcs-head-replace-toolkit-1.jpg.html?t=1352338663
It cost over $160 but they do sell individual combs, you just need to know how many platters you have so you buy the right one.
Basically, on the donor drive, you put the comb in place where the heads would come off the platters, then when you remove the magnets and take out the bolt holding the head assembly in place, you can move the heads off the platters and they ride onto the plastic comb without touching each other. There is a pin that holds the comb in place on the head so the heads don't slip off while you are moving the head assembly. You can then remove the head assembly and transfer to the bad drive. A very delicate operation and if you have some old drives laying around, you might want to practice on those first. Of course, you will have to remove the head assembly on the bad drive very carefully so as not to damage the platters. I use the same comb to do that operation first, but I then take the comb out as I assume I will not need to use the old head assembly again anyway if the operation fails (that's why this is a last resort).

Of course, people will say you need to do this in a clean room but I have done it on my kitchen table. I just use non powdered latex gloves and I use the drive cover to partially cover the platters while I am transferring the head over to minimize any dust falling on the platters.
 
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BadAsAl

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TheMadMardigan

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Thanks a lot. I've got a donor drive with the same firmware on the way from eBay. Here's to hoping changing out the PCB does the trick. I'll keep you posted & thank you!



 

TheMadMardigan

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Hi Al,

Well, the PCP swap didn't work. Must be a drive head issue. I am willing to consider proceeding with the head swap, but what are the chances I would mess the drive up beyond repair? In your experience, have you been able to successfully perform that operation a decent percentage of the time?

I'm fairly handy with the hardware. I've built gaming PCs from the ground up and successfully disassembled and reassembled laptops with no issues. Haven't done delicate work on a hard drive before though.

Thank you again for all your help.



 

TheMadMardigan

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This video makes it look like (provided you have the right tool) it's not too tough of an operation:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hcToZC80u0


 

TheMadMardigan

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Hi Al,

Sorry for all the questions. Is this the headkit you were talking about?
http://www.amazon.com/Professional-Drive-Exchange-Recovery-Salvation/dp/B00PKJ5A7Y/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1457547248&sr=8-3&keywords=hard+drive+head+replacement+tool+kit

And here is the HDD I'm dealing with:
http://s328.photobucket.com/user/TheMadMardigan/media/20160309_1114571_zpsaaajt3aa.jpg.html


 

BadAsAl

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Yes, that is the exact kit I bought.
Any time you try anything to recover a drive you run the risk of further damaging the drive. That is why I say, if you are willing to pay $1000 or more to get your data back, then you should probably just go with the professionals.

In my experience, you can open the drive without damaging anything further if you take reasonable precautions to prevent dust and have the drive open as little as possible. For example, you can pop the top of the drive off, lift it up slightly and take a peek inside with a flashlight to see if there is obvious signs of physical damage on the platters. If the platters are not perfect mirrors with no scratches then the chances of recovery go way down. If the platters look okay, then you may need to open it further and check to see if there is a little filter cushion on the inside of the case. If it has one and it is discolored, then this means means metal has been scratched off somewhere.

But either way, trying a head swap may work and in my opinion is worth a try. I still strongly suggest trying to remove the heads from an old drive that you don't care about to make sure you can do it without letting the heads touch.

Also, test the donor drive first, just to make sure it works properly so you know you have good parts.
 

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