Drive will not initialize

[bwallace78]

I have an old Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 9 160GB SATA / 150 HDD that crashed on me. I was able to recover the relevant data I needed off the drive, but I wanted to wipe the drive.

I have used DBAN on the drive, once before, but there was an error message pertaining to the boot sector of the drive. I was re-wiping, using a USB-to-ATAPI/ATA adapter, and I unplugged the power cable, not realizing that there was not a battery in the laptop.

Now, DBAN does not recognize the drive, but windows does (management console - hard drives and storage); however, I cannot initialize the drive.

All recovery/MBR re-write software I have used has not made a difference in the visibility of the drive.

My IT guy at work suggested telnetting into the drive, using a created cable to connect usb directly to the eight-pin connector on the drive (Power, Data Transfer, and ground). That way, I will be able to access the Bootloader(?), re-flash, and then re-initialize and wipe the drive.

Does anybody know what I need to create this connector? He also stated that a kit was sold at Radio Shack, but I figured I could build on my own.

Thank you for your help,

BW78

 

[PhilFrisbie]

My IT guy at work suggested telnetting into the drive, using a created cable to connect usb directly to the eight-pin connector on the drive (Power, Data Transfer, and ground). That way, I will be able to access the Bootloader(?), re-flash, and then re-initialize and wipe the drive.

Did he also mention he a bridge he would to sell you?

It sounds like the drive is failing, so put it out of its misery with a 24oz hammer!