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YoYoBallz · 18/02/2009 12:18 PM

Ok, so yesterday I dropped my 500gb external hd and it no longer works, it just make a beeping noise from the HD.  I took the hd outta the case and installed it on my PC to see if maybe the power supply or circuit board was damaged but it still only beeps.  So the HD itself must be broke or something like that.  Has anybody ever heard of problems like this??  I know most likely there is no chance of it ever working again but I thought I would ask.   It's just really chocolatey to lose all that data.  Only thing I could really find out about this problem was This Topic and I don't think there is a fix for it.  Just wanted to get the Epeople's thoughts.

So anyway, I have another HD (40GB Maxtor D740X-6L) I would like to reformat to use on my PC but it is formatted for a PS2 and when it's connected to my PC it does not show in My Computer, I can't seem to reformat it using dos, I guess it has something to do with the way it's formatted for the PS2.  Do you think it would show up in when I boot my bios and I could reformat it that way?

So day, it sucks.  Any help with ether question would help.  Thanks

PSPkiller · 18/02/2009 01:04 PM

Will the 40GB drive format using Disk Management? (Start>[Rightclick on My Computer]>Manage>[Opens MMC]>Disk Management) If the drive shows up you should be able to format it. If not you may be screwed.

The only method I can think of for recovering your data is to get hold of an identical drive and transfer the platter(s) over. It's a risky procedure but you may think its worth it depending on how imporatnt the data is to you. Alternatively you could send the drive off and have the procedure done profesionally. Of course this would be followed by a rather large hole in your wallet, but again, how important is the data to you?

One final thought: I know it sounds odd but I've heard that putting the drive in the freezer (?) overnight may help. I've seen stories (read: rumors) that it might get the drive working for a little whilehust so you can recover the data from it. Make sure it's fully defrosted before connecting it to anything! Have a look into it and see what you think about it.

EDIT: Take a read of this: http://geeksaresexy.blogspot.com/2006/01...-data.html

YoYoBallz · 18/02/2009 01:08 PM

I would send it somewhere to get fixed, or even send it back to seagate (Can't do that anymore I opened it) but they would not of liked what they found on the harddrive if you know what I mean.

I will soon turn off my pc and connect my 40gb and see if it shows in Disk Management.

Funny thing is that I read about the freezer thing to, will have to try that. What do I have to lose ?

Thanks for the reply

PSPkiller · 18/02/2009 01:12 PM

After freezing I wouldn't recommend you connect it directly to your MoBo in case something is wrong electronically. You may end up frying your MoBo in the process. Connect it forst to the original circuit board and see if that works. If not then use something else (if available) before connecting to your MoBo as a last resort.

Assassinator · 18/02/2009 03:17 PM

Yeah, it's quite common for HDDs to break from dropping. They're rather fragile, and easily broken. My dad broke a portable HDD by dropping it a long time ago, and my sister broke the HDD inside our laptop by dropping that off the bed (like double you tee eff...).

YoYoBallz · 18/02/2009 09:49 PM

Ok so I tried putting it into the freezer for a couple of hours and tried it and no luck. I am going to try it again and let it sit in there over night. Most likely will not work.

I plan getting another HD and making my own custom case for it.

ZiNgA BuRgA · 19/02/2009 02:21 AM

I don't think the data recovery places care terribly much what's on the HDD - they gain nothing from reporting you, plus they want a good reputation so they have little reason to really care (well, maybe the tech guy might decide to copy a few of the things for himself >_>).
Most likely it's a broken head so they should easily be able to recover your data, though I don't know the costs.

Otherwise, if you're not willing to do that, you could try opening the drive and fiddling around with it, after all, there's nothing to lose...

trademark91 · 19/02/2009 07:12 AM

i don't know a lot about the internal details for HDDs and things like that, but id guess that for your data recovery maybe switching out the connector of the drive itself might work, or else maybe when you dropped it some of the connections inside the HDD came loose. I think maybe try dismantling the drive and checking each component individually to see if they still work. with most broken stuff (like with a psp, ipod, laptop, etc.) its something stupid like a connector wire fell out or something.

YoYoBallz · 19/02/2009 10:33 AM

Well I tried the freezer thing and it did not work. I was planing on opening the HD itself next. Thanks for all of the replys guys.

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