Search results

If you still have those drives can you check and see if "Recertified" is written on the plastic case and the drive label? I think that model number is used for recertified 1TB hard drives.

We use Hakko CHP 7A-SA (curved) and Hakko CHP 3-SA (straight) stainless steel non-magnetic precision tweezers for hard drive and flash recovery work. For pliers look for smooth-jaw jewelry making needle nose.

The Dolphin DVR/CCTV data recovery program works great and it's priced right. They update the software often. For the last major update a DFL engineer logged in and updated the dongle so the license would work with the newest version. There was no charge.

Well, not if it's a model that is encrypted using the microcontroller :) The key is unique and you will need the original microcontroller to decrypt.

You mention lock, but can you clarify your issue? Are you trying to unlock the drive? Or you are just trying to save the data and it appears encrypted? Many of the newer 2TB Chargers we see these days have microcontroller (MCU/CPU) based encryption. What is your model number? If it's MCU...

If it's an external drive there is always the possibility the data could be lost to TRIM. Here is some information about WD SMR drives.

Very nice, thanks for taking the time to make that video.

Hi Larry, it's been a while. I hope all is well.

I have purchased them with refurbished Palmers inside. See photo proof here.

If you are referring to hddheadtools.com then, yes, they are actually DFL. I have purchased from both the DFL website and the HDD Head Tools website. They have always been easy to deal with and ship very fast. P.S. I did not buy that set of PCBs though.

I agree, it's important to buy quality tools. I use Felo and Wiha brand for Torx drivers.

It should be a T7. I suspect you were using a T6 which would get the loose screws but strip on the difficult screws. If your T8 fits then it's worn out :)

Your ST500DM009-2F110A has a preamp code D0 07.

According to Western Digital TRIM/UNMAP is supported in the external versions of their SMR drives.

One more thing, don't waste any more good heads if that donor you tried doesn't work any more :)

Don't worry about the second part, you just need to match the B6. While it is nice to get a close date it does not mean it won't work. We use donors that are 1-2 years off quite often. You can see some examples and our Seagate donor drive guide here.

Sorry, I should learn to read better :) I see you said "except Media Cache". Sorry about that.

ST2000LM007 requires different solutions than previous Seagate models. You should avoid disabling media cache and almost never rebuild the translator or you could lose a lot of data. Proceed with caution. Some of the others here offer remote support so maybe they can assist you.

Like Jared said, this is probably not a worst case recovery and will most likely cost less than $500 to recover. Obviously diagnosing a hard drive failure on a forum has limitations and you won't know for sure until it's examined by a professional.

:lol: We are going to test the direct USB on some old cases to see if it would have helped. I'll let you know.

Preamp: B2 03 Model: ST1000DM003-1CH162

Unfortunately that article is 2 years old, from when they cracked the standard Rosewood models. Unlocking the Firecuda SSHD models are still not supported by PC-300 as far as I know.

The first picture looks good, I would try it. Some will tell you the DCM (T2 and TJ) should match but we typically ignore the DCM on WD10JMVW drives. The AJG in the model and the close date makes it worth a try in my opinion.

A lot has changed since my last post about VNR so I thought I would provide an update. Although I learned a lot using VNR I eventually passed off most of the flash work to the other 2 Blizzards. The 3 of us combined probably use PC-3000 the most but the one that gets stuck with all the difficult...

Unfortunately if the card is not inserted correctly, failed, or there is no card at all, the shutter will still release making you think your are saving pictures. You can disable that setting in the menu. Look for "Release shutter without Card" in the menu and disable it to prevent mistakes.

In our "spare" time we work on low budget movie projects and, just like you see in the big budget TV shows, we can totally recover the data on the drive in your picture using a special wand :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28MC5LzS3xg And we can defeat most encryption with a hammer too :)...

Ace was not suggesting that you replace the heads because firmware needs to detect that there are different heads, they suggested it because the current heads could not write to the service area. If your current heads are original it's possible the write heads are weak. In the case of weak heads...

Look up camera sensor cleaning swab.

Preamp: D0 07 Model: ST1000DM003-1ER162

I agree that SMR drives are updating the translator as new data is written, but I find it hard to believe they have developed the firmware to detect new preamps and wipe the translator. I am very interested in how they came to this conclusion. I can understand the drive having issues if there is...

What revision? I have used 2060-800022-000 REVP2 on a number of 4TB drives.

I could swear I had replied to this back in February. I thought I had posted a picture of the $100,000 commission check I had just received from Stellar :)

One more tip regarding edge of platter damage. If the heads were mangled then they may have cut grooves in the ramp too, not just the edge of the platter. You should remove and inspect the ramp for plastic shavings before using the original ramp. We typically use a new ramp if heads were damaged...

That usually happens when heads get bent in ramp (drive was off when dropped). When powered on heads can't leave ramp and damage the edge of the platter. For most cases the ramp will unload the good donor heads just past the damage. For some cases you might need a custom ramp or other solution...

CB 06

Yes, I use 2060-800022-000 REVP2 on the 3TB & 4TB models.

Thank you for taking the time and providing your review, Larry. I definitely want one :)

Yes, I have at least 2 examples of using Shasta 3D for Helios donor here.

In all fairness... Never mind, I can't come up with anything good to say in this case :lol:

Just to be fair, and make sure someone doesn't miss out on a recovery, we had an OST file once that the customer didn't want the recovery if we couldn't recover the email and contacts from the OST file. 4Team makes some useful software but their OST2 program failed to work, we then tried...

Just think how much traffic you would get if everyone would come here and tell you what they need to know. :lol:

Increase magnification then look at an angle to view the slider surfaces. The 3rd head from the top has a bent tip so pay close attention to that one in particular. See if they are clean or have mud on them. Also look for metal shavings around the slider. Jared has this video on his youtube...

Another option is HDD Surgery tools, which I highly recommend for professionals. For a one time head swap it isn't practical though, the tools cost as much as we would charge to recover your hard drive.

Looks like a Rosewood with SDM2 firmware.

Both chips I have seen, IS25WQ040 and Winbond 25Q40VWV1G, have pin1 marked on chip and the SATA boards have pin1 identifier on PCB. USB boards have omitted pin1 marker.

Amarbir, I purchase 4TB drives with SATA boards from eBay. The PCB model 2060-800022-000 REVP2 from the WD40NPZZ works with both the WD30NMZW and WD40NMZW. I just transfer the ROM chip. There is a lot going on under the hood with these SMR drives.

OK, if you are doing logicboard repair then you already know things can get messy :) I mostly use an LED ring light on the scope. Sometimes using a tinted led flashlight from the side can improve the quality of photos. Side light also helps when reading chips, but you already know that.

I'm sure you will get plenty of arguments if someone posts "the best". We use a 20x-40x for viewing heads and a 10x-30x for flash repair. You can purchase them with .5 and/or 2x barlow lenses to make them have more or less magnification. One scope could do both jobs in the beginning but flash...

Thank you, Larry.

In this particular case I would be surprised if there aren't matching rings on at least one other surface. If you inspect the heads and only the top surface appears to be damaged then you could try, but with that type of damage all surfaces are probably dirty now. When a customer opens a drive...

Always mark them before removal though, just in case your only option for recovery is using a donor. You might consider marking them and then take pictures before removal.

Mark them 1,2,3,4 :) All kidding aside, the PCB might be labeled U21, U22, U23, U24 or similar. But that may not matter because tools like Flash extractor have their own numbering system as seen here. Once you read the chips you should be able to change the order in most tools.

:) Want this product professionally installed? Book a top-rated pro directly on Amazon. Backed by our Happiness Guarantee. Estimate $104.02

It depends on the model of the HDD. Like Emir_Has mentioned, some still work without maintaining alignment, some don't, some need head map changes when alignment is lost. I don't want to post much about it because you'll eventually have new DR techs spinning platters like they're a DJ at their...

With PC-3000 + DE we can choose to save files with bad or unread sectors to a folder labeled "!Problem". It also creates a text report of the bad files and their paths. This basically gives the customer 2 recoveries, good files with original folder structure, and bad files with original folder...

Sorry, we have a lot of ST500LT012-1DG142 but firmware 1003YAM1 doesn't appear to be very common. They do have one at HDD Surgery for $1.

If heads are stuck in the ramp then the drive was probably dropped, hard. They are then most likely bent, if you allow them to get to the platter it could be catastrophic. Also check for cracked/damage ramp. This is all speculation though, you need to take the heads out and inspect them under a...

If you are sure the motor is spinning then the heads might be stuck in the ramp area. Like Luke said, time to inspect in a clean bench.

LOL, that cow has bit the dust.

Same here, we just use some SATA to M.2 adapters we purchased from Amazon.

Very nice + Payday!

Amarbir, thank you for sharing, I hope you get well soon.

I have to say, that Seagate looks like it came out of a farm tractor.

I had a feeling that was it ;)

You broke it! :D Actually, if you shamelessly post a spam link on Jared's forum he takes down your website.

As Luke mentions, and you can see here, we have used D2 for B7, but there is no guarantee, your mileage may vary :)

Yes, find donor that reports L2957*PA VID=0006 PN=0009 and you have a good donor.

It's not there, the first few lines in terminal, power on then you can power off almost immediately. Something like this: *PA_TI5565*PA VID=0012 PN=0056 Rev=000A

Check the preamp information in terminal at power up.

But it would be nice if OP includes it in request :)

ST4000DM004-2CV104 Pharaoh Oasis

Welcome Rafał, I like your website design/layout. Very clean.

Doesn't the manual say "the numbers represent particles in .01 cubic foot of air"?

Are you sure it is a secret? :) I remember discussing this here when Ace posted their method.

There is always the chance with Seagate that the labels match and preamp is still different. You can't get a better match than this and look at preamps in green :)

It looks like a TFBGA-149. See figure 3 here. Keep in mind that pin-out is looking through the top of the NAND.

This is correct, PC-3000 utility can now power the device off/on. If you can't power it off/on with PC-3000 utility then something is wrong. You will be accessing the drive/data via Windows. If it's in pretty good shape you can still use Data Extractor for recovery but I recommend reading the...

Looks like Spyglass that is SED locked, I don't think PC3000 supports this drive yet.

Sorry I didn't see this sooner, here you go just in case.

Those snips Sam recommended work well.

I think you got your answer on Ace Forum but just in case someone looks here in the future. You can use heads from a DM, VX, and most likely even VM. Match second and third character of serial number or check preamp code in ROM.

That and 90% of the DM series are 1 of 2 Preamps so you can be ready for most DM head swaps. You can also spot a pattern in the preamp lettering/numbering. Most of the less common preamps will be for oddball head and/or platter configurations in each group or drives with the new Seagate logo...

Since that's a Rosewood make sure you backup important system files before making any changes to the configuration :)

WD Passports are very susceptible to damage when transported, bumped, or dropped. It doesn't take much to make them fail but they are very resilient and easy to recover. Quite often they are easily recovered, using proper hardware based tools, by simply converting them to SATA and avoiding the...

Does it sound more like "chirp, chirp" or a beep? Rosewoods with bad heads have more of a "chirp, chirp" sound. If it has a fluttering sound during seek you can sometimes recover them without a head swap, but chirping is usually bad news. "FAIL Servo Op=0100 Resp=0003" in almost any Seagate is a...

Test a matching model drive. Copy some large multimedia files to the experimental drive. Mark and remove the platters. Replace the platters and recover the data. Keep a list of drives that are still functional after platter removal and replacement. If the spindle doesn't have a very tight...

Nice work!

Those tools are stainless steel, no magnets. They work with a special 3M double sided tape. You can see the protective paper has not yet been removed from the sticky surface in the pictures.

I bought all 3 in the order Jared lists them and it was really just the opposite of what I should have done. Get PC-3000 first, for the reasons Jared mentions. Flash extractor is a good tool but the cost of annual updates/support and the requirement to upload dumps for help makes it a second...

I don't know if it actually works any more but the option was still there in Windows 7.

I just had a ST1000LM035 with 2 platter and only 3 heads. I'm guessing the ST2000LM007 rejects are being sold as 1TB :) HSA design in the 1TB x 2-platter looks like the HSA in the 2TB model. The preamp number matched a 2 head model though.

That's a great idea. I like it.

I'm pretty sure that's a Silicon Motion controller with Intel "enhancements".

Howdy!

What model?

Great! Do you remember which items matched between the two and which didn't? HDD model, Revision, firmware (was it far off?), PCB model. Thanks!

Although HD253HJ model doesn't sound familiar, I am wondering why did you need the ROM? I have swapped the PCB on dozens of Samsung without ROM swap (HD25IHJ, HD250HJ, HD253GJ).

It really is an asset. I just recovered an APFS SSD yesterday.

Apex has great prices and I do prefer their aluminum ramp tools over the plastic ones that are available for similar pricing.

Is this a trick to get me in trouble with Jared? :lol: I use the HDD Surgery tool.

I don't have any extra advice for you other than what Luke offered, but this is an interesting story. Can you tell us how the platter was preserved once it was removed from the base and the base was lost?

Understood, but for anyone following along, you would want the "Commercial" license to provide services, and it is cheaper than the "Corporate" license.

Larry, the Recovery Explorer RAID edition is very reasonable for the commercial license and you can install on 10 computers for up to 10 users. It's listed for less than the Corporate license, which doesn't allow providing of services. Maybe they figure corporate users have more money?

Carbon filters are typically used to remove odors and gases. HEPA filters are rated to filter out 99.97% of particles that have a size of 0.3 µm or larger. We run 2 HEPA room filters in a small room where our clean benches operate. The filters are rated for larger rooms, even running 24/7 they...

You have a clicking Toshiba and think the heads are bad so you have changed the PCB? Why not change the heads?

PC shops can have all of the WD Passports that were used like bowling balls and take 35 days to recover 20GBs of user data :)

Very nice, thank you!

You can add Helios & Shasta-3D

Same here, actually had 2 so close to the edge that the ramp tool worked. Also had a 2TB with 2 mangled heads, stuck to platter, head swap worked. But it's not always so rosy with the Rosewoods. I have had some that eat heads or you can see through the platters.

I agree, I don't know how the heads survive. The very first thing I do after removing the cover is replace the head screw. Rosewood heads can't take a beating like some others.

That's interesting, for Rosewood I have had more 2TB head swap successes than 1TB. Probably a coincidence, but I guess time will tell.

Thanks Larry, hope all is well with you and I hope you have a happy new year!

Yes, I have listed a few Western Digital head swap cases here including a Hubble LT < Hubble. My favorite is the 160GB Tornado heads used in the 320GB Pinclite :)

Personally, I don't think the tools are overpriced. Sure, you can get the job done with other tools, but after using HDD Surgery tools I really hate using other tools. I have used tools from 4 companies and the others are loose-fit and less reliable in most cases. It doesn't mean you can't get...

You'll need a new spin torque oscillator.

I have used DM heads for a ST2000VX000 (SV35). The SV35 was a 3 platter drive. I use heads from an ST3000DM. Preamps were B4-43 vs B4-23. Serials were W24 vs W1F. When you can read the preamp from the patient it makes it much easier to find a donor you might not normally try.

"The Dylos DC1100 Pro does an excellent job of matching the Grimm at all three zoom levels. It is unique among these sensors in reporting particle counts rather than just mass, so we compare it against the Grimm count of all particles of size 2.5 microns and below. In general, the Dylos appears...

The Dylos Pro detects down to .5 micron. That model of Speck looks like it's for monitoring your living space. It only measures down to 2.5 microns, which is not really good for a clean bench. What it might be good for is monitoring the room your clean bench is in. We keep our clean benches in a...

If you don't remove the foil from the metal cover completely, just peel back enough to remove each screw, you can reuse the foil 2-3 times. And no fuss with realigning the seal.

Isn't this a Bacall? I can edit headmap in RAM on a ST2000VM003 with firmware ES22.

You think the tool might be the problem? I have used the HDD Surgery tools on 1TB & 2TB Rosewood's numerous times. I have one 2TB here that we used for practice and making a training video, I bet the heads have been in and out 7-8 times and it still works fine. I don't really feel like the heads...

But what if it is the best in the world ;)

What head tool and/or method are you using?

Exactly, first we had no commercial head tools so we experiment with our own ideas and solutions which could result in lower recovery chances. When commercial tools became available it became easier for everyone to swap heads. Then, for quite some time, the average shop did not have access to...

+1 for blow torch. Oh wait... I thought someone said blowtorch.

Where did you read about this "rig" the FBI has that can "scrounge" data from platters? $250,000 is not a lot of money for medium to large DR companies so I would expect them all to have this capability by now. Think about it, if ESS purchased a domain name for $1.7 million in 2008 they could...

Hi SilverPuppy, What $250,000 rig are you referring to?

Thank you!

Amarbir, what tool are you using to snip the heads?

If you haven't noticed, eBay has a new policy where they will bill you if they suspect you sold a listed item outside of eBay. Apparently the process is automated and I got caught in it. When I first considered selling VNR I listed it on eBay. Some guy kept sending me messages "call anytime" and...

The HDD motor balance adjustment video seems more interesting to me. Donor drive matching info is everywhere, how often do you see anyone talking about motor balance?

Don't overlook the Pipeline models if you have any. ST1000VM002 uses the same preamps B2 and CA.

Out of 8 donors I have here, 5 are B2 and 3 are CA. The dates are all over the place for both preamps. But look at the bright side, with this model you'll eventually need the other one anyway :) The main reason I buy DM donors before I need them is because I can get 2, 3, or even 4 for the price...

R-Studio Linux

I haven't tested it but DFL claims that they too support unlocking ST2000DM001. Here is their video unlocking F3.

Here is the pricing I got from Crest Ultrasonics.

Update: The phone kit sold and I have decided not to sell the VNR system.

I use the spin or spin/tap technique to release and often find that the heads still work. I have the aluminum unstick tools but I won't use them. I have used the plastic unstick tools in the past but not any more. I can't see how you can slide an aluminum tool across the platters, use pressure...

Because our post counts are low? ;)

My goal is to have 586 posts by the time I reach your age <ducks and runs>

Spit my coffee out...

just joking. Plus I need to get my post count up before one of my customers finds me on this forum :D

Now yours is the only accurate one. Need to replace "Data Recovery" with "Forum" on the rest of them :) Forum Noob Forum Novice Experienced Forum User? Forum Pro

Sorry, after looking at Amazon again "Chem Crest 211P" and 14EZP are not the same product numbers listed on the Crest website for hard disk drive cleaning. The data sheet for Chem-Crest® 2000x specifically mentions "compatible with the HGAs or the HSAs in general, and is compatible with other...

Price is lowered, I want to buy some new toys :)

It might be cheaper from Crest but someone advertising on Amazon has it for $250 per 5Gal with free shipping.

Anyone heard of Crest Ultrasonics or this chemical they are advertising for "precision cleaning of your hard disk drive"?

Larry, are you using the patient heads? Are they all 7200.11 or other drive models?

Look at the filter.

I see that :) There was plenty of data in the filter and near the ramp on mine. Some of us speculated that this HDD had seen the freezer (moisture) and caused the "scrapings" to form like this, but Luke mentioned he has seen this a few times and doubts it was a result of freezing. Either way...

Yeah, I should have mentioned that. In reverse it will read at 18ms timing and get stuck bsy. Anything less and it barely reads any sectors successfully but doesn't get stuck. But forward it will read at less than 18ms. I'm naming this one Hellboy.

I have this strange Seagate 160GB PATA (ST3160023A). I can read almost every sector without error but it gets stuck busy if it reads large chunks of data without error (3000+ sectors). At first I was thinking bad cache chip but a different PCB shows the same issue. To work around it I have set...

Did I price this too high or is nobody interested in Rusolut VNR? Hit me with your best shot!

It looks like the train wreck picture might be more relevant to the Rosewood topic than I thought. We have all been derailed :lol:

This Rosewood topic in one picture :)

Make sure you add the protection plan in case the patient drive kills the heads :)

I have a Rusolut VNR System for sale. It was purchased this year. I believe you can transfer support but it is up to the purchaser to verify this. The sale includes: 1) Visual NAND Reconstructor Starter Kit (NAND Reader- Adapters (8 pcs) - Software) 2) Standard Kit (BGA152 - BGA100 - BGA132) 3)...

In case you missed it, there is a warning on the Ace Lab blog about the Seagate Rosewoods. They are saying that special features in the firmware require handling these drives in a different manner than you might some other families. Reset SMART could lose data! Here are things you should not do...

Thanks Jared, I don't like the idea of not giving the customer some of their user files but it appears that these files are from their laptop and should still be on the laptop. Like you, I feel like they don't even know these files are on this device.

When you recover a portable device that was formatted HFS+ do you typically copy the ".HFS+ Private Directory Data_" folder and the "Baclkups.backupDB" folder to the customer's recovery device? There is a lot of disk space used by ".HFS+ Private Directory Data_" and plenty of user data in there...

Today we received 3 old hard drives for recovery, 2 x 80GB (ST3808110AS & WD800JD), 1 250GB EIDE (WD2500BB) all of them were from small business owners. You have probably seen some people speculate that SSDs are the end for HDD recovery and it's approaching fast. In my opinion and from the...

Patient Model: WD30EZRS-11J99B1 Date: 24 SEP 2011 DCM: HARCHT2ABB Thailand Donor Model: WD30EZRS-00J99B0 Date: 14 MAR 2011 DCM: HARCHV2AAB Thailand

Very nice, I think it might be better for heads than the Panavise I use now. Thanks!

So far VNR has only been educational for me. The amount of studying and late nights I spent with it for the first 3 months really forced me to increase my knowledge. That said, the first 5 cases I worked in VNR were not resolved, not even with remote "premium support". Flash Extractor to the...

I am interested in other Visual NAND Reconstructor user experiences. Rusolut doesn't have a forum and there is very little talk about it on other DR forums. Is anyone using VNR to solve the majority of their chip-off cases? If I recall correctly, Jared purchased a used device, HaQue was one of...

Thanks for the heads up, this is the first one I have seen like this.

Larry, I think you are seeing the reflection of the metal grate over my HEPA filter :)

Here is a view from the ramp area.

Has anyone had success with a case like this? Before you answer, take a good look at that filter :) Customer might want a referral.

Anyone suspect this Seagate found its way into a freezer before it got to us for recovery?

Great news! Apparently the 4TB WDEZRZ works with some other Maxtor EIDE PCBs too :mrgreen:

That's... Stellar.

LOL, someone just bought the 4TB WD40EZRZ that had a picture of an 8.4GB Maxtor as the reverse side.

I am full of something ;) You have to give the guy on eBay credit though, he does warn “Please check all pictures before bidding or buying THANKS”

But I know the ancient HDD secrets. Like refurbishing dead 4TB WD by installing PATA PCB from Maxtor 8.4GB.

Well that stinks because I had posted the secret to using WD EZEX heads in a Seagate DM series drive to recover data. Unfortunately I threw away my notes after posting here :D

PSID is on SED drive labels. It's used for instant secure erase. See Seagate for more.

If it really does what they boast it might be worth owning. I wonder what the price tag is?

Way to go, R-Studio!

Larry, any chance you exposed the tools to acetone or alcohol for a prolonged period. Maybe it weakens the small part?

Larry, I can't figure out how it went in tight enough to break off. It should drop in, if you have to use force then it would bend the HSA. I have this set but I don't use the Seagate 3.5". I did check mine though and it does not bind.

Platter art...

Dolphin has a demo video for these custom ramp tools now. Their site says "out of stock". https://youtu.be/FPINEMEqaVU

Just pointing out that it's odd that they have chosen such similar names to sell data recovery tools. Don't take things so personal, I never doubted you that they are DFL site, I actually suspected they were. I'm just wondering if they are connected to SD in any way.

That is interesting since Salvation Data is already using www.recoverytoolsrus.com

You have to test drives before you remove platters on a customer's drive. Different HDDs work in different ways. Always make more than 1 mark for alignment. Maybe you have to edit headmap in RAM and only image 1 head at a time. Maybe some Seagates that don't ID after platter swap you can...

If it's good quality and works! If anyone is sitting on the fence about these tools I did a quick test run of both the platter stand and removal tools and I like them. I wasn't actually expecting them to be as nice as they are.

:) The layout on the NAND side is almost identical but the controller side is slightly different and it is a different controller 20-82-00162-3

This similar and working 4GB Sandisk does not have a component at that location.

Yes, HDDheadtools is a DFL website but the images say Recovery R Us which appears to belong to SD.

Maybe they forgot to show the other part :D Looks like Recovery-R-Us tools are Salvation Data The images on HDDheadtools.com say Recovery R Us

Just used the following: USB G003296A ----> SATA G003235C

I know this is an old topic but... I do like my Craftsman torx drivers but the old Western Digital HDDs have taken their toll. I have the Wiha 26791 Precision Torx T1-T8 Set and they are nice, but the handles are small. I recently purchased the Felo 0715750981 Set of 7 Torx Screwdrivers, sizes...

I have never used SD tools but it's obvious they burned bridges with customers, including you. I always thought the big complaint was support and updates. Nobody in this thread has mentioned the tools "not working", so far. I guess we wait and see what others have to say.

That's amazing! how did you block/limit parking zone, if you don't mind sharing?

About Salvation Data

Maybe it's the way I smell :) About a month ago I received a Maxtor 7546AT. Yes, that's a 540MB HDD. It was running Novell Netware. Well, until the heads let go and destroyed the platters. Looked like that video where the guy uses a screwdriver on his HDD while the motor is spinning. And low...

Yes! I don't want to see any old HDDs this week, for a change. But, with my luck, they will all be DMs with degraded media.

That's quite an amazing feat. <tips hat>

Update: I ended up changing the heads again in that WD1600JS and the normal manipulation in PC-3000 utility could read head 0 & 1 with no issues. I did need to make another cover adjustment before heads 4 & 5 would complete. I guess the first heads were just too far off for the standard "trick"...

+1 tick...tick...tick BOOM! I just had a Samsung/Seagate ST1000LM024 that a computer shop opened first. I could have probably unstuck the heads AND used them but... Head swap and lots of bad sectors.

One more thing, I have recovered a number of these clicking WDs with the same heads. They will always work better with original heads. Check the heads under a microscope, if they look good, put them back in. You might be pleasantly surprised :) This is also a good reason to keep track of...

Typically when you put donor heads back in one of these, the donor will work. Use your fingers on the top cover and align it, the seal should help you feel, and watch the screw hole alignment. Tighten the screws in 2 passes. First run screws down in a cross pattern (like head torque), until they...

Good luck! I guess it can always be worse :lol:

So this week I am recovering two old WD drives and they are both taking all week :( WD1600BB (2004) WD1600JS (2006) Some of you might not see too many of these old drives any more, I think I get them still because of the area I'm in. Mostly small businesses around here, not a great economy. The...

I think many of us are capable of head swaps on these by now. But how many of us have the ability to fix firmware issues? By the way, the client returned the drive to me and it was not pretty. I just wish I had inspected it before it made the rounds.

Could be. Unless you intern or work at an established DR company first, having access to someone with experience could really accelerate the learning curve for a startup. I wonder if DFL is the reason for Ace's new "Easy Mode"? DFL seems to target startups and could be competition for Ace. If...

Ace announces PC-3000 "Easy Mode".

^ They usually show when I click a direct link to a post/reply but they don't show after I click a page number. They will be there if someone clicks your profile though.

Amarbir, in addition to the signature link you can add Facebook, YouTube, Skype, and Website links to your profile. If someone is interested in you, they will view your profile and see those links. I noticed you have Web and Skype, why not add YouTube and Facebook to your profile? It's better...

ST2000VM002 5YD 9UY166-263 ES02 12507 WU A8 05 00 01 02 03 04 05 ------------------------------ ST2000DL001 9VT156-515 5YD CC41 11432 WU A8 45 00 01 02 03 04 05 ------------------------------ ST2000DL001 9VT156-515 5YD CC41 12171 SU A8 45 00 01 02 03 04 05

In this thread references to "Ace" mean ACE Data Group, LLC which has claimed to have proprietary recovery methods for encrypted Sandisk SSD. You can find them at Data Recovery Dot Net

When WD or Seagate receive hard drives under warranty claim and/or open box they test them and then recertify them to be sold at a discount or they send them out as replacement drives for customer drives they get back under warranty claims. I see more recertified Seagates than Western Digital...

Amarbir, thank you for the tip. I have Acetoollab unstick set but I didn't know he made a ramp set. I just ordered them so I'll let you know what I think.

Napoleon, like anyone can even know that. I own HDD Surgery ramp tools for Seagate so I do know those tools. I also know that I haven't needed to buy any other HDD Surgery tools to complete my work. Are they impressive, high quality, tools that one can be proud of? Yes. Once I used them did I...

I just saw the new Head Holder from HDD Surgery and I like it but... I'm not sure it's 10 times better than the panavise mini vise I use now for $30. What tools are you currently using for holding heads?

If I would have just clicked Luke's link for base-replace I could have answered my own question. Thanks guys!

I had used the tape method on some easy single platter jobs in the past. When I received my first multi-platter Seagate with a stuck spindle I invested in a set of cheap platter swap tools. It was easy to use and solved the case. After that I have only had single platter but I used the tools...

Amarbir, today I used 3mm heat shrink tube on a 2.5" Western Digital. As long as it is flattened and you don't put it too close to the heads it works well. If you move it close to heads it spreads too wide.

2 more: ST2000DM001 1CH164-515 W1E CC47 14123 WU CB 36 ---------------- ST2000DM001 1CH164-302 S1E CC29 13251 SU B3 03

I have to disagree :P For $205 you get ramp set for 5 brands of HDD and it includes 10 head WD. They aren't the best quality but it's a good place to start. As far as I'm concerned your assortment can never be too big. 1mm is the only size I have used and it was for an old 3.5". If you can...

Yes, but I only have their Seagate ramp tools. I have ER-Tools, HDD-Surgery, HDDHeadTools.com (DFL) level 1&2, and now Ace Tool Lab. I also have heat shrink tubing, straws, and toothpicks :)

Very good, can't wait. I just used the metal tool (SEA 11/ES.2/LP 4) about 3 hours ago on an emergency job. Heads stuck to platter after the server was powered down. Recovery is still running but looks good with just 2 of 8 heads having an occasional slowdown.

Wasn't it actually B631C which is probably Code for B613, and we all know who is behind B613. /SEO-Off

I have never tried calling server supply dot com to see if they would check date and DCM but it might be worth a call in this case. They only charge $69 for a WD20EARS. This does seem to be a rare drive for some reason. I have 2 from Sept 2011, both are Thailand but they are NTJ. The only one I...

+1 Unfortunately, every case I have seen with repeating Servo Op=100 Resp=007 & Servo Op=100 Resp=003 has been a head/media case.

Speaking of hemorrhoids... look at the giant copper wires on this HSA from a WD AC26400 6GB drive.

Hi Carmon and welcome. This is a great forum. Like you I also just found it this year.

Yes! Sometimes I take the tools for granted and then I am reminded how amazing Ace Labs tools are when a difficult recovery completes.

Update: I'm glad I decided not to open the customer's 3 month old ST2000LM007. It has been to Seagate and then Drive-5avers and they both returned it as unrecoverable.

If the backed up OS was Windows Server you can try to catalog the tape using MS backup from a similar version of Windows server. If not then see if the customer has a CD for a backup program called Tapeware. Tapeware was bundled with some older HP Tape Drives and supported Windows and Linux. I'm...

I sent the DOA drive back. I'm currently working on a method to safely swap heads. I'll let you know when I have a good procedure. I won't have another drive until Wednesday. I killed the heads on the first one :) Moving heads to platter first is probably the way to go but on my first test the...

Since this appears to be a day of resurrection, can we buy your tools now? :D

Same here, I like my ER-Tools. I am also a little nervous about metal next to platters unless it's HDD-Surgery quality. Hopefully the feedback will be good from those that purchased these tools. Ace Tool Lab told me they might have more on eBay November 1st.

I ordered 2 of these off eBay and 1 is DOA. DOM is 12AUG2016. It fails Seatools basic test and makes beeping noises before it locks up. Obviously I don't know how it was handled before but it was shipped with about 1 inch of bubble wrap around it. You can also see the manufacturing on the...

Thanks for the heads up. Your description sounds a lot like the WD Slim WD7500LPCX <edit> Don't want anyone to get the wrong idea. I meant the description of the heads and no room for combs. Also the foil cover sounds similar to the WD. As far as ROM and modules you can work with the WD.

Thanks Jared, I had tried Kahuna but not Sentosa. I'll report back when I get further along.

Does anyone know if PC-3000 supports Seagate Backup Plus Portable ST2000LM007? I get Model, Serial, FW. It shows -1 capacity and can't detect family. When powered on terminal shows: Low Current Spin FAIL Servo Op=0095 Resp=0007 Fail Servo Op=0100 Resp=0007 This repeats for some time and then...

Excellent! Thanks for the tip.

Can you elaborate on what they did wrong? It might help someone that purchases from them in the future. Thanks! David

Dang! Looks like you guys bought everything :) I need to check this forum more often.

Amarbir, I'm curious what your primary reason is for having 1-DFL-SRP rather than a second PC-3000 + DE? Cost could be one reason but I would recommend to anyone starting out to go ahead and start with PC-3000 + DE. I actually made the mistake of starting with DFL-DDP and DFL-FRP. From the time...

On a WD10JPVX they only slide in 1/4 of an inch and then it's too wide where it bonds to the stick.

I just wanted thank 300ddr for turning me on to the Texwipe TX758MD. This is the best solution I have tried so far for wiping platters. They are small but they remove/absorb, rather than move, contamination. It's like a micro cloth wipe on the end of a stick. I purchased them from SOS and they...

+1 for best DR forum on the Internet for data recovery professionals.

Jared, here is a picture inside. Even with the ribbon cable connector removed there is almost no extra room.

Luke, that's a million dollar pro-tip. Thanks!

This is some great info. Thanks for sharing!

Has anyone performed a headswap on a Western Digital Slim WD7500LPCX? The design looked unique and I saw a dead one for $9 on eBay so I bought it and opened it up. At first look I don't even see how the HSA will come out or fit back in.

In my experience the TJ in DCM HHCTJHB needs to match. If you see a 2 rather than a J it most likely wont work. Add that to what Luke (lcoughey) said and you should find a donor.

Sorry for the delay, I haven't had much extra time lately. I decided I would at least check for residue today. I opened an old Seagate 160GB (in clean bench) and sprayed some 3M™ Novec™ Contact Cleaner on the platter. It evaporates faster but left almost as much residue as 91% Isopropyl alcohol...

+1 for 10 more years :D

I just checked and it's the WDC Sabre 1D that I used on the single platter Diamondmax 9. Just be sure it gets under the bottom head. The arm will swing freely if you got it.

Michael, I have used the ER tools on Diamondmax 9 80Gb (Single platter). I don't remember if it was the WD or Seagate tool, one fit better than the other. I used it upside down so the rounded tip was still near the heads. It is a little loose so extra care must be taken so it doesn't fall out...

Larry, that's the wrong product. Look for the orange/gold can that only says "Contact Cleaner". I think you are looking at the product that is actually labeled "Cleaner/Lubricant" and it's in a purple can.

Larry is right to be cautious. The 3m Rep explained there are different levels of degreasing for Novec products. He seemed pretty sure that the contact cleaner was on the low end so it wouldn't damage plastics or other parts. In the end, he's just one guy working for 3M and he had no knowledge...

I contacted 3M and the rep that called me said that I could use 3m Novec contact cleaner to remove fingerprints from platters. I purchased an 11Oz can for $33. You can get it cheaper in multipacks. I plan on testing it by fingerprinting a platter from edge to edge and then clean it with the...

Thanks for the update. I was wondering how this one would turn out. I really appreciate that you guys share this information.

Has anyone tried 3M Novec?