Advice Please: Unsalvageable Hard Drive?

[Searcher7]

I'm pretty sure I know the answer, but need confirmation that my old
hard drive is toast.

I disconnected the SCSI drives in my new system and tried this single
drive in it in hopes of getting it running so I can get the data off of
it.

I was directed to SCSI set-up, and received the options:

"Configure/View Host Adapter Settings" and "SCSI Disk Utilities". I
chose the latter.

The SCSI ID# was "0"(Firmware: 0876). Out of the options, "Format Disk"
and "Verify Disk Media", I chose the latter.

The SCSI ID# for the Seagate(ST34572N) drive was "0", and for the
Adaptec AHA-2940U2W was "7".

The final screen was as follow:
UNEXPECTED SCSI COMMAND FAILURE

Target SCSI: 0
SCSI CDB Sent: 03 00 00 00 0E 00 70 00 03 00
Host Adapter Status: 0h-No host adapter error
Target Status: 02h-Check condition
Sense Key: 03h-Medium error
+Sense Key: 31h
+Sense Code Qualifier: 00h

Any thoughts or ideas?
Thanks a lot.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.

 

[Brent Rowell]

I suspect your options are all bad news.....
If the data is really vital you might try a disk specialist

My suggestion is forget it and buy another drive and remember the purpose of
backups
Brent

 

[Searcher7]

I suspect your options are all bad news.....
If the data is really vital you might try a disk specialist

My suggestion is forget it and buy another drive and remember the purpose of
backups

I know all about it.

All of my back-up options failed miserably when I tried them before the
drive went down.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.

 

[Gregory Toomey]

I know all about it.

All of my back-up options failed miserably when I tried them before the
drive went down.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.

Thats why I have at least two backups of "critical" stuff.

gtoomey

 

[DaveL]

What about termination? Did you enable termination on the drive?

DaveL

 

[David Chien]

Send drive to www.ontrack.com and have them recover it

 

[Folkert Rienstra]

Send drive to www.ontrack.com and have them recover it

*If* they know how to *circumvent* or *correct* a

Sense Key: 03h-Medium error
+Sense Code: 31h
+Sense Code Qualifier: 00h

 

[Searcher7]

I get a clicking sound for about 10-12 repetitions and then it will
stop for a few seconds. It will then begin again. Am I correct in
assuming that this means there is a *physical* problem with the drive?

When this drive first went down, I'd consistent­ly get the "Invalid
System Disk" message(even though there ­was no floppy disk in the
floppy drive). At that point I was forced to turn th­e PC off and
reboot to try again.

Now, I just tried the other two drives that were also in that same PC
before it went down and I get the "Invalid System Disk" error with each
one when I try them in the new system.

These drive have been sitting around for over a year just like the
first one, so I was wondering is it plausible that all three of them
went bad at the same time? Could it be the result of some sort of
virus?(Or perhaps there is something I am not doing correctly).
Thanks.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.

 

[Arno Wagner]

I get a clicking sound for about 10-12 repetitions and then it will
stop for a few seconds. It will then begin again. Am I correct in
assuming that this means there is a *physical* problem with the drive?

When this drive first went down, I'd consistent­ly get the "Invalid
System Disk" message(even though there ­was no floppy disk in the
floppy drive). At that point I was forced to turn th­e PC off and
reboot to try again.

You get that also for a defect HDD, if it is the bootdisk.

Now, I just tried the other two drives that were also in that same PC
before it went down and I get the "Invalid System Disk" error with each
one when I try them in the new system.

Aha, that sort of makes a defective disk a lot less likely. Unless
they were all dropped, overheated, exposed to seawater or the like.

These drive have been sitting around for over a year just like the
first one, so I was wondering is it plausible that all three of them
went bad at the same time? Could it be the result of some sort of
virus?(Or perhaps there is something I am not doing correctly).

The one thing that is really critical with SCSI is cabeling and
termination. Do you have both last devices terminated correctly? Is
the cable firmly plugged in at all points? Are both terminators o.k.?
It isn unlikely, but an active terminator can die.

Another possible problem is a weak PSU. Do the disks spin-up?
I gater that the controller at least finds them in detection,
correct?

Arno

 

[Searcher7]

drive?

You get that also for a defect HDD, if it is the bootdisk.


Aha, that sort of makes a defective disk a lot less likely. Unless
they were all dropped, overheated, exposed to seawater or the like.


The one thing that is really critical with SCSI is cabeling and
termination. Do you have both last devices terminated correctly? Is
the cable firmly plugged in at all points? Are both terminators o.k.?
It isn unlikely, but an active terminator can die.

Another possible problem is a weak PSU. Do the disks spin-up?
I gater that the controller at least finds them in detection,
correct?

The system is seeing the disks, I guess. I see the brand name and model
numbers(with at least two of them), but if I do go into SCSI utilities
when the option presents itself, I get the invalid system disk error.

The SCSI cable I am using has four connections(in between the SCSI
adaptor and terminator), and I've been using the first or second one
from the adaptor side to test each drive.(That leaves three connections
not in use).

I know there is nothing wrong with the terminator or power supply,
because my three "new" hard drives are seen and work perfectly in the
system.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.

 

[Arno Wagner]

Arno Wagner wrote: [...]
The system is seeing the disks, I guess. I see the brand name and model
numbers(with at least two of them), but if I do go into SCSI utilities
when the option presents itself, I get the invalid system disk error.

That could be consistent wit a bus problem. Signalling (''commands'')
is done much slower than data transfer on SCSI.

The SCSI cable I am using has four connections(in between the SCSI
adaptor and terminator), and I've been using the first or second one
from the adaptor side to test each drive.(That leaves three connections
not in use).

Is the termination of the controller on? What type of SCSI?

I know there is nothing wrong with the terminator or power supply,
because my three "new" hard drives are seen and work perfectly in the
system.

Unfortunately that is not a sure sign. With fast-SCSI (10MB/s,
8 bit bus) I have observed that some targets and host adapters
work with a bus that has been terminated only at one end, while
others fail.

Arno

 

[Searcher7]

Arno Wagner wrote: [...]
The system is seeing the disks, I guess. I see the brand name and model
numbers(with at least two of them), but if I do go into SCSI utilities
when the option presents itself, I get the invalid system disk

error.

That could be consistent wit a bus problem. Signalling (''commands'')
is done much slower than data transfer on SCSI.

The SCSI cable I am using has four connections(in between the SCSI
adaptor and terminator), and I've been using the first or second one
from the adaptor side to test each drive.(That leaves three connections
not in use).

Is the termination of the controller on? What type of SCSI?

I know there is nothing wrong with the terminator or power supply,
because my three "new" hard drives are seen and work perfectly in the
system.

Unfortunately that is not a sure sign. With fast-SCSI (10MB/s,
8 bit bus) I have observed that some targets and host adapters
work with a bus that has been terminated only at one end, while
others fail.

I'm not sure what you mean by "is the termination of the controller
on".

The card is an Adaptec AHA-2940U2W. The hard drives that work are
Seagate 10,000 rpm LVD drives.

The three drives I want to get working are much slower and have lower
data rates.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.

 

[Folkert Rienstra]

O gosh, Arnie has found a thread that in all likely hood is going to span
several screens (since this is Dirwin we are dealing with) so his use-
net production (and consequent name spread) will go up considerably.
And make make a fool of himself once again, as usual, but that isn't
important, right Arnie?
It's not important how they talk about you, just that they do.

You get that also for a defect HDD, if it is the bootdisk.

No, you don't.
Obviously not when that message comes from the bootsector.

Aha, that sort of makes a defective disk a lot less likely. Unless
they were all dropped, overheated, exposed to seawater or the like.

Or not have a "valid system" on them, obviously.
Oops, nothing so obvious with Arnie, of course.

The one thing that is really critical with SCSI is cabeling and
termination. Do you have both last devices terminated correctly? Is
the cable firmly plugged in at all points? Are both terminators o.k.?

It isn unlikely,

No kidding. Tough weekend, Arnie?

but an active terminator can die.

Another possible problem is a weak PSU.

Do the disks spin-up?

Where do you think this "Invalid System Disk" message came from.

 

[Folkert Rienstra]

The system is seeing the disks, I guess. I see the brand name and model
numbers (with at least two of them), but if I do go into SCSI utilities
when the option presents itself,

I get the invalid system disk error.

No you don't.

 

[Searcher7]

O gosh, Arnie has found a thread that in all likely hood is going to span
several screens (since this is Dirwin we are dealing with) so his use-
net production (and consequent name spread) will go up considerably.
And make make a fool of himself once again, as usual, but that isn't
important, right Arnie?
It's not important how they talk about you, just that they do.

Hey ****ert.

Stop jerking off whenever you see me post, and get a life.
Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.