Harddrive wont spin up

[george41407]

I have a Quantum fireball 20gig harddrive. It has been working fine
as my master. I have another identical drive for my slave. Earlier I
started my computer and it would not boot. I unplugged both drives,
changed the cable, all the usual stuff. Booted from a floppy and
Fdisk dont even see the drive. Thats when I noticed that if I plug
and unplug the power connector while the computer is on, I do not hear
it spin up. However, the slave drive has a noticable spin up sound.
Obviously the drive is trash. Fortunately I had a backup from a few
weeks ago and did not lose much. I am not booted from that backup.

Anyhow, I'd like to see if I can make that drive spin up one last time
so I can retrieve the few missing files. First off, if it wont spin,
does that mean the motor fried, or are there other things that can
cause this? If a bearing ceased, I hope to oil it so it runs long
enough to get my files. I have never tried to repair a HD before.
Can someone tell me the usual procedure to follow. Should I remove
the circuit board first or just open the case?

One other thing, if this drive is plugged in to the computer power,
even with the data cable unplugged, the LED on the drive's circuit
board keeps flashing 5 times in a row, then it stops and does another
5 flashes. Does this mean anything?

Thanks

George

 

[Paul]

I have a Quantum fireball 20gig harddrive. It has been working fine
as my master. I have another identical drive for my slave. Earlier I
started my computer and it would not boot. I unplugged both drives,
changed the cable, all the usual stuff. Booted from a floppy and
Fdisk dont even see the drive. Thats when I noticed that if I plug
and unplug the power connector while the computer is on, I do not hear
it spin up. However, the slave drive has a noticable spin up sound.
Obviously the drive is trash. Fortunately I had a backup from a few
weeks ago and did not lose much. I am not booted from that backup.

Anyhow, I'd like to see if I can make that drive spin up one last time
so I can retrieve the few missing files. First off, if it wont spin,
does that mean the motor fried, or are there other things that can
cause this? If a bearing ceased, I hope to oil it so it runs long
enough to get my files. I have never tried to repair a HD before.
Can someone tell me the usual procedure to follow. Should I remove
the circuit board first or just open the case?

One other thing, if this drive is plugged in to the computer power,
even with the data cable unplugged, the LED on the drive's circuit
board keeps flashing 5 times in a row, then it stops and does another
5 flashes. Does this mean anything?

Thanks

George

This probably won't help, but I did find a forum where they discuss
hard drive repair. The guys here appear to be in the data recovery
business. Maybe you'll get lucky and find a discussion of the five
LED flashes. There are some fascinating, cryptic discussions on here.

http://forum.hddguru.com/hard-disk-...with-quantum-lct-10-quantum-lct-10-t1119.html
http://forum.hddguru.com/hard-disk-drives-repair-and-data-recovery-f1/

Paul

 

[peter]

There was an article in PCWorld mag a few months back on Freezing a HD in a
plastic bag for a few hours and then immediately hook it up....it seems to
work long enough to get some info off it and then its trash.
peter

 

[Tequila Mockingbird]

This probably won't help, but I did find a forum where they discuss
hard drive repair. The guys here appear to be in the data recovery
business. Maybe you'll get lucky and find a discussion of the five
LED flashes. There are some fascinating, cryptic discussions on here.

http://forum.hddguru.com/hard-disk-...with-quantum-lct-10-quantum-lct-10-t1119.html
http://forum.hddguru.com/hard-disk-drives-repair-and-data-recovery-f1/

Paul

Fascinating? LOL LOL LOL

 

[george41407]

This probably won't help, but I did find a forum where they discuss
hard drive repair. The guys here appear to be in the data recovery
business. Maybe you'll get lucky and find a discussion of the five
LED flashes. There are some fascinating, cryptic discussions on here.

http://forum.hddguru.com/hard-disk-...with-quantum-lct-10-quantum-lct-10-t1119.html
http://forum.hddguru.com/hard-disk-drives-repair-and-data-recovery-f1/

Paul

Thanks for all replies. I did look over that forum and did not find
much. There does not appear to be many recent discussions.
I suppose the best I can do is try to find an identical drive and swap
the circuit boards. Although it may be the motor itself. I do wonder
how long I could run the drive if I opened the case? I know dust is a
factor and I wont be able to eliminate that. Whether a motor can be
changed is unknown. I guess this drive will be a learning experience.
I did not lose too much so whatever happens will be........

This could be just this particular drive, but I had been running a
Maxtor for almost 10 years and it still works (and is what I am using
now again). I just needed more space so I changed it. This makes me
wonder if Quantums are poorly made drives? It was a used drive so I
cant expect much, but it worked fine one day and was dead the next????

George

 

[DaveW]

You CANNOT open the harddrive's case and do it any good. The most
microscopic single particle of dust entering the case will further destroy
the harddrive. They can ONLY be opended in a factory "clean room."

 

[george41407]

OK, this is weird......

Yesterday this harddrive would not spin up at all and I thought it was
a complete loss. (see original message below). I took out the screws
and removed the circuit board. Replaced the board and screws and the
drive is working perfectly again. I am booted from it right now, and
am backing it up while I post this message. What the heck??????

Anyone have any idea why??????

I dont plan to keep using it though, at least not as my master drive.
Maybe I will find some temporary use for it, but I no longer trust it.
I'll look for a new larger drive.

George

 

[Ed Medlin]

OK, this is weird......

Yesterday this harddrive would not spin up at all and I thought it was
a complete loss. (see original message below). I took out the screws
and removed the circuit board. Replaced the board and screws and the
drive is working perfectly again. I am booted from it right now, and
am backing it up while I post this message. What the heck??????

Anyone have any idea why??????

I dont plan to keep using it though, at least not as my master drive.
Maybe I will find some temporary use for it, but I no longer trust it.
I'll look for a new larger drive.

George

You may have just bumped it around enough for it to work for awhile. I
would have no idea why or how. I would still plan on replacing it as
your main drive. You might try and use it until it dies for non-critical
storage just to see how long it will last. I doubt that you made any
permanent fix, but who knows?? Usually when the "click of death" starts
it is not long before it dies.

Ed

 

[Frank McCoy]

OK, this is weird......

Yesterday this harddrive would not spin up at all and I thought it was
a complete loss. (see original message below). I took out the screws
and removed the circuit board. Replaced the board and screws and the
drive is working perfectly again. I am booted from it right now, and
am backing it up while I post this message. What the heck??????

Anyone have any idea why??????

Yeah:
Handling the drive often does that.
Sometimes, when a drive is going bad, and you're really *desperate* to
get your files copied and backed-up to another drive, you can get it to
work for a while by one of these methods:
A. Banging on it *gently* with your fist.
B. Turning it upside down and running it that way.
C. Hanging the bad drive from its cables at some crazy angle
Like head-down and vertical.

However, *don't* plan on using it that way.
If such treatment is necessary, it probably means it's going to go bad
*permanently* in all too short a time. Grab your important files off
the drive while you can (especially if having to run it katy-wompus like
that) and get a replacement ASAP.

I dont plan to keep using it though, at least not as my master drive.
Maybe I will find some temporary use for it, but I no longer trust it.
DON'T.

I'll look for a new larger drive.

Good idea.
Newer, larger drives these days often cost LESS than same-size
replacements.

 

[Franc Zabkar]

OK, this is weird......

Yesterday this harddrive would not spin up at all and I thought it was
a complete loss. (see original message below). I took out the screws
and removed the circuit board. Replaced the board and screws and the
drive is working perfectly again. I am booted from it right now, and
am backing it up while I post this message. What the heck??????

Anyone have any idea why??????

I answered this question in your first post to
microsoft.public.win98.gen_discussion.

In short, you could be witnessing "stiction".

- Franc Zabkar