Seagate 500MB drive dead...

WatchNut · 11-21-2006, 10:17 AM

Hello All:

I was hoping one of the experts here can help with some advice. Last week, I made this post on the forums here:
http://www.techsupportforum.com/microsoft-support/windows-xp-support/126370-two-week-old-computer-no-longer-sees-hard-drive-please-help.html

It appears that the actual circuit board attached to my 500MB Seagate SATA hard drive has crapped out after less than 2 weeks. Dell (I bought the computer from them) is sending a replacement drive. Since all my data is still on the first dead drive, could the circuit boards on the two drives be swapped easily in order for me to pull some of my data off the original drive? How complex a job is this, and how risky is it?

Thanks in advance for any assistance and advice. As an alternative, how can I completely and totally erase the faulty drive before returning it to Dell? I don't want them having access to my presonal data which is on that drive.

Again.....many thanks.

Regards,

Michael

Tumbleweed36 · 11-21-2006, 11:01 AM

Hi,

A few things here. First of all, don't even attempt to change that circuit board, or they will not honor the drive replacement and you will be buying another new hard drive. I would bet you have to send the old one in for them to validate you had a bad drive. It also could be considered a task that you don't want to undertake without extensive experience working in those type situations.

Second. if the drive won't even boot, you simply won't be able to get data off it unless you send it someplace where they charge an arm and a leg to do that. That too would invalidate any return of the drive to the company that is going to replace it for you. Seems like you are out of luck on both.

**Done_Fishin** · 11-22-2006, 05:50 AM

Except tha DELL might be willing to refurbish the drive and sell it off to the africans to get some cash back .. you'll be surprised at just how much "refurbished" electronics I see on the shelves at stores. I think they plan on no-one understanding to read English so thay don't get twigged that they're actually buying second hand, repaired, equipment.

just how long will DELL wait before trying to charge you for that drive?

WatchNut · 11-22-2006, 05:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Done_Fishin

Except tha DELL might be willing to refurbish the drive and sell it off to the africans to get some cash back .. you'll be surprised at just how much "refurbished" electronics I see on the shelves at stores. I think they plan on no-one understanding to read English so thay don't get twigged that they're actually buying second hand, repaired, equipment.

just how long will DELL wait before trying to charge you for that drive?

I'll be sure to follow-up here if they attempt to charge me for the replacement.

On a related note, if I can't switch the circuit boards, how can I assuredly and completely erase what's on the drive before I send it back to them?

Thanks!

Michael

**Done_Fishin** · 11-22-2006, 06:52 AM

without voiding the warranty ... nothing !!

any action you take to incapacitate the drive will be seen as the reason why the drive doesn't work.
apart from the drive getting lost in the mail when it gets sent back, which means that you'll need proof of posting .. all other methods will not rsult in a disk surface that is unreadable. I have even heard of someone drilling a hole thru a drive by accient and yet ONtrack recovered the data!

I think only lobbing it into the centre of Mount Etna will ensure that the data is secured from prying eyes! but make sure it hits molten lava and the volcano doesn't spit it back out!

ebackhus · 11-22-2006, 10:27 AM

*TechSupportForum, its hosts and advertisers is not responsible for what eb says*

Microwaving an HDD can permanently wipe it. I just don't recommend it unless you have the proper type of equipment.

Oh, don't buy Dell.

**Done_Fishin** · 11-22-2006, 11:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ebackhus

*TechSupportForum, its hosts and advertisers is not responsible for what eb says*

Microwaving an HDD can permanently wipe it. I just don't recommend it unless you have the proper type of equipment.

Oh, don't buy Dell.

Doesn't that also kill the microwave?

metal inside microwaves was considered unsafe and has resulted in several fires, keep the fire brigade handy

dmitryk · 11-22-2006, 08:06 PM

Replacing PCB back and force will not void the warranty. Obviously you will need to put original PCB back.

The problem that it will not do any good for you.

Cooking drive in Microwave will void the warranty. In addition it will not erase any data on your drive other then damging electronics and providing traces of blown componets, rice and crums on the drive :)

It is not possible to swap PCB on the modern drive without additional work. Segate when drive is refrubished will wipe the data off. So don't worry about that.
But if you want data recovered and you want it to be under warrany you will need to call Seagate Data Recovery Service. They are the only ones who certified to work under warranty with Seagate drives.

11-21-2006, 10:17 AM	#1 (permalink)
WatchNut Registered User Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 12 OS: Windows XP	Seagate 500MB drive dead... Hello All: I was hoping one of the experts here can help with some advice. Last week, I made this post on the forums here: http://www.techsupportforum.com/microsoft-support/windows-xp-support/126370-two-week-old-computer-no-longer-sees-hard-drive-please-help.html It appears that the actual circuit board attached to my 500MB Seagate SATA hard drive has crapped out after less than 2 weeks. Dell (I bought the computer from them) is sending a replacement drive. Since all my data is still on the first dead drive, could the circuit boards on the two drives be swapped easily in order for me to pull some of my data off the original drive? How complex a job is this, and how risky is it? Thanks in advance for any assistance and advice. As an alternative, how can I completely and totally erase the faulty drive before returning it to Dell? I don't want them having access to my presonal data which is on that drive. Again.....many thanks. Regards, Michael Last edited by WatchNut; 11-21-2006 at 10:25 AM.

11-21-2006, 11:01 AM	#2 (permalink)
Tumbleweed36 Asst Manager Hardware Join Date: May 2005 Location: USA Posts: 19,486 OS: XP Professional	Hi, A few things here. First of all, don't even attempt to change that circuit board, or they will not honor the drive replacement and you will be buying another new hard drive. I would bet you have to send the old one in for them to validate you had a bad drive. It also could be considered a task that you don't want to undertake without extensive experience working in those type situations. Second. if the drive won't even boot, you simply won't be able to get data off it unless you send it someplace where they charge an arm and a leg to do that. That too would invalidate any return of the drive to the company that is going to replace it for you. Seems like you are out of luck on both. __________________ ---------- I don't receive email notifications of replies to subscribed threads. (Internet provider policy) Therefore, if I don't respond to your post within 24 hours, please send me a reminder PM and include the link to your thread.

11-22-2006, 05:50 AM	#3 (permalink)
Done_Fishin Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Brit living in Greece Posts: 7,278 OS: WinME, WinXP Pro SP3, Win7 Beta, Ubuntu 9.04 & Netbook Remix & CD2USB, Mepis 6.5, Fedora 10 My System	Except tha DELL might be willing to refurbish the drive and sell it off to the africans to get some cash back .. you'll be surprised at just how much "refurbished" electronics I see on the shelves at stores. I think they plan on no-one understanding to read English so thay don't get twigged that they're actually buying second hand, repaired, equipment. just how long will DELL wait before trying to charge you for that drive? __________________ . . I'm not old!! I'm age impaired .. D_F I DON'T PLAY GAMES How to mark your thread as solved HDD DIAG UTILS TSF's Photographer's Corner Last edited by Done_Fishin; 11-22-2006 at 05:51 AM.

11-22-2006, 06:52 AM	#5 (permalink)
Done_Fishin Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Brit living in Greece Posts: 7,278 OS: WinME, WinXP Pro SP3, Win7 Beta, Ubuntu 9.04 & Netbook Remix & CD2USB, Mepis 6.5, Fedora 10 My System	without voiding the warranty ... nothing !! any action you take to incapacitate the drive will be seen as the reason why the drive doesn't work. apart from the drive getting lost in the mail when it gets sent back, which means that you'll need proof of posting .. all other methods will not rsult in a disk surface that is unreadable. I have even heard of someone drilling a hole thru a drive by accient and yet ONtrack recovered the data! I think only lobbing it into the centre of Mount Etna will ensure that the data is secured from prying eyes! but make sure it hits molten lava and the volcano doesn't spit it back out! __________________ . . I'm not old!! I'm age impaired .. D_F I DON'T PLAY GAMES How to mark your thread as solved HDD DIAG UTILS TSF's Photographer's Corner

11-22-2006, 10:27 AM	#6 (permalink)
ebackhus Manager, Design Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: SATX Posts: 14,146 OS: WinXP Pro SP3/Windows 7 RTM My System Blog Entries: 28	TechSupportForum, its hosts and advertisers is not responsible for what eb says Microwaving an HDD can permanently wipe it. I just don't recommend it unless you have the proper type of equipment. Oh, don't buy Dell. __________________ ----------------------------- There are no dumb questions, unless a customer is asking them. Help in the fight against cancer and other serious illnesses.

11-22-2006, 08:06 PM	#8 (permalink)
dmitryk Registered User Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Toronto... for now Posts: 76 OS: XP	Replacing PCB back and force will not void the warranty. Obviously you will need to put original PCB back. The problem that it will not do any good for you. Cooking drive in Microwave will void the warranty. In addition it will not erase any data on your drive other then damging electronics and providing traces of blown componets, rice and crums on the drive :) It is not possible to swap PCB on the modern drive without additional work. Segate when drive is refrubished will wipe the data off. So don't worry about that. But if you want data recovered and you want it to be under warrany you will need to call Seagate Data Recovery Service. They are the only ones who certified to work under warranty with Seagate drives. __________________ Dmitry Kisselev