Replacing the "plates" inside the HDD

y2j514 · 12-19-2008, 10:50 AM

Ok so I was using my Maxtor OneTouch Plus 4 1 TB HDD the other day. I was transferring something from my laptop to it when I accidently moved and knocked it to the ground. It fell about 4 feet and there was no visible damage to the harddrive.

However, after that it refuses to work. I don't even hear it spin up. I opened up the enclosure and used another SATA HDD in the enclosure and that works fine. So I know the problem is with the HDD.

I plugged the HDD directly into my desktop computer and when i go into diskmgmt.msc it sees a harddrive, but it says it is not initialized, I try to initialize it says its write protected.

In bios it can't even detect how many heads or cylinders or the size of the HDD. Im wondering is the HDD ok, and it just needs to be initialized somehow or is the HDD dead due to it falling.

Another thing I was thinking is, if I buy a Seagate 40GB sata HDD, could I potentially open up the harddrives and swap the plates or whatever they are called (the round c/d looking things inside the dvd that are like a mirror) and retrieve my data that way?

Thanks for any help in advance,
Jeff

**wrench97** · 12-19-2008, 11:15 AM

Most likely the the arm crashed on the platters when the HD fell and ruined the platters which is what the data is stored on, and no you can't take a hard drive apart as they are assembled in a clean room and sealed any minute particles of dust will cause them to malfunction.

**linderman** · 12-19-2008, 08:59 PM

definetly CAN NOT be done !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! thats a guarantee

other than a drive recovery business with the tools and clean room and "donor" drives for parts

y2j514 · 12-20-2008, 12:43 PM

so pretty much the only way of me getting my data back is to pay $1000s of dollars to have the the stuff recovered?

---EDIT----

well maybe then there is a way to initialize the drive? The bios and windows see the HDD they just cant tell me how big it is or anything, it says it needs to be initialized. When I try to initialize it, it says its write protected - anyways to possibly remove this?

**wrench97** · 12-20-2008, 03:34 PM

It won't initialize most likely because the heads are stuck on the platters.

**Net Jockey** · 12-20-2008, 03:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by y2j514

---EDIT----
well maybe then there is a way to initialize the drive? The bios and windows see the HDD they just cant tell me how big it is or anything, it says it needs to be initialized. When I try to initialize it, it says its write protected - anyways to possibly remove this?

Absolutely not...Dropping a hard drive is a recipe for disaster...No maybe about it.

y2j514 · 12-21-2008, 05:38 PM

ok well that sucks. Thankfully, there isnt much data on there that I can't get again...some but not a huge deal. Thanks for the help guys.

wayliff · 12-25-2008, 01:12 PM

As bad as this may sound, why don't you let it drop again from about 1 foot and/or give it a good slap?...perhaps that may make it work again...long enough to get your data. It may be worth a try.

I have read about these methods in data recovery articles - where it is indicated that the data is not critical and the hard drive stopped spinning because it fell or there's clicking...but YMMV and you're on your own with this.

No guarantees.

12-19-2008, 10:50 AM	#1 (permalink)
y2j514 Registered User Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 3 OS: 32-bit Vista Ultimate	Replacing the "plates" inside the HDD Ok so I was using my Maxtor OneTouch Plus 4 1 TB HDD the other day. I was transferring something from my laptop to it when I accidently moved and knocked it to the ground. It fell about 4 feet and there was no visible damage to the harddrive. However, after that it refuses to work. I don't even hear it spin up. I opened up the enclosure and used another SATA HDD in the enclosure and that works fine. So I know the problem is with the HDD. I plugged the HDD directly into my desktop computer and when i go into diskmgmt.msc it sees a harddrive, but it says it is not initialized, I try to initialize it says its write protected. In bios it can't even detect how many heads or cylinders or the size of the HDD. Im wondering is the HDD ok, and it just needs to be initialized somehow or is the HDD dead due to it falling. Another thing I was thinking is, if I buy a Seagate 40GB sata HDD, could I potentially open up the harddrives and swap the plates or whatever they are called (the round c/d looking things inside the dvd that are like a mirror) and retrieve my data that way? Thanks for any help in advance, Jeff

12-19-2008, 11:15 AM	#2 (permalink)
wrench97 Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 17,894 OS: XPSP3	Re: Replacing the "plates" inside the HDD Most likely the the arm crashed on the platters when the HD fell and ruined the platters which is what the data is stored on, and no you can't take a hard drive apart as they are assembled in a clean room and sealed any minute particles of dust will cause them to malfunction. __________________ Power Supply and Selection

12-19-2008, 08:59 PM	#3 (permalink)
linderman Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 20,402 OS: win 2000 pro / Win XP pro My System	Re: Replacing the "plates" inside the HDD definetly CAN NOT be done !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! thats a guarantee other than a drive recovery business with the tools and clean room and "donor" drives for parts __________________ Even a Broken Clock is Right Twice a Day ! Power Supply Selection LEARN TO BACK-UP YOUR DATA FREE & EASY YouTube - Runtime Software DriveImage XML tutorial

12-20-2008, 12:43 PM	#4 (permalink)
y2j514 Registered User Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 3 OS: 32-bit Vista Ultimate	Re: Replacing the "plates" inside the HDD so pretty much the only way of me getting my data back is to pay $1000s of dollars to have the the stuff recovered? ---EDIT---- well maybe then there is a way to initialize the drive? The bios and windows see the HDD they just cant tell me how big it is or anything, it says it needs to be initialized. When I try to initialize it, it says its write protected - anyways to possibly remove this? Last edited by y2j514; 12-20-2008 at 12:44 PM.

12-20-2008, 03:34 PM	#5 (permalink)
wrench97 Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 17,894 OS: XPSP3	Re: Replacing the "plates" inside the HDD It won't initialize most likely because the heads are stuck on the platters. __________________ Power Supply and Selection

12-21-2008, 05:38 PM	#7 (permalink)
y2j514 Registered User Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 3 OS: 32-bit Vista Ultimate	Re: Replacing the "plates" inside the HDD ok well that sucks. Thankfully, there isnt much data on there that I can't get again...some but not a huge deal. Thanks for the help guys.

12-25-2008, 01:12 PM	#8 (permalink)
wayliff Registered User Join Date: Mar 2002 Posts: 124 OS: Vista Ultimate x64 SP1	Re: Replacing the "plates" inside the HDD As bad as this may sound, why don't you let it drop again from about 1 foot and/or give it a good slap?...perhaps that may make it work again...long enough to get your data. It may be worth a try. I have read about these methods in data recovery articles - where it is indicated that the data is not critical and the hard drive stopped spinning because it fell or there's clicking...but YMMV and you're on your own with this. No guarantees.