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Seagate GoFlex Heads/Sector problem.

9011 Views 4 Replies 3 Participants Last post by  psychoaki, 
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Hi there,
at first, I would like to apologize for all my questions and my bad english. I am a total beginner, so please be patient.
I have a Seagate GoFlex Pro 750 GB (PN 9ZR8N2-500, SN: NA0H3080) which does not start anymore when I connect it to my computer (MacBook Pro, running on MacOSX 10.6.7 and Windows XP (via Bootcamp).
I am not sure if the hard disk is partitioned or not. I did not create a partition but I dont know if the hard disk has a "hidden" partition (kind of system partition). What I want to say is that I did not change anything since I bought the hard disk.
I ran test disk with the option "Non partitioned media" and it gave me that output:

Code: 
Hard disk list
Disk /dev/disk2 - 750 GB / 698 GiB - CHS 1465149168 1 1, sector size=512
Disk /dev/rdisk2 - 750 GB / 698 GiB - CHS 1465149168 1 1, sector size=512

Partition table type (auto): Intel
Disk /dev/disk2 - 750 GB / 698 GiB
Partition table type: None

Analyse Disk /dev/disk2 - 750 GB / 698 GiB - CHS 1465149168 1 1
Current partition structure:
   P Unknown                        0 1465149167 1465149168

search_part()
Disk /dev/disk2 - 750 GB / 698 GiB - CHS 1465149168 1 1
NTFS at 63/0/1
heads/cylinder 255 (NTFS) != 1 (HD)
sect/track 63 (NTFS) != 1 (HD)
filesystem size           1465144001
sectors_per_cluster       8
mft_lcn                   786432
mftmirr_lcn               91571500
clusters_per_mft_record   -10
clusters_per_index_record 1
     NTFS                          63 1465144063 1465144001 [FreeAgent GoFlex Drive]
     NTFS, 750 GB / 698 GiB

Results
   P NTFS                          63 1465144063 1465144001 [FreeAgent GoFlex Drive]
     NTFS, 750 GB / 698 GiB

interface_write()
   P NTFS                          63 1465144063 1465144001 [FreeAgent GoFlex Drive]
 
Write isn't available because the partition table type "None" has been selected.

TestDisk exited normally.
After that I ran TestDisk again with the option of an Intel/PC Type partition and I received this logfile.

Code: 
Hard disk list
Disk /dev/disk2 - 750 GB / 698 GiB - CHS 1465149168 1 1, sector size=512
Disk /dev/rdisk2 - 750 GB / 698 GiB - CHS 1465149168 1 1, sector size=512

Partition table type (auto): Intel
Disk /dev/disk2 - 750 GB / 698 GiB
Partition table type: Intel

Analyse Disk /dev/disk2 - 750 GB / 698 GiB - CHS 1465149168 1 1
Geometry from i386 MBR: head=255 sector=62
BAD_RS LBA=63 1
NTFS at 63/0/1
heads/cylinder 255 (NTFS) != 1 (HD)
sect/track 63 (NTFS) != 1 (HD)
get_geometry_from_list_part_aux head=1 nbr=2
Current partition structure:
Warning: Incorrect number of heads/cylinder 255 (NTFS) != 1 (HD)
Warning: Incorrect number of sectors per track 63 (NTFS) != 1 (HD)
 1 P HPFS - NTFS                   63 1465144063 1465144001 [FreeAgent GoFlex Drive]

Warning: Bad ending sector (CHS and LBA don't match)
No partition is bootable
Ask the user for vista mode
Allow partial last cylinder : No
search_vista_part: 0

search_part()
Disk /dev/disk2 - 750 GB / 698 GiB - CHS 1465149168 1 1
NTFS at 63/0/1
heads/cylinder 255 (NTFS) != 1 (HD)
sect/track 63 (NTFS) != 1 (HD)
filesystem size           1465144001
sectors_per_cluster       8
mft_lcn                   786432
mftmirr_lcn               91571500
clusters_per_mft_record   -10
clusters_per_index_record 1
     HPFS - NTFS                   63 1465144063 1465144001 [FreeAgent GoFlex Drive]
     NTFS, 750 GB / 698 GiB
get_geometry_from_list_part_aux head=1 nbr=2

Results
   * HPFS - NTFS                   63 1465144063 1465144001 [FreeAgent GoFlex Drive]
     NTFS, 750 GB / 698 GiB

interface_write()
 1 * HPFS - NTFS                   63 1465144063 1465144001 [FreeAgent GoFlex Drive]
simulate write!

write_mbr_i386: starting...
write_all_log_i386: starting...
No extended partition

TestDisk exited normally.
Could somebody help me please? I do not want to reformat the drive because I have lots of important data on it? Thank you in advance,
Aki
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First of all, every hard disk which is prepared for storing data has to have at least one paritition, since without a partition a hard disk is unusable.

Your Seagate GoFlex is supplied with only one partition, and no hidden ones.

To test the drive in any meaningful way you should use Seagate's own, free diagnostic software called SeaTools for Windows from here:
SeaTools for Windows | Seagate

Install it, plug in your GoFlex drive and start SeaTools.
Select the GoFlex drive in SeaTools and run the long or extended test (not the short test).

If, after the test, SeaTools reports one or more "Failed" messages, I'm afraid the drive has failed and the data is lost. A failed drive is not repairable except by specialist companies. If it is less than 12-months old you should contact Seagate directly for instructions on how to return it for free replacement.
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The drive could have been formatted as FAT32 when it was new thus allowing both the MAC and BootCamp Windows to write to it. Did you use Boot Camp ? I assume the drive spins up as you have run test disk on it. You say in your post "which does not start anymore when I connect it to my computer" Do you mean it doesn't show up on the Apple Desktop ? If the data is important you may want to image / clone the drive before you run any more utilities on it. Work on the clone copy leave the original alone.
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Thank you for the answers. I will download and try SeaTools later and I will keep you informed about that. The drive itself is formatted as NTFS. On the drive is a driver which allows you to use the drive also on a Mac (with read and write permissions). The drive spins up but it does not show up on the Desktop (or on Finder, or in Windows XP). Interestingly, yesterday I plugged the drive into the MacBook Pro of my wife (same model as mine) and the drive worked flawlessly. I could access all data without having any problem. Therefore I thought the problem would be my computer. But as I said, when I boot Windows XP on my laptop I have the same problem as under MacOSX, so it could not be a driver problem (?). And the TestDisk output suggests that there is a Heads/Sector problem.
Does anybody has an idea what the problem could be?

UPDATE: I just tried another external drive (a Western Digital, HTFS formatted) and I have the same problem. The drive does not show up. Unfortunately this drive is my Backup drive, so I can't restore my system. What could be the problem with my computer? The USB ports are working (headset is working on usb).
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UPDATE 2: A Kingston DataTraveler 256MB USB stick is also working on both USB ports. So just the hard drives don't show up. I checked also different cables. I also plugged my Seagate into the FireWire port but also without success...
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