KageRyu's cave

[KageRyu]

One of my 4tb USB drives just tumbled off the desk I work on and is now non-responsive. It was nearly full. I can not afford data recovery from a professional. My Torx 5 screwdriver is among the tools that have been missing since I moved, so I can't open it up myself - even if I knew where the tools were my hands are too shaky and numb for such delicate work. Wind is bad here, coming through gaps and small crevasses in doors and windows. House is cold because I turned thermostat down as I am almost out of oil and the only company the emergency program uses has refused delivery.
Life just keeps kicking me while I'm down...why even try to get up anymore? House still in probate after 7years...legal costs mounting...likely never going to recover money put into it...
-_-

 

[KageRyu]

The drive will not recognize. Plugging it in prompts that a USB device is connected, and depending on which computer (Laptop or Z600) if I go to Manage and Devices it will show a USB device, but no drive, not even a blank or corrupted rive that needs formatting. So the circuit board and USB connectors are fine.
I can hear the drive spinning up... then the dreaded click of doom. This means, best case, the drive heads are stuck, worst case, the drive heads and or platters are damaged. There is no way to know without opening it up.
Opening up a hard drive is generally not something to be done lightly, and not outside a clean room or enclosure. The fact I have so much nerve damage and my hands are shakey and numb does not encourage me either. I did reach out to the only two local data recovery centers I found and neither one of them would touch it because they do not have the facilities to open drives - they only do software recovery (if it were purely a software recovery issue I could do it myself, have plenty of experience at that).
So the drive is essentially a lost cause as things stand. I can not afford to send away to pro data recovery centers, and even though there is some data I really hate to lose (about 5-600gb of 3.5tb), most of what is on the drive is reference images and videos, music, movies, tv shows, cartoons, and mp3's. Not worth the cost of data recovery...but I hat to lose so much. I also don't like the idea of others rummaging through my data. I worked in computer repair, I know how they think.
So, with the drive being essentially dead...might as well learn some new skills.

So tomorrow I will try to build a portable cleanbox out of a see through plastic storage box, duct tape (there is always duct tape involved in DIY), rubber gloves, and a Hippa Filter. This video what inspired me (fundamentally similar to a vacuum chamber for resin in many ways):

Then, after that's done, I will open up the drive and see how bad it is. Hopefully it is stuck heads only, and if I can free them up, I will at least be able to pull some of the data off the drive. After all, it's not like I can kill it more right?
It will look something like this:

Though I will not be messing with taking out the platters or any other components. Just seeing if the stuck drive head can be reset. If the drive heads or the spring arm are damage, it's all over.

 

[Sunfire]

Before you resort to extreme measures, try using it on a linux machine. They are more... I don't want to say forgiving, but linux/unix recognizes peripherals differently and might be able to read it enough for you to copy it.

 

[KageRyu]

Before you resort to extreme measures, try using it on a linux machine. They are more... I don't want to say forgiving, but linux/unix recognizes peripherals differently and might be able to read it enough for you to copy it.

I do not have access to such a machine. I was always too lazy to learn Linux/Unix (and a lot of other things computer related, though I do know quite a bit). I wish I knew linux and had such a machine because I would try. While I do have a Hiren's Boot CD that runs a Linux shell it does not recognize any of my USB drives larger than 2tb.

Even so, the clicking a hard drive makes, especially after a fall, if it is not recognized is usually a universal sign. It usually means an internal problem - best case stuck heads, worst case head and or platter damage.

This better demonstrates the limited interaction I will have once the disk is open (returning heads to parked). If there are any signs of internal damage once open, the drive is a complete loss.
Fixing Dropped USB Drive

 

[KageRyu]

Before you resort to extreme measures, try using it on a linux machine. They are more... I don't want to say forgiving, but linux/unix recognizes peripherals differently and might be able to read it enough for you to copy it.

Ok, will give this a try:
SystemRescue
Will make a bootable USB tonight with that Linux based recovery set and see if it has the tools needed and if it will recognize the damaged drive at all. Though I know very little about linux hopefully I can figure out enough to do what I need.

 

[Sunfire]

Ok, will give this a try:
SystemRescue
Will make a bootable USB tonight with that Linux based recovery set and see if it has the tools needed and if it will recognize the damaged drive at all. Though I know very little about linux hopefully I can figure out enough to do what I need.

There might be a linux group in your area willing to help.

I'm familiar with the horror of a clicking drive, but more than once my hubby has rescued my files off of clicking or otherwise recalcitrant drives by using linux. So it's worth the effort.

 

[KageRyu]

There might be a linux group in your area willing to help.

I really don't know anyone around here... and this may come as a shock, I have a hard time interacting with people - so I am hesitant to try to make new friends. I've grown bitter and reclusive as I have aged. Plus, many people have trouble dealing with my depression (lost a lot of friends from 2004 through 2015 because of it).

I finished making a boot usb, I will test it out in a bit using my backup z600... that means interupting the Christmas Render.

 

[KageRyu]

I have created a bootable Linux based System Rescue and data recovery disk. Now I am trying to free up enough space on a USB HD sufficient to hold the data of the damaged drive if linux does recognize it. I haven't tried yet as I figure I will have one shot if it fires up to pull as much data as I can, so I want to be ready to go from Jump.

Meanwhile, I have gathered pieces needed to construct a clean box and begun construction - so I will hopefully have a clean environment to open up the drive in. Only issue is I can't find my Dremmel... which is making cutting the openings in the plastic more difficult. I may post some photos and a video of the clean box when its done. I do not have a camera or phone stand so it will not be the greatest video.

 

[KageRyu]

Linux did not recognize the device. The device does not connect. This confirms what I was already sure of. Best case, it is a stuck head and can be released and reset. Worst case, there is damage to the head and/or platters. I will not know until I open the drive itself up.

I have finished constructing a clean box. So, tomorrow I will open the drive.

I am trying to prepare for the worst and accept this 4 tb of data is gone.

 

[Sunfire]

Dang I was hoping it would work.

 

[KageRyu]

Opened up device. No significant signs damage internally. Reparked drive heads. Closed it up. Still getting click of death. Still wont recognize in Linux or Windows. In windows it shows up as and uninitialized disk that can not be accessed or initialized due to I/O errors.
4+tb gone
Why does the universe hate me so?

 

[Sunfire]

That is sounding like the FAT table lost weight... too much weight and now the drive hasn't a clue so if it doesn't why should windows and linux have a clue. (Not sure that's what it's still called these days but it's what I learned back when 65 meg was a huge drive.)

 

[Sunfire]

My hubby thinks the drop ruined a chip or two.

 

[KageRyu]

If it were just the fat or partition damage the device would read as unformulated or allocated but physically there. This has to be some sort of Physical damage, likely to head zero or sector 0 which prevents the device from initializing it's internal bios. Hate losing so much. Some is replaceable but I'm not even sure what all I lost. I know it isn't worth the cost of professional drive repair. Swapping platters and heads is beyond my tools and skill set.

 

[Sunfire]

Yeah, but if the controller chip itself was damaged you'd get the errors too.

Not telling you to rush off and replace the chip, there does come a point when you just have to say enough is enough and cut the losses.

 

[KageRyu]

More bad news-

I will be closing my Renderosity Store. I will no longer tolerate the new heavy handed moderation and silencing critics when combined with all of the policy changes for the worst over the past year.

 

[Riccardo]

More bad news-

I will be closing my Renderosity Store. I will no longer tolerate the new heavy handed moderation and silencing critics when combined with all of the policy changes for the worst over the past year.

Sorry about that. Hope you'll find a home for your products; it is always sad when some of them become unavailable...
For instance, I cannot get along (ok, it's a bit exaggerated, I am joking) with the fact that Terai Yuki 2 and the old V4 content by Mihrelle are not available anymore

 

[KageRyu]

I just realized a lot of before/after photo and video evidence pertaining to repairs for this property that is in probate were on that dead drive... that just figures
I might need to consider paying for data recovery... even though most of it isn't really worth recovering, I may need to for those videos and photos. I guess I will star reaching out for quotes this week.

What kills me is none of this would have happened if I never moved - when I had a dedicated computer room and not a hoarder house full of stuff an just a tv table for my laptop.

 

[KageRyu]

Spoke to several experts today. With the details I gave, 3 of 5 are certain it is the drives circuitboard that is damaged. 1 is positive it is a heads and platters issue. The final one would not say without me mailing the drive out for inspection. Price ranges were as horribly high as I expected - none of them would commit to just a circuit replacement if that proved to be all that was needed - all want full data recovery deals.

On the up side - one of the local shops stated that if I found a replacement circuitboard he could swap it out since it does not need the drive to be opened. The price he quoted was very reasonable - though he could not gaurantee that was the issue with the drive or that it would work. I feel before committing to possible data recovery, I will take a shot at finding a circuitboard that matches.

If the circuitboard swap does not work, I will need to consult with my attorney on how losing this evidence will affect the case to determine if it's worth the costs.

 

[KageRyu]

I have a replacement PCB board on order. Won't arrive until after the 26th though.