I recently posted about my cyclic redundancy problems with files on my hard drive. A couple of days after fixing those problems..... my hard drive just died. It's making some nonstop clucking noises like something's stuck and it won't spin... and it won't boot up at all. Tried several times. In the drastic, but likely, event that it's never going to work again (and I've just lost 160GB of data :( :( ), I guess I want to get it replaced.
So.... I bought this Maxtor drive about 7-8 months ago, and I know there's a 1 year warranty. But how do I go about returning it if I threw out the box, receipt, etc...??
I'm really scratching my head.
wmansir
02-08-05, 11:55 PM
As long as you have the serial# you should be able to get service without the receipt.
Go to the Maxtor website and follow this (https://www4.maxtor.com/en/support/service/rma/create/) wizard to make sure the drive is within warranty and get an RMA#. Then just follow the instructions to return the drive.
Autotelik
02-09-05, 12:25 AM
Wow. Thanks!
One question: Is my drive really "dead"? I've tried powering it up several more times and it still makes that dreaded clucking sound and won't work. I tried shaking it (after I took it out of the desktop) and hitting it (gently) and it still won't work. My friends tell me it's gone on to its afterlife. I just wanted to make sure before sending it to Maxtor.... because there's still 150+ GB of stuff on it. :(:(:(
LolaRennt
02-09-05, 09:22 AM
Some things that you could try (be careful, because you don't want to destroy your warranty):
1. Rather than shaking the HD, try hitting it on the side with the rubber handle of a screwdriver. Since you say it doesn't spin, this could dislodge whatever is blocking it, and it might spin up again.
2. Put the HD in the freezer for a couple of hours. Get is out of the freezer, and immediately hook it up as a slave in your machine.
Either way, should you get the HD to run again, try and copy the data immediately. Before you hook up the HD, install some recovery software, so you don't waste time doing that when the crippled HD is actually spinning.
Good luck!
crankyman
02-09-05, 10:13 AM
and then post your results here as i've never heard of either of those things working on a modern hard drive. would be nice in your case.....
kms_md
02-09-05, 10:21 AM
the freeware thread at the top of the forum has a good freeware data recovery program (? pc inspector or something similar). if you get your drive to spin up, you can try this to recover some data. if you cannot access it this way, you are looking at several hundred dollars minimum for a data recovery service.
kms
X
02-09-05, 10:27 AM
and then post your results here as i've never heard of either of those things working on a modern hard drive. would be nice in your case.....The freezer trick has worked several times for me. Most recently on a WD 250GB drive that would not start up properly. It made the clunking sound which I think was the spindle not being able to get to a proper speed correctly and the heads trying to recalibrate a few times before it gave up and spun down.
Make sure you put it in a plastic bag to keep condensation down. You don't want water on it when you turn it on.
LolaRennt
02-09-05, 11:36 AM
and then post your results here as i've never heard of either of those things working on a modern hard drive. would be nice in your case.....
I hear you. It does sound like something from a stupid scifi movie, but in (albeit rare) cases, it does work.
The "screwdriver" trick has actually helped me about 3 to 4 times.
The freezer trick only worked once, and I was agreably surprized to get my data back.
My thinking is: It is a far shot, but if all else fails, why not try?
crankyman
02-09-05, 11:43 AM
sure....worth a try!
i have had a scsi drive become readable after tapping it on a desk.......but that was one in about 100 i've tried :lol:
i would think the freezer would do more harm than good.....condensation and all...
twikoff
02-09-05, 12:10 PM
freezer trick is good when it starts making that clunking/clacking noise
Ive done it many times, and its worked pretty well.. at least to allow me enough time to backup my data..
Its a drive your looking to have replaced, not one you want long term.. the Freezer trick is only to get it to a point where you can try and recover some of your data.
crankyman
02-09-05, 01:06 PM
crap! guess i should get my hdd out of the deep freezer. it's next to the popcicles. mmmm. cherry.
twikoff
02-09-05, 04:02 PM
put some cherry koolaid in a baggie, put your harddrive in that baggie with it
put the baggie in the freezer for 6 hours
then hook back up to your computer
you get a nice treat to munch on, while your data is copying off that harddrive
:up:
Autotelik
02-09-05, 06:21 PM
Thanks for the suggestions. I'll give 'em a shot, and I'll be gentle too. If no luck, I guess that means I've lost the data and it'll have to be returned.
twikoff
02-09-05, 07:16 PM
Thanks for the suggestions. I'll give 'em a shot.
no problem... oh, and one more suggestion.. if you dont like cherry, you can substitute grape
crankyman
02-09-05, 08:31 PM
grape? dumass.
Autotelik
02-09-05, 10:04 PM
I just took the drive out of the freezer- damn it was COLD! Plugged it in and turned it on...... cluck cluck cluck cluck cluck nonstop again. I hit it on the side with a screwdriver... the clucking stopped for a second, then restarted again. Looks like I can't make it go away permanently.. I almost thought hitting it worked. Sigh.
I did have a nice popsicle though.
X
02-09-05, 10:09 PM
Try it a couple more times as it warms up.
QuAcKeR
02-09-05, 11:29 PM
I used to stick my NES games in the freezer to get them to function properly... never tried it with a hard drive. Any love for the NES freezer trick here? Anyone? Anyone?
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