helium drive 10tb

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Sebastian york

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Mar 18, 2020, 7:47:34 PM3/18/20
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I was reading the other day that this device can not be recovered. I was able to use a laser CNC that removed the welding and the glue. Now the part where I can not find a donor board. Any help 

Pictures attached to show the way I did it and the model number 

IMG_4095.jpg
IMG_4094.jpg
IMG_4093.jpg
IMG_4092.jpg

compos mentis

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Mar 18, 2020, 8:42:38 PM3/18/20
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I'm confused. Does the drive have an internal fault or a PCB fault, or are you talking about two different drives?

If you have a PCB fault, then there may be a simple repair. There is plenty of information at hddoracle.com. I have also written several tools to parse the ROMs.

Can you upload a photo of the PCB?

Sebastian york

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Mar 18, 2020, 8:51:11 PM3/18/20
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Once it’s connected it makes a sound like it’s trying to spin. Pcb is fully functional. I think it has to do with the motor or the head is stuck 

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On Mar 18, 2020, at 19:42, compos mentis <pbzcbf...@gmail.com> wrote:


I'm confused. Does the drive have an internal fault or a PCB fault, or are you talking about two different drives?

If you have a PCB fault, then there may be a simple repair. There is plenty of information at hddoracle.com. I have also written several tools to parse the ROMs.

Can you upload a photo of the PCB?

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compos mentis

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Mar 18, 2020, 8:57:14 PM3/18/20
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I've seen several threads at HDD Guru where people have experienced stiction faults with these drives. I don't know if anyone ever solved the case.

Desert Data Recovery

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Mar 18, 2020, 9:40:28 PM3/18/20
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What does the inside of the drive look like after the CNC machine did its work?

On Wed, Mar 18, 2020, 5:57 PM compos mentis <pbzcbf...@gmail.com> wrote:
I've seen several threads at HDD Guru where people have experienced stiction faults with these drives. I don't know if anyone ever solved the case.

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Sebastian york

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Mar 18, 2020, 11:04:17 PM3/18/20
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I took it apart but I can not find a donor 

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On Mar 18, 2020, at 19:57, compos mentis <pbzcbf...@gmail.com> wrote:


I've seen several threads at HDD Guru where people have experienced stiction faults with these drives. I don't know if anyone ever solved the case.

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Sebastian york

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Mar 18, 2020, 11:04:49 PM3/18/20
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It did work after the cnc, normal look inside 

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On Mar 18, 2020, at 20:40, Desert Data Recovery <t...@desertdatarecovery.com> wrote:



compos mentis

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Mar 18, 2020, 11:10:39 PM3/18/20
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So you managed to unstick the heads???

wayne horner

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Mar 19, 2020, 1:59:04 AM3/19/20
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it wont work in air

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Sebastian york

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Mar 19, 2020, 11:06:24 AM3/19/20
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Even in a dust free room ?

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On Mar 19, 2020, at 00:59, wayne horner <waynea...@gmail.com> wrote:



t...@desertdatarecovery.com

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Mar 19, 2020, 11:24:05 AM3/19/20
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Its not the fact its dust free. The HDD is filled with Helium which is one of the smallest molecule gases on earth. It is filled with Helium as it is much thinner than air and therefore reduces the vibrations within the drive and allows for thinner platters, therefore allowing for more platters in a 3.5” drive (more capacity) and a lower fly height over the media. The drive is sealed to prevent the gas from escaping.

 

 

Tim Homer - Lead Engineer

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sebh...@gmail.com

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Mar 19, 2020, 12:01:40 PM3/19/20
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Tim, though gas Is out nothing can be retrieved?

t...@desertdatarecovery.com

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Mar 19, 2020, 12:13:33 PM3/19/20
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That is a million dollar question. Up until recently the general consensus was that they are not recoverable. However there are now very experiences DR engineers who are beginning to work with them. However rates of recovery I suspect are very low. You cannot work with FW on these drive either as they are locked, so any attempt to ‘massage’ the FW to help the drive read is also not possible.

 

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Alandata Recovery

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Mar 19, 2020, 1:47:53 PM3/19/20
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air is too thick
it causes the heads to fly too high and they cant read
you would need to replace the air with helium

so...
build a box
pump it full of helium
cross fingers...




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jol qwerr

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Mar 19, 2020, 3:12:15 PM3/19/20
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so...
build a box
pump it full of helium
cross fingers...

Any1 ever tried it
I was thing about that

jol qwerr

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Mar 19, 2020, 3:13:05 PM3/19/20
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Thinking*

marcos

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Mar 23, 2020, 1:35:24 PM3/23/20
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Why dont you send us a dump of your ROM?

On 3/19/20 12:13 PM, jol qwerr wrote:

Thinking*

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compos mentis

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Mar 23, 2020, 4:36:05 PM3/23/20
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Wouldn't you need to run the drive with its cover on? If so, then this means that you would need to purge the air from inside.

t...@desertdatarecovery.com

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Mar 23, 2020, 4:46:08 PM3/23/20
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Possibly not. If you could find out the initial pressure inside the drive as a starting point, you could make a guesses on the increase in pressure from a spinning drive (from a HDD taking into account the thinner gas of helium) and pressurize the box to be the same. If you could get it to work, you could change pressure settings and see how the read speed of the drive reacts.

 

Tim Homer - Lead Engineer

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From: datarecovery...@googlegroups.com <datarecovery...@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of compos mentis
Sent: Monday, March 23, 2020 1:36 PM
To: DataRecoveryCertification <datarecovery...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: helium drive 10tb

 

Wouldn't you need to run the drive with its cover on? If so, then this means that you would need to purge the air from inside.

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Alandata Recovery

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Mar 23, 2020, 5:03:27 PM3/23/20
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the drive has an outer cover that seals in the gas
and then an inner lid that looks like a normal hitachi lid

I dont think that it need to be pressurized...

heres the inner lid
the outer lid can be opened like a can  with a sharp knife (like a can opener)

image.png

marcos

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Mar 23, 2020, 5:41:27 PM3/23/20
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I do not think the helium in the hard drive is pressurized. They actually use helium to decrease the internal pressure and hence drag. If they wanted higher drag, they could use some other gas ...

I think it would be safe to fill the chamber with helium to match normal conditions.

You can make an experiment with a donor (~$250?).

t...@desertdatarecovery.com

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Mar 23, 2020, 5:45:49 PM3/23/20
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When a hard drive starts spinning it creates its own internal pressure. I totally agree that pressure will be less than air, but it is still pressure.

 

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image001.png

wayne horner

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Mar 23, 2020, 5:51:47 PM3/23/20
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heads a little aerodynamically shaped wings
the spinning platters are covered with a sticky boundary layer of air
the heads skim on this layer
the drives have vent holes to equalize pressure with the atmosphere
if there was not a vent hole
then changes in atmospheric pressure could press the lid into the hub
like from being in an airplane
or the mountains
or barometric pressure changes from weather

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t...@desertdatarecovery.com

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Mar 23, 2020, 5:55:22 PM3/23/20
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Okay I will cede to your experience.

 

Tim Homer - Lead Engineer

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image001.png

t...@desertdatarecovery.com

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Mar 23, 2020, 5:55:53 PM3/23/20
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However, the helium drive is sealed……..

 

Tim Homer - Lead Engineer

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image001.png

wayne horner

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Mar 23, 2020, 5:59:52 PM3/23/20
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yes
thus the inner and outer lid
with a space to allow for pressure to press on the outer

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wayne horner

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Mar 23, 2020, 6:01:01 PM3/23/20
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or maybe its just stiff enough to not be a problem
if there is a hub screw then that would help stabilize it

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t...@desertdatarecovery.com

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Mar 23, 2020, 6:03:48 PM3/23/20
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So are you now agreeing there is pressure in these helium drives 😊

image001.png

marcos

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Mar 23, 2020, 6:07:55 PM3/23/20
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In any case, I bet a chamber filled with helium at 68F and 1atm will do the trick and allow the drive to spin.

Do you have a chamber?

marcos

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Mar 23, 2020, 6:15:29 PM3/23/20
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Though once the drive is unsealed and spinning, T will increase within the drive, P too, besides fluid dynamics effects, and probably push some gas outside. You will need the container having the same conditions (P,T) as when the drive is spinning.

Quite an interesting problem.

compos mentis

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Mar 24, 2020, 1:15:42 AM3/24/20
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I would think that the helium pressure would be 1 ATM when the drive is sealed, just like an air drive. The fly height would be determined by the design of the slider. Is there any reason why the manufacturer needs to do it differently?

As for the pressure increasing when the drive is spinning, that only makes sense if you are referring to the aerodynamic pressure under the slider. The pressure inside the drive doesn't vary, unless the HDA temperature seriously increases. That's Gay-Lussac's Law, ie the pressure of a gas is inversely proportional to its temperature when the volume is kept constant.

P/T = k  (where k is a constant)

So if the temperature increase from 25C to 50C, the pressure increases by 323K / 298K = 1.08.

dradra

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Mar 24, 2020, 1:55:45 AM3/24/20
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Newb question but how are these helium drives even charged with the gas during the manufacturing process? Is there a port somewhere with a valve?

 

From: datarecovery...@googlegroups.com [mailto:datarecovery...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of compos mentis
Sent: Tuesday, 24 March 2020 2:46 PM
To: DataRecoveryCertification
Subject: Re: helium drive 10tb

 

I would think that the helium pressure would be 1 ATM when the drive is sealed, just like an air drive. The fly height would be determined by the design of the slider. Is there any reason why the manufacturer needs to do it differently?

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Alandata Recovery

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Mar 24, 2020, 2:29:32 AM3/24/20
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yes
there is a port in the outer lid to charge the drive
one of their biggest challenges was getting a reliable seal
helium isnt easy to keep contained


dradra

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Mar 24, 2020, 3:04:59 AM3/24/20
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Ok cheers.

 

I take it the port will be much like a one way valve. To my understanding the helium reduces the load on the spindle motor so it requires less energy to spin more platters. I wonder if that is a green approach or necessary due to additional weight from more platters. Although I read somewhere they changed the platter density to that similar to a 2.5in HDD, so thinner more lightweight platters should cancel out any difference I would think. As someone mentioned previous it would be interesting to see if the spindle will still power up with air. Have you tried that yet? I am sorry I do think someone asked that earlier but not sure what the outcome was.

 

I am also wondering will the absence of helium have an impact on the fly height of the sliders to the platter?

 

A chamber as Marcos (if memory serves) mentioned seems like the way, unless the lid could be sealed back down with Devcon or some sort of epoxy. On that note I wonder if hot glue could be used or would the pressure still be too much? I guess we are only talking about a temporary seal just long enough to get the data.

 

Interesting times. Best of luck with it. Will be good to see how you go.

Amarbir[CDR-Labs]

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Mar 24, 2020, 4:43:43 AM3/24/20
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Hello,
    Few days ago tim had a post on these drives  ,on his facebook post  ,I was the one who talked about fly height ,Fly height control should be embedded into the firmware  ,People who do drive refurb and have access to selfscan resources do know that the drive at one time calibrates its head and writes those parameters to ROM i suppose ,So if we can tweak those a bit it would be helpful .Might be a hole drilled on the side of the HDD HDA that has ribbon cable of The Heads Connector And Then Connect a Value there ,Inject helium with what ever pressure to maintain

t...@desertdatarecovery.com

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Mar 24, 2020, 10:20:52 AM3/24/20
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FWIU (correct me please if I have this wrong), helium reduces the amount of turbulence in the drive caused by the airflow as the platters spin. Helium therefore reduces the vibration within the drive and allows for thinner platters (ie more platters for the given space, therefore more storage space).

 

Tim Homer - Lead Engineer

Desert Data Recovery

t...@desertdatarecovery.com

www.desertdatarecovery.com

 

From: datarecovery...@googlegroups.com <datarecovery...@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of dradra
Sent: Tuesday, March 24, 2020 12:05 AM
To: datarecovery...@googlegroups.com
Subject: RE: helium drive 10tb

 

Ok cheers.

compos mentis

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Mar 24, 2020, 3:16:58 PM3/24/20
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"…  the use of a higher number of thinner disks [in air drives] is not possible because the windage induces turbulence and makes 7200-RPM tracking impossible at the desired TPIs. The only way to reduce windage in air-filled HDDs is to significantly lower the spindle speed (RPM). However, the largest part of the business-critical market is not willing to accept lower RPMs due to the performance and throughput loss. This means that helium HDD technology is the only viable path forward for delivering higher capacities because it will allow for an increased number of thinner disks."

marcos

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Mar 24, 2020, 4:56:13 PM3/24/20
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I fully agree with Compos that the pressure within the drive when the drive is off should be 1 atm at room temperature.  It does not make much sense to increase the gas density in the drive if what you want is to reduce drag and turbulence. As well, it would make it more expensive to reduce or increase the gas density during manufacture.

Now, if the drive is unsealed, once it starts spinning it will generate heat and the gas pressure within the drive will locally increase. There will be a gas and T flow towards the outside (which is at a lower pressure).

That is why the whole containing vessel should have a slightly higher pressure (as Compos mentioned, 1.08Atm - "or so"). A pressure increase delta of 0.08 over 1 atm is basically about a 10% and might be significant for the gas dynamics within the drive. The fluid dynamics of the spinning disk are beyond what I am willing to undertake today, though.

I also see it could be necessary to reassemble the drive and try to reseal it even if not completely possible in order to make the pressure exchange between the containing vessel and the drive a quasi-static process.

A containing vessel with a slightly higher gas pressure (either more gas or just in a heat bath) should do the trick. Because you don't want to see the heads crash on your precious platter if something goes wrong, I recommend trying first with an unsealed and resealed donor.

I think we might be developing helium HDDs recoveries here, guys. Let's keep on discussing, it is very valuable topic.

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Alandata Recovery

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Mar 24, 2020, 8:02:58 PM3/24/20
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so I never saw a response as to the original problem

was it stiction ?

did you unstick?

what happened then?

Did you spin it up ?

My guess is that it would act like it couldn t read anything
no recalling
just heads sweeping the platters trying to locate servo
and then spin down

You could just put the drive in a zip lock bag.
Cut holes for the cables
tape them sealed
cut a hole for a rubber hose and seal it.
Suck out all the air.
Get a can of baloon helium
suck in helium
say funny things...
pump zip lock up with helium
residual air will dilute the helium a little
so may need to spin drive to mix air
maybe empty and refill with helium

This would be a cheap lowcost experiment to see if its at all feasible.
If the drive attempts to recalibrate then its at least trying to read servo.


refill bag with helium

marcos

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Mar 24, 2020, 8:40:41 PM3/24/20
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No need to use a ziplock bag. The easiest way to do it is this. I am not kidding.

Put the drive in a box (called vessel from now on) with a hole in the top and a hole in the bottom. Throw the sata cables through the bottom hole.

Attach your helium source to the top hole and make sure this one is sealed.

Start blowing helium in. The helium density is way lower than air density so it will "float" on top of the air layer. The more helium you blow in, the less space for air there will be. And therefore, air will be pushed away through the bottom hole. Try to do it slowly to avoid turbulence within the vessel.

After a few minutes blowing helium in, you can breath some "gas" from the bottom hole and say "Don’t worry, if Plan A doesn’t work, there are 25 more letters in the alphabet.".

If it comes out with a funny voice, there you go, your vessel is mostly filled with helium. You can calculate the pressure inside the vessel with the Bernoulli eqs, and regulate the helium flow to match whatever pressure you like. Or put a barometer inside the vessel, that would also work ...

marcos

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Mar 24, 2020, 8:47:21 PM3/24/20
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One important note!

Make sure the drive is facing down or sideways or air will "stay" stay on any basin shaped part, as if it was water. If it is sideways or facing down, air will "sink" in the helium layer and go away.

compos mentis

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Mar 24, 2020, 9:32:13 PM3/24/20
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Oops, that should be "the pressure of a gas is proportional to its temperature".

On Tuesday, March 24, 2020 at 4:15:42 PM UTC+11, compos mentis wrote:

the pressure of a gas is inversely proportional to its temperature ..

wayne horner

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Mar 25, 2020, 2:17:16 AM3/25/20
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i like that !
get a costco plastic shoe box
set the drive inside
elevate it about half way up
fill box with helium
turn drive upside down
in order to dump out the heavy 'air'
thats simple
i like it

pressure is not a problem

static pressure inside the drive is irrelevant

dynamic aerodynamic pressures from spinning mechanics will be unchanged

so
there is local static pressure
this is the atmosphere as we feel now 15 pounds per square inch
you feel that right?

and there are local aerodynamic pressures
created by turbulence and wind
so if i blow through a straw at my hand then I am creating a local aerodynamic pressure
this is different from the long term static pressure created by the atmoshphere

lets not confuse these 2 different types or ''pressure'



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wayne horner

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Mar 25, 2020, 2:44:30 AM3/25/20
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so here is a fun thought experiment for you.... 

you are driving in your car

hanging from your cars mirror is a necklace

in your hand is a helium filled balloon on a string

its exactly the same as the necklace but instead of hanging down its hanging up...

you make sharp right turn

what happens? 

the car has momentum

the balloon has momentum

you have momentum

all are travelling in the forward direction

you turn the cars wheels to the right

friction with the road forces the car to the right  

what does the necklace do ?

What does the balloon do?

The reasons are not the same.



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marcos

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Mar 25, 2020, 1:58:34 PM3/25/20
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Lift and drag on the aerofoil (the reading headss) both depend on the density of the surrounding gas. In that regard you are right that the vessel static pressure is not directly involved.

Now, we have a poorly sealed vessel (so there is matter exchange with the medium), there is a temperature condition in the boundary (so there is heat exchange), a heat source within the vessel (the spinning drive), and helium is a compressible fluid.

Density of gases changes with pressure and temperature because gases are compressible fluids. When pressure increases molecules come closer to each other and density increases. When pressure drops, molecules of gases become free to expand and get away from each other and density decreases. Since in case of gases pressure and temperature are proportional to each other for a given volume, temperature also causes a change in the density.

The physics in such a system might be different from the physics of a sealed drive and therefore pressure and temperature conditions might be relevant with regards to gas density, hence your drag and lift might vary and the drive read slowly or something else. Maybe the effect on gas density is negligible, maybe not.

I would try the experiment with a donor drive first, just for precaution.

t...@desertdatarecovery.com

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Mar 25, 2020, 3:11:32 PM3/25/20
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Are we overthinking this. If there is a valve (presumably one-way) to push helium into the chassis, wouldn’t that be the best way to approach it. No vessel needed. If the drive is sealed apart from a small gap in the lid, then injecting helium would force the air out (have the drive upside down as suggested). Then seal the gap?  

 

Tim Homer - Lead Engineer

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t...@desertdatarecovery.com

www.desertdatarecovery.com

 

From: datarecovery...@googlegroups.com <datarecovery...@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of marcos
Sent: Wednesday, March 25, 2020 10:58 AM
To: datarecovery...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: helium drive 10tb

 

Lift and drag on the aerofoil (the reading headss) both depend on the density of the surrounding gas. In that regard you are right that the vessel static pressure is not directly involved.

wayne horner

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Mar 25, 2020, 7:25:22 PM3/25/20
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so when the car turns right

the hanging necklace swings left

but the balloon on a string swings right

its kinda freaky to watch - try it sometime.

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t...@desertdatarecovery.com

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Mar 25, 2020, 7:35:57 PM3/25/20
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The weight of the necklace which is not affected by pressure swings away from the turn (centrifugal force).

The balloon is pushed the opposite way as the air pressure in the car moves away from the turn.

I feel like I am on Jeopardy……

 

Tim Homer - Lead Engineer

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Carlos Marmolejos

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Mar 24, 2022, 9:23:07 AM3/24/22
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Hi guys, today I have the same problem, stuck heads. 
1. Open the drive , let the Helium go away
2. Unstuck heads
3. Close Drive
4. Power on . With a pc3000 portable , it gets an ID, but now the drive is Security Locked, Anyone have faced this problem?. Acelab says they are working on it, but it's not ready yet.!!
image.png



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dararecoveryrd

t...@desertdatarecovery.com

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Mar 24, 2022, 11:29:47 AM3/24/22
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That message in the utility usually means the drive is not supported yet.

 

Tim Homer - Lead Engineer

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From: datarecovery...@googlegroups.com <datarecovery...@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of Carlos Marmolejos
Sent: Thursday, March 24, 2022 6:23 AM
To: datarecovery...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: helium drive 10tb

 

Hi guys, today I have the same problem, stuck heads. 

1. Open the drive , let the Helium go away

2. Unstuck heads

3. Close Drive

4. Power on . With a pc3000 portable , it gets an ID, but now the drive is Security Locked, Anyone have faced this problem?. Acelab says they are working on it, but it's not ready yet.!!

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Luke Coughey

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Mar 24, 2022, 11:38:06 AM3/24/22
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I've had some of these "security locked" helium filled drives that didn't have internal issues, but would not read LBA at all.  The best I could figure is that the hard drive was locked to the original USB bridge which was discarded by the client.

Luke Coughey
CEO
Recovery Force Inc

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Carlos Marmolejos

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Mar 24, 2022, 12:14:30 PM3/24/22
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In this case, I also have the USB bridge, and the drive keeps locked. It's not mounting even with the original enclosure....



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pbzcbf...@gmail.com

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Mar 24, 2022, 12:47:33 PM3/24/22
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You didn't say whether the drive spins up without helium. It could be that the helium sensor is triggering the lockdown.

pbzcbf...@gmail.com

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Mar 24, 2022, 12:56:26 PM3/24/22
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Can you show us a photo of the inside of the HDA? Can you see the helium sensor? Would it be possible to connect a helium sensor from another drive via fly wires, or does the sensor's output pass through the preamp?

Carlos Marmolejos

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Mar 24, 2022, 4:32:18 PM3/24/22
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There is no sensor...  I'm buying a donor today, will do a lot of tests with the donor , and will share the results ....

On Thu, Mar 24, 2022 at 12:56 PM pbzcbf...@gmail.com <pbzcbf...@gmail.com> wrote:
Can you show us a photo of the inside of the HDA? Can you see the helium sensor? Would it be possible to connect a helium sensor from another drive via fly wires, or does the sensor's output pass through the preamp?

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pbzcbf...@gmail.com

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Mar 24, 2022, 7:56:43 PM3/24/22
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All the docs from WD and Seagate talk about a sensor. WD drives use a thermistor whereas Seagate's drives have a MEMS sensor, if the docs are correct.

In the WD/HGST case the thermistor is heated with a fixed current and then the resistance of the thermistor is monitored. When the thermistor is heated, its resistance changes significantly. The firmware calculates how long it takes for the resistance to return to a certain level as the sensor cools. The more helium that is present, the faster the cooling.

We know that drives sense the internal temperature via the preamp. Perhaps the same sensor is used for helium sensing?

It's too late now, but I wonder if one could use an unconventional approach when dealing with stiction cases in helium drives. Since there is no moisture in a sealed He environment, and therefore zero risk of condensation, could we place the drive in the freezer? Does cold temperature have any effect on stiction?


pbzcbf...@gmail.com

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Mar 24, 2022, 8:06:31 PM3/24/22
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... or remove the PCB and subject the HDA to an ultrasonic bath?

pbzcbf...@gmail.com

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Mar 24, 2022, 8:13:17 PM3/24/22
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See attribute 22 (helium level) in this SMART report for a WD100EMAZ-00WJTA0:

Carlos Eljuri

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Mar 25, 2022, 10:05:36 AM3/25/22
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Hi I have one question, when the drive is ready in PC3000 the motor still spin?

If the motor still spin  you can try to clone with parted magic, you cant control anything about the heads or sectors but maybe you can clone the entre drive

Best regards

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t...@desertdatarecovery.com

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Mar 25, 2022, 10:54:02 AM3/25/22
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So you are recommending he take the drive off PC-3000, one of the best professional data recovery hardware/software combinations in the world and try Parted Magic instead…….

 

Tim Homer - Lead Engineer

Desert Data Recovery

t...@desertdatarecovery.com

www.desertdatarecovery.com

 

From: datarecovery...@googlegroups.com <datarecovery...@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of Carlos Eljuri
Sent: Thursday, March 24, 2022 6:36 AM
To: datarecovery...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: helium drive 10tb

 

Hi I have one question, when the drive is ready in PC3000 the motor still spin?

 

If the motor still spin  you can try to clone with parted magic, you cant control anything about the heads or sectors but maybe you can clone the entre drive

 

Best regards

El jue, 24 mar 2022 14:23, Carlos Marmolejos <cmarm...@gmail.com> escribió:

Hi guys, today I have the same problem, stuck heads. 

1. Open the drive , let the Helium go away

2. Unstuck heads

3. Close Drive

4. Power on . With a pc3000 portable , it gets an ID, but now the drive is Security Locked, Anyone have faced this problem?. Acelab says they are working on it, but it's not ready yet.!!

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Image removed by sender.Image removed by sender.Image removed by sender.Image removed by sender.Image removed by sender.Image removed by sender. dararecoveryrd

 

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Carlos Marmolejos

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Mar 25, 2022, 11:05:20 AM3/25/22
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yes motor spin, but HDD locked can't access any lba.....



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DiskTuna

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Mar 25, 2022, 12:04:39 PM3/25/22
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or run spinrite

LarrySabo

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Mar 26, 2022, 8:56:05 AM3/26/22
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" or run spinrite"  Hahahaha!

jpv...@gmail.com

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Mar 26, 2022, 9:04:43 AM3/26/22
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------ Original Message ------
From: "LarrySabo" <larr...@gmail.com>
To: "DataRecoveryCertification" <datarecovery...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: 3/26/2022 1:56:04 PM
Subject: Re: helium drive 10tb

" or run spinrite"  Hahahaha!

;-)




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pbzcbf...@gmail.com

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Mar 26, 2022, 12:09:38 PM3/26/22
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https://forum.hddguru.com/viewtopic.php?p=296433#p296433

"I had a Seagate 12TB Helium case, device dropped, HSA clicking.... It was under warranty, sent it to Seagate labs, they recovered data."

Paulo Braga

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Mar 26, 2022, 12:33:55 PM3/26/22
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🤔 Do you believe it? 

Em sáb., 26 de mar. de 2022 às 16:09, pbzcbf...@gmail.com <pbzcbf...@gmail.com> escreveu:
https://forum.hddguru.com/viewtopic.php?p=296433#p296433

"I had a Seagate 12TB Helium case, device dropped, HSA clicking.... It was under warranty, sent it to Seagate labs, they recovered data."

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pbzcbf...@gmail.com

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Mar 29, 2022, 12:16:57 PM3/29/22
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Seagate's data return policy is interesting. Does anyone protect their users' data when sending it via mail?

"It was under warranty (I had to argue a long time as they were telling me it was not but the drive was from July 2020 and they give three years warranty), so it was free. I only had to pay for customs when they returned the drive with the data. Seagate doesn't offer DR for drive without warranty, their Lab in Netherlands is only to cover the "DR rescue 3 years program. When you sign the contract, you accept that if the DR is successful, they will keep and destroy the drive... so I couldn't get it back... If they fail, you can ask the get the drive back.

The drive was clicking, it was dropped from a table. They told me they recovered 99.5% of the data. They didn't provide file list and I couldn't check what they recovered before they sent the drive... it looks like they did a good job, they got 8TB of data. I told them to keep the drive until I confirm it was 100% ok.

When I shipped patient drive, they send me a new 12 TB to compensate (I had to pay customs 33 CHF) and they returned data on 10 TB HDD with bitlocker enabled and pw was sent by email.
So now I have 12 TB + 10 TB + DATA for 70 USD (customs) but I don't have patient drive to check what they did."

Carlos Marmolejos

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Apr 8, 2022, 12:17:40 PM4/8/22
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Hi there, finally confirming the myth, I buy a NEW donor, 100% working, 
1. Open the drive, 
2. Close the drive
3. Drive gets ready, but never again lba acces
4. Conclucion, Helium its a fact, hope in the future someone develops a solution,

Best regards.  my loss, your gain...✌🕵😎😀

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Apr 8, 2022, 2:50:45 PM4/8/22
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Can you show us photos of the innards?

When the drive spins up, does it click? If not, then this would suggest that it is able to read the SA. If it is able to read the SA, then perhaps it is locking out the UA due to lack of helium. 

Can you see the SMART attributes? This would confirm SA access.

Viktor Gyory

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Apr 8, 2022, 11:50:58 PM4/8/22
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in SMART there is "helium level" feature....wondering if there is some way to "trick/bypass " the helium sensor.. either hardware or  FW solution.. 

did you notice any, unusual sensors inside of drive?  perhabs could be on HSA near pre-amp

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Claude Barras

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Apr 9, 2022, 7:15:02 AM4/9/22
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Can you specify all details of HDD please (Brand, model...). Thanks

wayne horner

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Apr 9, 2022, 10:47:58 AM4/9/22
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I would expect that the higher density air will make the heads fly higher and unable to read the surface



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