Seagate F3 g-list issue

[nikl...@neuralearth.io]

Hi everyone,

I am currently taking Scott's distance learning course, and have been working as a data recovery tech for barely a year now.  I have been learning on my own without consistent help or anything other than Googlefu skills, and I almost forgot to use this group when I am stuck! 

So, here is the issue I am having with a client's Seagate F3 (Grenada) drive, when using the PC3000--

The drive is stuck in "pending reallocate mode", and I have tried the following commands to fix/bypass this : F"RWRecoveryFlags",01,22

                                                                                                                                                            F"BGMSFlags",00,22

                                                                                                                                                            F"PerformanceFlags",043C,22

In addition to disabling the degraded head, none of those commands have worked.  The degraded head has a value of 00FE, and the rest are between 010A and 0161 (probably superfluous information.. ) I think it is safe to say that the head is kaput, and I am guessing at this point I will end up  having to do a head swap but of course if that is avoidable, I would love to know how.  If any of you have an idea of how to stop these background processes that slow the read via commands, your knowledge would be greatly appreciated!  I am thinking I just don't have the correct ones for this particular drive. 

Also, slight side note...what is the difference between the resident and non-resident g-list? 

Thank you,

Nik

[IT LAND]

HI Nick,

If you've got PC3K, just enter into the utility--> ËDIT HDD ID, and disable all the tick boxes-->save-->restart the drive and relo background processes will be disabled.

Then, create an imaging task in DE, create Head Map, and image all the data from the good heads, and after all that if required perform head swap to image from the faulty heads assuming the media under it is not damaged badly.

Cheers

[Nicole Lyons]

Thank you, and I tried all of that..those were the first steps I took post initial diagnostics.  I finally figured out the correct command though, and ended up resetting the performance flags.  

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[Fraser Corrance]

Hi Nik! 

Welcome to the forum! 

I find that sometimes the head test that you run from terminal can be a little deceiving at times. Have you tried reading and writing to the DST modules? Also, if you map the heads and start imaging in DE while watching the map screen you can usually tell if one of the heads is failing or weak. 

The Seagate Grenade family seem like some of the worst drives ever made. I see way too many of those in for recovery. 

Good luck. 

Fraser Corrance

Progressive Tech

ps. If all else fails then pull the pin, throw the drive, and take cover. ;-)

[nikl...@neuralearth.io]

Thanks Fraser, and I apologize for replying so late.  I do very much appreciate your response and suggestion (and I will keep in mind watching the map screen for future recoveries, since that is a great way to rule out possible issues!)  Now, however, I am having a very difficult time with head alignment on Seagate 7200.12 in the Pharaoh family.  At this point I can only assume that I need to continue adjusting both head screws over and over and over...not looking forward to it!  If you (or anyone else) have suggestions for dealing with head swaps/alignment with Pharaoh family drives, I would love to hear about your experience.  I am wondering if also swapping the magnets would be beneficial. I read about that on the PC3k forums- one of the ACE Lab techs suggested it but beyond that there wasn't much regarding the issue.  I am considering buying another couple of donors to give it a shot and see if it makes a difference.  

[t...@desertdatarecovery.com]

AFAIK there are no issues with head alignment on 7200.12 which is probably why there is not much detailed about it. What are issues with the drive?

--

[nikl...@neuralearth.io]

When I received the drive, the heads were degraded.  I was able to get a backup of the Service Area and image a bit on the DeepSpar before it totally died.  Then I swapped the heads and have since been unable to get anything.  When I take it to the PC3K, the drive spins up, goes straight to ROM mode, I hear 11 knocks, then it spins down.  I have taken a break from troubleshooting it for several days now (which was a mistake because I ended up misplacing the torque ranges I had written down..) but I really want to figure it out this week, one way or another.  I am pretty sure the issues I am having are due to my technique (loss of the recorded torque certainly hasn't helped) and I must be messing up the head alignment and not being slow and careful enough..does there happen to be a specific torque range or factory setting for the HSA screw?  

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[Alandata Recovery]

seagates are POS

pieces of shit which are calibrated to fail 1 day past the warranty

rather than put a nice protective coating on the platters and protect the data seagate chooses to put minimal protection - save a few millipennies there.

then they try to cover it up by having overly complicated and aggressive bad block management

seagates crash invisibly and silently.

conversley

hitachi/ibm the inventor of the hard drive.

got one of those last week - the heads were twisted like pretzels.

with new heads it came ready

sounded terrible

but it imaged like a champ for weeks.

built like a tank.

they spend a little more on carbon protective coating and lubricant.

lower head flying height means greater recording density.

so seagate makes that layer thin, more density, more profit

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[t...@desertdatarecovery.com]

Hi Niki

 

You are looking for a solution which probably does not exist. I see you posted on HDDGuru as well. Here are a few things which hopefully will help

 

1. When you get the drive in from a client, make sure you get a full history of the drive. Ie was it dropped etc. If it was dropped then open the drive in your cleanroom before you work on it. One of the none system heads may have been physically damaged, so while the drive may boot up and begin to read, the damaged head might be causing damage to the platters. This damage will soon spread to the rest of the drive.
2. Is there damage to the lubrication layer of the top platter. Gently blow air on the top platter with an open mouth. The condensation will tell you if there is lubrication layer damage.
3. These drives have a very poor lubrication layer. When the heads come in contact with the layer it can start to remove it. If you look at the heads under the microscope you can see if the lubrication layer is on any of the heads.
4. If you can see contamination, clean it with 99.9% IPA with cleanroom products. Generally (not always) lubrication layer tends to be white in color, latter dust is grey/black. If its black the drive is probably toast.
5. Put heads back in the drive and spin it up for a short time. Remove the heads and again clean any contamination. Repeat this until the heads come out clean. Put in new donor heads and see if the drive comes live.
6. Make sure you donor heads are an exact match. I mean as close as you can get. For example make sure the full part number and even FW is the same. Donor drives do a good matching paper.
7. Make sure your head tools are the right ones for the job.
8. Follow Ace Labs blog for getting a drive live with a failed none system head.
9. As Wayne commented, a lot of Seagates are not recoverable. When they have head failure they quite often damage the plater surface and make the drive unrecoverable.

 

Hope the above helps.

 

Tim

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[Tim]

Forgot to say,.torque settings do not mean anything with these drives.

[t...@desertdatarecovery.com]

I did not get a copy of this reply so I posted it again. Sorry if you got it twice.

 

Hi Niki

 You are looking for a solution which probably does not exist. I see you posted on HDDGuru as well. Here are a few things which hopefully will help

1. When you get the drive in from a client, make sure you get a full history of the drive. Ie was it dropped etc. If it was dropped then open the drive in your cleanroom before you work on it. One of the none system heads may have been physically damaged, so while the drive may boot up and begin to read, the damaged head might be causing damage to the platters. This damage will soon spread to the rest of the drive.
2. Is there damage to the lubrication layer of the top platter. Gently blow air on the top platter with an open mouth. The condensation will tell you if there is lubrication layer damage.
3. These drives have a very poor lubrication layer. When the heads come in contact with the layer it can start to remove it. If you look at the heads under the microscope you can see if the lubrication layer is on any of the heads.
4. If you can see contamination, clean it with 99.9% IPA with cleanroom products. Generally (not always) lubrication layer tends to be white in color, latter dust is grey/black. If its black the drive is probably toast.
5. Put heads back in the drive and spin it up for a short time. Remove the heads and again clean any contamination. Repeat this until the heads come out clean. Put in new donor heads and see if the drive comes live.
6. Make sure you donor heads are an exact match. I mean as close as you can get. For example make sure the full part number and even FW is the same. Donor drives do a good matching paper.

1. Torque settings do not apply to these drives.

1. Make sure your head tools are the right ones for the job.
2. Follow Ace Labs blog for getting a drive live with a failed none system head.
3. As Wayne commented, a lot of Seagates are not recoverable. When they have head failure they quite often damage the plater surface and make the drive unrecoverable.

 Hope the above helps.

 Tim

 

 

Tim Homer - Lead Engineer

Desert Data Recovery

t...@desertdatarecovery.com

www.desertdatarecovery.com

 

From: datarecovery...@googlegroups.com <datarecovery...@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of nikl...@neuralearth.io
Sent: Monday, July 9, 2018 6:11 PM
To: DataRecoveryCertification <datarecovery...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: Seagate F3 g-list issue

 

When I received the drive, the heads were degraded.  I was able to get a backup of the Service Area and image a bit on the DeepSpar before it totally died.  Then I swapped the heads and have since been unable to get anything.  When I take it to the PC3K, the drive spins up, goes straight to ROM mode, I hear 11 knocks, then it spins down.  I have taken a break from troubleshooting it for several days now (which was a mistake because I ended up misplacing the torque ranges I had written down..) but I really want to figure it out this week, one way or another.  I am pretty sure the issues I am having are due to my technique (loss of the recorded torque certainly hasn't helped) and I must be messing up the head alignment and not being slow and careful enough..does there happen to be a specific torque range or factory setting for the HSA screw?  

On Friday, June 29, 2018 at 1:19:21 PM UTC-7, Tim wrote:

AFAIK there are no issues with head alignment on 7200.12 which is probably why there is not much detailed about it. What are issues with the drive?

 

 

From: datarecovery...@googlegroups.com <datarecovery...@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of nikl...@neuralearth.io
Sent: Friday, June 29, 2018 12:22 PM
To: DataRecoveryCertification <datarecovery...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: Seagate F3 g-list issue

 

Thanks Fraser, and I apologize for replying so late.  I do very much appreciate your response and suggestion (and I will keep in mind watching the map screen for future recoveries, since that is a great way to rule out possible issues!)  Now, however, I am having a very difficult time with head alignment on Seagate 7200.12 in the Pharaoh family.  At this point I can only assume that I need to continue adjusting both head screws over and over and over...not looking forward to it!  If you (or anyone else) have suggestions for dealing with head swaps/alignment with Pharaoh family drives, I would love to hear about your experience.  I am wondering if also swapping the magnets would be beneficial. I read about that on the PC3k forums- one of the ACE Lab techs suggested it but beyond that there wasn't much regarding the issue.  I am considering buying another couple of donors to give it a shot and see if it makes a difference.  

On Tuesday, May 22, 2018 at 10:56:40 AM UTC-7, Fraser Corrance wrote:

Hi Nik! 

 

Welcome to the forum! 

 

I find that sometimes the head test that you run from terminal can be a little deceiving at times. Have you tried reading and writing to the DST modules? Also, if you map the heads and start imaging in DE while watching the map screen you can usually tell if one of the heads is failing or weak. 

 

The Seagate Grenade family seem like some of the worst drives ever made. I see way too many of those in for recovery. 

 

Good luck. 

 

Fraser Corrance

Progressive Tech

 

ps. If all else fails then pull the pin, throw the drive, and take cover. ;-)

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[Nik Lyons]

Thank you so much Tim.  I often feel very out of my element having had this business dropped in my lap, but I refuse to give up.  I have so much to learn still (and always will) that I get easily overwhelmed and of course nervous when I have to ask for help.  Your knowledge and kindness are greatly appreciated right now! 

And thank you everyone for your input and suggestions!

[t...@desertdatarecovery.com]

We are here whenever you need us. Most of use have been in your shoes at some point.

 

Recovering a drive with failed heads is hard as the drive has already physically failed. Sometimes it takes more than one set of heads to recover data. Sometimes data cannot be recovered at all due to media damage. Seagate fall into this category more than any other drive.