Strange ROM

323 views
Skip to first unread message

Philip Shaw

unread,
Sep 14, 2021, 12:13:24 PM9/14/21
to datarecovery...@googlegroups.com
I received a DIY drive where the ROM chip had been switched to an incompatible PCB and then sent off to somewhere else. I downloaded the ROM and there are a number of pages like the one here. I don’t recall seeing this type of stuff in any other ROM. Is this normal or did somebody try something they shouldn’t have? Thanks.

Sent from my iPhone
image0.jpeg

LUIS D AGUILAR

unread,
Sep 14, 2021, 12:29:56 PM9/14/21
to datarecovery...@googlegroups.com
@Philip

Brand, Model, Family & SN of the Drive?

On Tue, Sep 14, 2021 at 12:13 PM Philip Shaw <shawcomput...@gmail.com> wrote:
I received a DIY drive where the ROM chip had been switched to an incompatible PCB and then sent off to somewhere else. I downloaded the ROM and there are a number of pages like the one here. I don’t recall seeing this type of stuff in any other ROM. Is this normal or did somebody try something they shouldn’t have? Thanks.

Sent from my iPhone

--
Data Recovery Certification Group / for issue with google group please email sc...@myharddrivedied.com
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "DataRecoveryCertification" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to datarecoverycertif...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/datarecoverycertification/735527D6-2BBE-4483-A031-0F0CE099B99B%40gmail.com.

t...@desertdatarecovery.com

unread,
Sep 14, 2021, 12:33:52 PM9/14/21
to datarecovery...@googlegroups.com

That text refers to a Seagate SSHD (parameteric tables etc). I have never seen any of that in the ROM, but then again I probably have not looked. You can download a ROM from HDDSurgery and compare the two. Or post the model number here and we can check.

 

Tim Homer - Lead Engineer

Desert Data Recovery

t...@desertdatarecovery.com

www.desertdatarecovery.com

Philip Shaw

unread,
Sep 14, 2021, 1:02:53 PM9/14/21
to datarecovery...@googlegroups.com

Here is the label. The family is Bacall. The reason I sent this email is because when I wrote the ROM to the board it bricked.
Sent from my iPhone

On Sep 14, 2021, at 12:33 PM, t...@desertdatarecovery.com wrote:



t...@desertdatarecovery.com

unread,
Sep 14, 2021, 1:15:29 PM9/14/21
to datarecovery...@googlegroups.com

I have just looked at a Bacall ROM and it does not contain any of the data yours does. Like I say this is text is in connection with recovery from a SSHD NAND. I think either your client or whoever he sent it to f****d up.

 

Tim Homer - Lead Engineer

Desert Data Recovery

t...@desertdatarecovery.com

www.desertdatarecovery.com

 

image001.jpg

Philip Shaw

unread,
Sep 14, 2021, 1:27:20 PM9/14/21
to DataRecoveryCertification
Apparently his first move was to get the same drive and then have a friend transfer the ROM. Unfortunately, the PCB had a completely different part number. At some point after that it was sent off and since there is a hole in the label and the bottom screw is uncovered I assume they took the heads out to check them. He got the drive back and called me.

Is there any way to recreate the ROM on one of these like on some Western Digital drives?

pbzcbf...@gmail.com

unread,
Sep 14, 2021, 3:35:07 PM9/14/21
to DataRecoveryCertification
That stuff is familiar to me. I can't remember whether I saw it in a ROM or in a LOD file from a firmware update. The reason that you may not see it in some ROMs is that these modules are often compressed, either in LZMA or CPRS format. You can decompress these sections with F3ROMexplorer.

If you can upload the entire ROM dump, I could examine it for you.

Could you also tell us all the markings on the ROM? I could then compare the date code against the manufacture date on the label.

Philip Shaw

unread,
Sep 14, 2021, 4:26:12 PM9/14/21
to DataRecoveryCertification
Here is the ROM. Do you want the markings on the ROM chip?

--
Data Recovery Certification Group / for issue with google group please email sc...@myharddrivedied.com
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "DataRecoveryCertification" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to datarecoverycertif...@googlegroups.com.
ROM.bin

t...@desertdatarecovery.com

unread,
Sep 14, 2021, 4:47:24 PM9/14/21
to datarecovery...@googlegroups.com

This ROM is saying it’s from a Grenada family.

This ROM has a SN: Z4Z6R5C0.

Is the drive the same?

CRC look okay apart from IAP.

 

Tim Homer - Lead Engineer

Desert Data Recovery

t...@desertdatarecovery.com

www.desertdatarecovery.com

 

From: datarecovery...@googlegroups.com <datarecovery...@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of Philip Shaw
Sent: Tuesday, September 14, 2021 1:26 PM
To: DataRecoveryCertification <datarecovery...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: Strange ROM

 

Here is the ROM. Do you want the markings on the ROM chip?

Z4Z6R5C0.PNG

pbzcbf...@gmail.com

unread,
Sep 14, 2021, 5:10:42 PM9/14/21
to DataRecoveryCertification
A bad CRC for the IAP is normal. Other CRCs are OK, as per F3ROMexplorer.

pbzcbf...@gmail.com

unread,
Sep 14, 2021, 5:23:00 PM9/14/21
to DataRecoveryCertification
Offset(h) 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 0A 0B 0C 0D 0E 0F

000A7210  53 54 58 5F 44 55 4E 52 41 56 45 4E 00 31 31 2F  STX_DUNRAVEN.11/
000A7220  30 39 2F 32 30 31 35 00 30 30 35 30 33 39 31 33  09/2015.00503913
000A7230  00 47 32 41 46 42 30 33 2E 43 43 44 34 00 30 30  .G2AFB03.CCD4.00
000A7240  39 32 36 31 35 39 00 31 31 30 39 31 30 30 31 00  926159.11091001.
000A7250  4C 55 58 4F 52 4C 50 4C 55 53 5F 32 5F 30 00 25  LUXORLPLUS_2_0.%
000A7260  73 28 25 34 58 29 28 25 31 58 2D 25 30 32 58 2D  s(%4X)(%1X-%02X-
000A7270  25 31 58 2D 25 31 58 29 00 30 32 31 32 32 32 33  %1X-%1X).0212223
000A7280  31 34 32 35 32 36 32 37 31 38 32 40 12 41 12 42  14252627182@.A.B
000A7290  12 43 12 44 12 45 12 46 12 47 12 48 12 49 12 4A  .C.D.E.F.G.H.I.J
000A72A0  12 4B 12 4C 12 4D 12 4E 12 4F 12 52 32 53 32 54  .K.L.M.N.O.R2S2T
000A72B0  34 55 31 56 31 58 32 5A 32 5B 32 5C 32 5D 31 5E  4U1V1X2Z2[2\2]1^
000A72C0  31 60 32 61 31 62 31 63 31 64 31 65 32 66 32 68  1`2a1b1c1d1e2f2h
000A72D0  32 69 32 6A 31 6B 31 6C 31 6D 32 6E 32 70 32 71  2i2j1k1l1m2n2p2q
000A72E0  32 72 32 73 32 75 32 76 32 77 31 78 32 79 31 7A  2r2s2u2v2w1x2y1z
000A72F0  32 7B 32 7C 32 7D 32 7E 32 7F 32 FF 00 44 65 66  2{2|2}2~2.2ÿ.Def
000A7300  61 75 6C 74 20 44 69 61 67 20 52 64 20 42 75 66  ault Diag Rd Buf
000A7310  00 44 65 66 61 75 6C 74 20 44 69 61 67 20 57 72  .Default Diag Wr
000A7320  74 20 42 75 66 00 43 6F 6E 63 75 72 72 65 6E 74  t Buf.Concurrent
000A7330  20 52 2F 57 20 52 65 71 75 65 73 74 00 43 6F 6E   R/W Request.Con
000A7340  63 75 72 72 65 6E 74 20 52 2F 57 20 52 65 73 70  current R/W Resp
000A7350  6F 6E 73 65 00 53 65 72 76 6F 20 43 6D 64 00 53  onse.Servo Cmd.S
000A7360  65 72 76 6F 20 52 65 73 70 6F 6E 73 65 00 47 72  ervo Response.Gr  <-- GrenadaBP2H
000A7370  65 6E 61 64 61 42 50 32 48 20 4C 75 78 6F 72 50  enadaBP2H LuxorP
000A7380  6C 75 73 32 2C 20 50 42 41 53 65 65 64 2C 20 6E  lus2, PBASeed, n
000A7390  6F 51 4E 52 2C 20 4E 6F 20 53 44 6E 44 20 57 72  oQNR, No SDnD Wr
000A73A0  74 5F 50 69 6E 6E 69 6E 67 20 46 46 42 00 00 00  t_Pinning FFB...

Philip Shaw

unread,
Sep 14, 2021, 5:27:53 PM9/14/21
to DataRecoveryCertification
Yes, Tim, that is the serial number. I thought it was Bacall because that is what the other drive has. This drive is actually 4+ years older so it definitely could be Grenada.  What did you use to read the information?

The PCB is one of those where there is about one in the world and I am cautious about spending massive amounts of money if the ROM is just going to hose it up immediately.

On Tue, Sep 14, 2021 at 5:10 PM pbzcbf...@gmail.com <pbzcbf...@gmail.com> wrote:
A bad CRC for the IAP is normal. Other CRCs are OK, as per F3ROMexplorer.

--
Data Recovery Certification Group / for issue with google group please email sc...@myharddrivedied.com
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "DataRecoveryCertification" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to datarecoverycertif...@googlegroups.com.

t...@desertdatarecovery.com

unread,
Sep 14, 2021, 5:34:27 PM9/14/21
to datarecovery...@googlegroups.com

PC-3000 (and F3RomExplorer for CRC issues).

You wont hose the new PCB if you take a copy of the donor ROM first.

You can always put it back on with software if PC-3000 will no longer see the donor PCB.

Are you sure this wasn’t just a bad ROM write on PC-3000?

Have you tried writing it again, and/or with software?

 

Tim Homer - Lead Engineer

Desert Data Recovery

t...@desertdatarecovery.com

www.desertdatarecovery.com

 

From: datarecovery...@googlegroups.com <datarecovery...@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of Philip Shaw
Sent: Tuesday, September 14, 2021 2:28 PM
To: DataRecoveryCertification <datarecovery...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: Strange ROM

 

Yes, Tim, that is the serial number. I thought it was Bacall because that is what the other drive has. This drive is actually 4+ years older so it definitely could be Grenada.  What did you use to read the information?

Message has been deleted

David - Blizzard Data Recovery

unread,
Sep 14, 2021, 6:27:27 PM9/14/21
to DataRecoveryCertification
FireCuda is the Tradmark name for Seagate SSHD drives so I don't see an issue. The code you have in the screenshot appears normal for a FireCuda ROM.

pbzcbf...@gmail.com

unread,
Sep 14, 2021, 6:29:10 PM9/14/21
to DataRecoveryCertification
Do you still have the original PCB? Can you show us photos of all the PCBs that are involved? 

I would want to compare the date codes on everything (PCB, ROM, other ICs) against the label. In fact I don't understand why people don't do this as a matter of course in these types of situations.:-?

t...@desertdatarecovery.com

unread,
Sep 14, 2021, 6:32:31 PM9/14/21
to datarecovery...@googlegroups.com

Phil, did you try the ROM unlock on this drive?

 

Tim Homer - Lead Engineer

Desert Data Recovery

t...@desertdatarecovery.com

www.desertdatarecovery.com

 

From: datarecovery...@googlegroups.com <datarecovery...@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of pbzcbf...@gmail.com
Sent: Tuesday, September 14, 2021 3:29 PM
To: DataRecoveryCertification <datarecovery...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: Strange ROM

 

Do you still have the original PCB? Can you show us photos of all the PCBs that are involved? 

 

I would want to compare the date codes on everything (PCB, ROM, other ICs) against the label. In fact I don't understand why people don't do this as a matter of course in these types of situations.:-?

 

--

Data Recovery Certification Group / for issue with google group please email sc...@myharddrivedied.com
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "DataRecoveryCertification" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to datarecoverycertif...@googlegroups.com.

pbzcbf...@gmail.com

unread,
Sep 14, 2021, 7:16:43 PM9/14/21
to DataRecoveryCertification
What messages did you get in terminal before and after you bricked the PCB?

Is this one of the PCBs?


David - Blizzard Data Recovery

unread,
Sep 14, 2021, 7:53:16 PM9/14/21
to DataRecoveryCertification
100731495 should be the correct PCB number. There were 4 or 5 revisions but I don't think that matters.

pbzcbf...@gmail.com

unread,
Sep 15, 2021, 12:30:26 AM9/15/21
to DataRecoveryCertification
Isn't this one of those boards where transferring a ROM between two working boards fails because of incompatible content in the NAND?

Philip Shaw

unread,
Sep 15, 2021, 7:29:57 AM9/15/21
to DataRecoveryCertification
Yes, David, that is the PCB number. However, the one on the drive he bought with the exact same part number but 4.5 years newer has a PCB part number of 100687658. He had somebody switch the ROM chips between the boards. My guess is he had some kind of head issue and googled it and the suggestion was to change the PCB. He probably threw it in the freezer for a while as well.

PBZCBF - If I were to take the original ROM chip and change it back to the original PCB could that potentially unbrick the PCB?

Thanks for all of the input.

On Wed, Sep 15, 2021 at 12:30 AM pbzcbf...@gmail.com <pbzcbf...@gmail.com> wrote:
Isn't this one of those boards where transferring a ROM between two working boards fails because of incompatible content in the NAND?

--
Data Recovery Certification Group / for issue with google group please email sc...@myharddrivedied.com
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "DataRecoveryCertification" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to datarecoverycertif...@googlegroups.com.

David - Blizzard Data Recovery

unread,
Sep 15, 2021, 1:47:25 PM9/15/21
to DataRecoveryCertification
Yes, just transferring the ROM is not going to work. If the original PCB was not the problem, it's possible putting the ROM back on the original board will lead to terminal output that can help diagnose the real issue.

pbzcbf...@gmail.com

unread,
Sep 15, 2021, 3:38:15 PM9/15/21
to DataRecoveryCertification
My understanding is that no-spin symptoms are often caused by a corrupt NAND. In such cases the usual solution is to initialise the NAND. There is a terminal command to do this, but you first need to reach terminal.

pbzcbf...@gmail.com

unread,
Sep 15, 2021, 3:42:54 PM9/15/21
to DataRecoveryCertification
That PCB is used in  ST3000DM001 1CH166-570.  It's not even close.

t...@desertdatarecovery.com

unread,
Sep 15, 2021, 3:44:55 PM9/15/21
to datarecovery...@googlegroups.com

That’s the way it used to be with the older Seagate drives (pre SMR).

Rosewood are a little different.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/5z2252Htc3tNykz27

 

 

Tim Homer - Lead Engineer

Desert Data Recovery

t...@desertdatarecovery.com

www.desertdatarecovery.com

 

From: datarecovery...@googlegroups.com <datarecovery...@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of pbzcbf...@gmail.com
Sent: Wednesday, September 15, 2021 12:38 PM
To: DataRecoveryCertification <datarecovery...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: Strange ROM

 

My understanding is that no-spin symptoms are often caused by a corrupt NAND. In such cases the usual solution is to initialise the NAND. There is a terminal command to do this, but you first need to reach terminal.

 

--

Data Recovery Certification Group / for issue with google group please email sc...@myharddrivedied.com
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "DataRecoveryCertification" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to datarecoverycertif...@googlegroups.com.

Philip Shaw

unread,
Sep 15, 2021, 4:02:59 PM9/15/21
to DataRecoveryCertification
PB - if you are talking about 100687658 it works fine in the newer donor drive. I ordered one of these because it was more available than the other PCB and I really had no idea which PCB and ROM belonged where. I wrote the ROM to the donor PCB and then tried it on the donor drive and it fired right up.

pbzcbf...@gmail.com

unread,
Sep 15, 2021, 4:33:48 PM9/15/21
to DataRecoveryCertification
Wow!

If I understand correctly, you are saying that the customer bought a Firecuda donor, and this donor drive came with a PCB that had no NAND? How does that make any sense??? Was the donor drive working with this PCB before the patient's ROM was transplanted into it? Could we see a dump of the donor ROM? Could we see the drive's label?

I'm wondering whether it would be possible to use a NAND-less PCB and transplant the patient's adaptives into its ROM.

pbzcbf...@gmail.com

unread,
Sep 15, 2021, 5:19:21 PM9/15/21
to DataRecoveryCertification
Can you at least tell us the markings on the MCU and motor controller on each of your PCBs? This will give us a clue whether it may be possible to convert from a PCB with NAND to a PCB without NAND, much like converting from USB to SATA.

pbzcbf...@gmail.com

unread,
Sep 15, 2021, 5:26:44 PM9/15/21
to DataRecoveryCertification
My investigations suggest that both PCBs have LSI 869002V0 MCUs and SMOOTH Dillon motor controllers.

Here is a better photo:

pbzcbf...@gmail.com

unread,
Sep 15, 2021, 5:46:56 PM9/15/21
to DataRecoveryCertification
Your test suggests that the patient's ROM code continues POST-ing if it doesn't detect the ASIC which controls the NAND. This in turn suggests that we may be able to recover the patient PCB by disabling its ASIC (assuming that the NAND is at fault). 

If you can post close-up photos of the two tiny chips to the left of the ASIC (the top one is a MOSFET), I believe I can see a way to disable them.

Philip Shaw

unread,
Sep 15, 2021, 6:06:26 PM9/15/21
to DataRecoveryCertification
Here is the donor ROM.

--
Data Recovery Certification Group / for issue with google group please email sc...@myharddrivedied.com
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "DataRecoveryCertification" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to datarecoverycertif...@googlegroups.com.
ROM.bin

pbzcbf...@gmail.com

unread,
Sep 15, 2021, 6:39:10 PM9/15/21
to DataRecoveryCertification
Is it possible that the other data recovery shop replaced the PCB with the one you have now? I can't imagine that Seagate would have sold a NAND-less Firecuda.

t...@desertdatarecovery.com

unread,
Sep 15, 2021, 6:53:19 PM9/15/21
to datarecovery...@googlegroups.com

I don’t think we should be classing them as Data Recovery if that’s the case.

 

Tim Homer - Lead Engineer

Desert Data Recovery

t...@desertdatarecovery.com

www.desertdatarecovery.com

 

From: datarecovery...@googlegroups.com <datarecovery...@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of pbzcbf...@gmail.com
Sent: Wednesday, September 15, 2021 3:39 PM
To: DataRecoveryCertification <datarecovery...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: Strange ROM

 

Is it possible that the other data recovery shop replaced the PCB with the one you have now? I can't imagine that Seagate would have sold a NAND-less Firecuda.

 

--

Data Recovery Certification Group / for issue with google group please email sc...@myharddrivedied.com
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "DataRecoveryCertification" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to datarecoverycertif...@googlegroups.com.

pbzcbf...@gmail.com

unread,
Sep 15, 2021, 7:16:36 PM9/15/21
to DataRecoveryCertification
I entered the donor's serial number into Seagate's warranty checker and got  "FireCuda 3.5 SSHD,  ST2000DX002,  Warranty Valid Until May 3, 2023".


pbzcbf...@gmail.com

unread,
Sep 15, 2021, 7:23:58 PM9/15/21
to DataRecoveryCertification
I found this serial number in the SAP:   W1H3LMY7

"Video 3.5 HDD, ST2000VM003, Warranty Expired March 1, 2017"

Looks like a fake HDD.

t...@desertdatarecovery.com

unread,
Sep 15, 2021, 7:34:56 PM9/15/21
to datarecovery...@googlegroups.com

If they didn’t know what they were doing (and they clearly didn’t) and were swapping adaptives in PC-3000 from ROM to ROM, if they swapped all adaptives (CAP, SAP, RAP and IAP - which is an option) and not just the head adaptives it does also change the SN in the ROM.

 

Tim Homer - Lead Engineer

Desert Data Recovery

t...@desertdatarecovery.com

www.desertdatarecovery.com

 

From: datarecovery...@googlegroups.com <datarecovery...@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of pbzcbf...@gmail.com
Sent: Wednesday, September 15, 2021 4:24 PM
To: DataRecoveryCertification <datarecovery...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: Strange ROM

 

I found this serial number in the SAP:   W1H3LMY7

 

"Video 3.5 HDD, ST2000VM003, Warranty Expired March 1, 2017"

 

Looks like a fake HDD.

 

--

Data Recovery Certification Group / for issue with google group please email sc...@myharddrivedied.com
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "DataRecoveryCertification" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to datarecoverycertif...@googlegroups.com.

pbzcbf...@gmail.com

unread,
Sep 15, 2021, 7:57:16 PM9/15/21
to DataRecoveryCertification
As I understand it, the donor PCB + patient ROM spins up the donor, whereas the same combination does not spin up the patient. I checked the HDA pinouts and they appear identical, at least by visual inspection. Therefore I'm wondering whether the patient's preamp may be faulty.

I would use this same combination to spin up the donor, this time with HDA isolated. Then do the same on the patient. This will tell us if the firmware is looking for a preamp during the POST.

Philip Shaw

unread,
Sep 16, 2021, 10:24:36 AM9/16/21
to DataRecoveryCertification
Just to clarify, I received two drives. The patient had a PCB on it with the part number 100687658. My understanding is that the customer purchased a matching drive and had his friend move the ROM from his PCB to this one and the donor ROM to the other board (100731495) and put the donor PCB with patient ROM on the patient and the patient PCB with the donor ROM on the donor. When I powered up the drive with the donor PCB and patient ROM I got nothing and the following in terminal:

 Bridge PLL Enable Failed
 Bridge PLL Enable Failed
 Bridge PLL Enable Failed
 Bridge PLL Enable Failed
 ERROR: Flash Led 9C08 - ALF Hardware Initialization Process Failed
 Flash HW Init Attempts = 0004

Clump Parametrics:
                    Clump = 1BF2
                 DataType =

I then ordered a 100687658 since they were much easier to get and since I thought he had gotten things backwards I wrote the donor ROM to the PCB and it didn't work on the patient but when I tried it on the donor drive it spun right up. Since this seemed to point to the other ROM being his original I wrote it to the 100731495 PCB and that is when it locked up.

Thanks again for all of the input.

On Wed, Sep 15, 2021 at 7:57 PM pbzcbf...@gmail.com <pbzcbf...@gmail.com> wrote:
As I understand it, the donor PCB + patient ROM spins up the donor, whereas the same combination does not spin up the patient. I checked the HDA pinouts and they appear identical, at least by visual inspection. Therefore I'm wondering whether the patient's preamp may be faulty.

I would use this same combination to spin up the donor, this time with HDA isolated. Then do the same on the patient. This will tell us if the firmware is looking for a preamp during the POST.

--
Data Recovery Certification Group / for issue with google group please email sc...@myharddrivedied.com
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "DataRecoveryCertification" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to datarecoverycertif...@googlegroups.com.

pbzcbf...@gmail.com

unread,
Sep 16, 2021, 2:54:17 PM9/16/21
to DataRecoveryCertification
When the patient ROM is on the donor PCB, it tries to set up a link between the MCU and the ASIC. The ASIC is the bridge between the MCU and the NAND. The PLL (Phase Locked Loop) refers to the data clock between MCU and ASIC, ie the ASIC and MCU are synchronising their clocks. Since the ASIC is not present on the donor PCB, we get the "Bridge PLL Enable Failed" error.

Could you show us the terminal output from the patient PCB (100731495) and patient ROM, ie the original configuration?

Philip Shaw

unread,
Sep 16, 2021, 3:46:39 PM9/16/21
to datarecovery...@googlegroups.com


Sent from my iPhone

On Sep 16, 2021, at 2:54 PM, pbzcbf...@gmail.com <pbzcbf...@gmail.com> wrote:

When the patient ROM is on the donor PCB, it tries to set up a link between the MCU and the ASIC. The ASIC is the bridge between the MCU and the NAND. The PLL (Phase Locked Loop) refers to the data clock between MCU and ASIC, ie the ASIC and MCU are synchronising their clocks. Since the ASIC is not present on the donor PCB, we get the "Bridge PLL Enable Failed" error.

Could you show us the terminal output from the patient PCB (100731495) and patient ROM, ie the original configuration?

--
Data Recovery Certification Group / for issue with google group please email sc...@myharddrivedied.com
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "DataRecoveryCertification" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to datarecoverycertif...@googlegroups.com.

pbzcbf...@gmail.com

unread,
Sep 16, 2021, 3:57:27 PM9/16/21
to DataRecoveryCertification
That's the message you get when the ROM is dead, or not detected, or has bad content.

Philip Shaw

unread,
Sep 16, 2021, 4:18:08 PM9/16/21
to DataRecoveryCertification
So, is there anything else I can try? Do you feel that both boards are actually the original boards or is the 100731495 not consistent with these drives?

On Thu, Sep 16, 2021 at 3:57 PM pbzcbf...@gmail.com <pbzcbf...@gmail.com> wrote:
That's the message you get when the ROM is dead, or not detected, or has bad content.

--
Data Recovery Certification Group / for issue with google group please email sc...@myharddrivedied.com
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "DataRecoveryCertification" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to datarecoverycertif...@googlegroups.com.

pbzcbf...@gmail.com

unread,
Sep 16, 2021, 4:26:21 PM9/16/21
to DataRecoveryCertification
The 100687658 is not a Firecuda PCB. The donor drive is a fake.

Clearly the patient PCB cannot read its ROM. That's where you should be looking. Check your soldering, dump the ROM via terminal, post the markings on the two ROMs.

pbzcbf...@gmail.com

unread,
Sep 16, 2021, 4:40:26 PM9/16/21
to DataRecoveryCertification
When the PCB powers up, the MCU begins executing its kernel code ("SEA4 Boot ROM 1.0"). This kernel code looks for a boot device which in this case is the serial flash memory, ie the external "ROM". It then checks the 32-byte header of the ROM for a valid checksum (0x0000). If the checksum is OK, then the kernel upacks the ROM into RAM and transfers control to the RAM code.

The header's checksum is calculated by adding the first 16 little-endian words. I have confirmed that the checksum is valid.

Philip Shaw

unread,
Sep 16, 2021, 4:47:25 PM9/16/21
to DataRecoveryCertification
When you say the donor drive is a fake do you mean it just has a bogus PCB? The label is exactly the same as the patient drive. I have not tried writing what I believe to be the patient ROM to the donor PCB I purchased which works on the other drive with the donor ROM. If I write the patient ROM to this PCB could I brick the donor PCB I purchased or, in your estimation, does that patient ROM look normal? Thanks again.

On Thu, Sep 16, 2021 at 4:40 PM pbzcbf...@gmail.com <pbzcbf...@gmail.com> wrote:
When the PCB powers up, the MCU begins executing its kernel code ("SEA4 Boot ROM 1.0"). This kernel code looks for a boot device which in this case is the serial flash memory, ie the external "ROM". It then checks the 32-byte header of the ROM for a valid checksum (0x0000). If the checksum is OK, then the kernel upacks the ROM into RAM and transfers control to the RAM code.

The header's checksum is calculated by adding the first 16 little-endian words. I have confirmed that the checksum is valid.

--
Data Recovery Certification Group / for issue with google group please email sc...@myharddrivedied.com
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "DataRecoveryCertification" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to datarecoverycertif...@googlegroups.com.

pbzcbf...@gmail.com

unread,
Sep 16, 2021, 4:57:09 PM9/16/21
to DataRecoveryCertification
The donor drive is a  ST2000VM003 with a bogus label. The scammer got an old  ST2000VM003, stuck a FireCuda label on it, on then hacked the CAP in the ROM so that the drive reports the fake serial number.

Seagate drives have an authenticity checker on the cover:


I think the QR code is also stamped/printed on the cover.

pbzcbf...@gmail.com

unread,
Sep 16, 2021, 5:41:04 PM9/16/21
to DataRecoveryCertification

pbzcbf...@gmail.com

unread,
Sep 16, 2021, 6:13:53 PM9/16/21
to DataRecoveryCertification
Here are the YYWW or YWW (Year/Week) date codes on various chips on a particular FireCuda PCB:

  • motor controller -> 620 -> week 20 of 2016
  • SDRAM -> 619 -> week 19 of 2016
  • ASIC -> 1602 -> week 02 of 2016
  • NAND -> 546 -> week 46 of 2015
  • 3.3V LDO regulator -> 1607 -> week 07 of 2016



ASIC.jpg
3V3_regulator.jpg
NAND.jpg
SDRAM.jpg
motor_controller.jpg

Philip Shaw

unread,
Oct 1, 2021, 6:55:39 AM10/1/21
to DataRecoveryCertification
I ended up getting a good match for a donor drive and moved the original ROM onto the new donor PCB. When I fire up the patient drive it sees that it is a Seagate and then comes up as a Grenada drive. In the terminal after it goes through the Grenada process I get the following errors:

TCC:0016

 SNOOOZZZZZZEEE Retry
 EDAC Value = 00000000000B20DE
 SNOOOZZZZZZEEE Retry
 EDAC Value = 00000000000B20DE
 SNOOOZZZZZZEEE Retry
 ABORT!
OpCode = 000000EC
SenseCode = 03310000
ReadyStatusFlags = 0002A181

 ABORT!
OpCode = 000000EC
SenseCode = 03310000
ReadyStatusFlags = 0002A181

Any attempt at reading a sector or Drive ID fails. I was able to start a task and get a head map but it fails when I try to read any sectors. Acelabs took a look and thought there might be an issue with the PCB but it is the same part number and there are very few of these around. There are no adverse noises and the drive is spinning like a champ. Any suggestions?

--
Data Recovery Certification Group / for issue with google group please email sc...@myharddrivedied.com
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "DataRecoveryCertification" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to datarecoverycertif...@googlegroups.com.

Desert Data Recovery

unread,
Oct 1, 2021, 8:54:18 AM10/1/21
to datarecovery...@googlegroups.com

Philip Shaw

unread,
Oct 1, 2021, 8:57:44 AM10/1/21
to DataRecoveryCertification

t...@desertdatarecovery.com

unread,
Oct 1, 2021, 11:10:25 AM10/1/21
to datarecovery...@googlegroups.com

So you have terminal access and Ace logged in and couldn’t recover it?

 

Tim Homer - Lead Engineer

Desert Data Recovery

t...@desertdatarecovery.com

www.desertdatarecovery.com

 

From: datarecovery...@googlegroups.com <datarecovery...@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of Philip Shaw
Sent: Friday, October 1, 2021 5:58 AM
To: DataRecoveryCertification <datarecovery...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: Strange ROM

 

Yes.

Philip Shaw

unread,
Oct 1, 2021, 11:20:15 AM10/1/21
to DataRecoveryCertification
Correct. I was hoping somebody out there had a similar problem and recognized the error. It also gets a RECOV Servo Op=0095 Resp=0005 error.

t...@desertdatarecovery.com

unread,
Oct 1, 2021, 11:25:23 AM10/1/21
to datarecovery...@googlegroups.com

RECOV Servo Op=0095 Resp=0005 - its heads not finding the servo markers.

Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
0 new messages