I tried to use an old computer today and it was
diving drive errors, I had not used the comp for
over a year, it is possible the drives have seized up?
Neither drives work, I tried them on this computer
as slaves, one did not show us and the other cause
a boot-upp error.
"Grinder" <grinder@no.spam.maam.com> wrote in message
news:_saak.178466$TT4.141285@attbi_s22...
> Lord Turkey Cough wrote:
>> I tried to use an old computer today and it was
>> diving drive errors, I had not used the comp for
>> over a year, it is possible the drives have seized up?
>> Neither drives work, I tried them on this computer
>> as slaves, one did not show us and the other cause
>> a boot-upp error.
>
> It is possible they have both failed. Make sure you have them properly
> jumpered in put them into either PC. Run the diagnostic tools from the
> specific manufacturer. For example, if you have Maxtor drive, get a copy
> of PowerMax to boot from, or Seagate = SeaTools.
Great news I just noticed an IDE cable sitting beside me
which had came out of a box of disks, I had used the existing dual
connection in my new comp, so the drive was connect on a single
cable, anyway I swopped to the cable which came out of the
box and it booted up!! (also set jumper to single drive)
So I am not sure why it did not work as slave in my new
computer.
I could not get the other (smaller) drive to work at all,
but it is a clone of thebigger one basically.
The reason I wanted the old computer up
was to see if the CD drive woud read some
old CDs.
Not sure if I can transfer the drive across or
if I can get the network up I had, it complained about
the network card.
The drive need special software too.
Anyway the drive is working so thats good news.
Lord Turkey Cough wrote:
> I tried to use an old computer today and it was
> diving drive errors, I had not used the comp for
> over a year, it is possible the drives have seized up?
> Neither drives work, I tried them on this computer
> as slaves, one did not show us and the other cause
> a boot-upp error.
It is possible they have both failed. Make sure you have them properly
jumpered in put them into either PC. Run the diagnostic tools from the
specific manufacturer. For example, if you have Maxtor drive, get a
copy of PowerMax to boot from, or Seagate = SeaTools.
> I tried to use an old computer today and it was
> diving drive errors, I had not used the comp for
> over a year, it is possible the drives have seized up?
> Neither drives work, I tried them on this computer
> as slaves, one did not show us and the other cause
> a boot-upp error.
Yes it is ! The lubrication migrates away from the bearings and the
heads can stick to the platters. Sometimes a sharp tap with a
screwdriver handle will free stuck heads. If the drive is the type
with fluid bearings, its unlikely to ever spin up again.
On Mon, 30 Jun 2008 15:19:14 +0100, "Lord Turkey Cough"
<spamdump@invalid.com> wrote:
>I tried to use an old computer today and it was
>diving drive errors, I had not used the comp for
>over a year, it is possible the drives have seized up?
>Neither drives work, I tried them on this computer
>as slaves, one did not show us and the other cause
>a boot-upp error.
>
How old is the computer (how old are the drives, tell us
more about them)? Make sure the jumpers are correct and try
the drives alone on a cable as Master if you hadn't already.
Yes if a drive sits too long and it's already aged, it may
stick. Can you hear or feel the platters spinning and/or
the read arms moving? Try gently heating the drive with a
hair dryer or in a oven after it's cooled down to about 100C
and still cooling off w/door open. Once drive has cooled
till it's merely warm to the touch, try powering it on while
it is in different positions - on it's side, upside down,
etc. If the bearing needs to settle into a position with a
lubricant film under it the heat may help redistribute that
and you might temporarily regain use to copy data off. I
would not count on the drives working long, the above and
following comments would be just to get the data off, not
reuse the drive for more than that.
Some drives have mediocre contacts from drive body to
circuit board, you might also take the circuit board off and
use a dry paper towel (being a tiny bit abrasive) to rub on
the contacts. If there is environmental residue you might
first wipe with towel saturated with alcohol then be sure
it's dry before a followup with dry towel.
Also try other data cables. Old PATA cable connector
contacts are sometimes pretty fragile, even not so old ones
can be a problem after sitting then being moved/bent/etc.
My old disc driver have died. 
Linear Mode
