From luca at pca.it Tue Feb 13 10:07:37 2007 From: luca at pca.it (Luca Capello) Date: Thu Oct 11 13:18:23 2007 Subject: Data recovery in Switzerland Message-ID: <878xf25sti.fsf@tora.pca.it> Hello! Until last Thursday night I was a very happy X60 user [1]. Then, Friday morning I switched my laptop on and the BIOS didn't want to recognize anymore the S-ATA HD [2]. No noise from the HD, as if no power will get in. I tried to connect the HD to a desktop machine and this BIOS recognizes that an HD is attached, but when it should prompt the HD's characteristics I get an HD failure. The same happens with libata when started from a Debian live-CD [3], i.e. it reports that the device is slow to power up but then fails with an error [4]. Now, about the failure: I played last Thursday night with hdparm, being `hdparm -B 0 -s 1 -S 3 /dev/sda` the last command given. While I understand that hdparm's -s put the HD in standby mode when powered-up, I don't think this should cause my problem, i.e. no current at all in the HD. I contacted the IBM/Lenovo support [5] and they kindly proposed me to send a new HD, but I *must* recover the data on the HD. The HD is partitioned as a 200M /boot ext3 and the rest is crypted. I was thinking of, in the order... 1) I don't remember where I read it, but some could recover data from broken HD after having put the HD in a freezer 2) buying the exact same model and trying to swap the electronic circuits 3) search for a recovery company and hope that it won't be too expensive :-( Any ideas/comments? Thx, bye, Gismo / Luca Footnotes: [1] http://luca.pca.it/projects/ibm/x60_1706-gmg/ [2] this is an Hitachi HTS541010G9SA00, P/N 0A27470, Lenovo 39T2707: http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?sitestyle=lenovo&lndocid=MIGR-62906 [3] http://debian-live.alioth.debian.org/ [4] sorry, I don't remember and I didn't write down the error [5] I've the 9h/24 5d/7 extended warranty From cate at cateee.net Tue Feb 13 10:46:11 2007 From: cate at cateee.net (Giacomo A. Catenazzi) Date: Thu Oct 11 13:18:23 2007 Subject: Data recovery in Switzerland In-Reply-To: <878xf25sti.fsf@tora.pca.it> References: <878xf25sti.fsf@tora.pca.it> Message-ID: <45D188E3.6020906@cateee.net> Luca Capello wrote: > I contacted the IBM/Lenovo support [5] and they kindly proposed me to > send a new HD, but I *must* recover the data on the HD. The HD is > partitioned as a 200M /boot ext3 and the rest is crypted. I was > thinking of, in the order... > > 1) I don't remember where I read it, but some could recover data from > broken HD after having put the HD in a freezer > > 2) buying the exact same model and trying to swap the electronic > circuits > > 3) search for a recovery company and hope that it won't be too > expensive :-( > > Any ideas/comments? 4) google is your friend ;-) I think you should find (after extensive filtering) some possible solutions of your problem. sorry, no better idea :-( ciao cate > > Thx, bye, > Gismo / Luca From madduck at debian.org Tue Feb 13 12:00:30 2007 From: madduck at debian.org (martin f krafft) Date: Thu Oct 11 13:18:23 2007 Subject: Data recovery in Switzerland In-Reply-To: <878xf25sti.fsf@tora.pca.it> References: <878xf25sti.fsf@tora.pca.it> Message-ID: <20070213110030.GA21607@lapse.madduck.net> also sprach Luca Capello [2007.02.13.0907 +0000]: > 1) I don't remember where I read it, but some could recover data > from broken HD after having put the HD in a freezer I don't see the scientific basis of this. If your drive head-crashed (then it will make clicking noises on startup), you can sometimes cause it to spin up once or twice more by dropping it 20cm onto the table. But a freezer? Is there really absolutely no noise when you plug in the drive? > 2) buying the exact same model and trying to swap the electronic > circuits No way. > 3) search for a recovery company and hope that it won't be too > expensive :-( They are all massively expensive. Sorry, dude. -- Please do not send copies of list mail to me; I read the list! .''`. martin f. krafft : :' : proud Debian developer, author, administrator, and user `. `'` http://people.debian.org/~madduck - http://debiansystem.info `- Debian - when you have better things to do than fixing systems "whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. and when you look into an abyss, the abyss also looks into you." - friedrich nietzsche -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: application/pgp-signature Size: 189 bytes Desc: Digital signature (GPG/PGP) Url : http://lists.madduck.net/pipermail/debian-unizh/attachments/20070213/c7b7a57b/attachment.pgp From admin at marioiseli.com Tue Feb 13 12:42:46 2007 From: admin at marioiseli.com (Mario Iseli) Date: Thu Oct 11 13:18:23 2007 Subject: Data recovery in Switzerland In-Reply-To: <20070213110030.GA21607@lapse.madduck.net> References: <878xf25sti.fsf@tora.pca.it> <20070213110030.GA21607@lapse.madduck.net> Message-ID: <20070213114246.GA4210@aphrodite.dmz.marioiseli.com> On Tue, Feb 13, 2007 at 11:00:30AM +0000, martin f krafft wrote: > also sprach Luca Capello [2007.02.13.0907 +0000]: > > 1) I don't remember where I read it, but some could recover data > > from broken HD after having put the HD in a freezer > > I don't see the scientific basis of this. Martin, this does _really_ work. In my work I have often simple systems which don't want to boot anymore and you can hear strange noises from the disk. Sometimes I put the disk some minutes in the fridge and then the HD will work perfectly for about one hour (in most cases this enough for a backup). I know, it's a strange method but it works. :) -- .''`. Mario Iseli : :' : proud user of Debian unstable `. `'` `- Debian - when you have better things to do than fixing a system From madduck at debian.org Tue Feb 13 13:18:07 2007 From: madduck at debian.org (martin f krafft) Date: Thu Oct 11 13:18:23 2007 Subject: Data recovery in Switzerland In-Reply-To: <20070213114246.GA4210@aphrodite.dmz.marioiseli.com> References: <878xf25sti.fsf@tora.pca.it> <20070213110030.GA21607@lapse.madduck.net> <20070213114246.GA4210@aphrodite.dmz.marioiseli.com> Message-ID: <20070213121807.GA26425@lapse.madduck.net> also sprach Mario Iseli [2007.02.13.1142 +0000]: > > > 1) I don't remember where I read it, but some could recover data > > > from broken HD after having put the HD in a freezer > > > > I don't see the scientific basis of this. > > Martin, this does _really_ work. I never claimed it wouldn't work, but I still see no scientific basis. It *could* be that every time you tried, a butterfly in New York flapped its wings and your drive would have worked again, whether you put it into the freezer or whether you did not. If the drive is overheated, the disk/head may have expanded and the freezer restores normality, but the same could be achieved by a good night's sleep and turning the machine back on in the morning, and there would be no condensation with the latter. -- Please do not send copies of list mail to me; I read the list! .''`. martin f. krafft : :' : proud Debian developer, author, administrator, and user `. `'` http://people.debian.org/~madduck - http://debiansystem.info `- Debian - when you have better things to do than fixing systems "oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive." -- shakespeare -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: application/pgp-signature Size: 189 bytes Desc: Digital signature (GPG/PGP) Url : http://lists.madduck.net/pipermail/debian-unizh/attachments/20070213/1ff832b5/attachment.pgp From luca at pca.it Tue Feb 13 18:00:24 2007 From: luca at pca.it (Luca Capello) Date: Thu Oct 11 13:18:23 2007 Subject: Data recovery in Switzerland References: <878xf25sti.fsf@tora.pca.it> <45D188E3.6020906@cateee.net> Message-ID: <871wku3sd3.fsf@tora.pca.it> Hi! On Tue, 13 Feb 2007 10:46:11 +0100, Giacomo A. Catenazzi wrote: > Luca Capello wrote: >> I contacted the IBM/Lenovo support [5] and they kindly proposed me >> to send a new HD, but I *must* recover the data on the HD. The HD >> is partitioned as a 200M /boot ext3 and the rest is crypted. I was >> thinking of, in the order... [...] >> Any ideas/comments? > > 4) google is your friend ;-) > > I think you should find (after extensive filtering) some possible > solutions of your problem. Actually, I already searched on Google, but nothing was similar to my problem. Some more precise informations... 1) with the ASUS A8V-MX (BIOS version 0306) the boot process shows: ===== Auto-Detecting 3rd Master...IDE Hard Disk [...] 3rd Master Hard Disk Error ===== 2) dmesg on the above machine booted with Sunday Debian LiveCD: ===== libata version 2.00 loaded. [...] ahci 0000:00:0f.0: AHCI 0001.0000 32 slots 4 ports 3 Gbps 0xf impl IDE mode ahci 0000:00:0f.0: flags: 64bit ncq pm led clo pmp pio slum part ata1: SATA max UDMA/133 cmd 0xF8806D00 ctl 0x0 bmdma 0x0 irq 225 ata2: SATA max UDMA/133 cmd 0xF8806D80 ctl 0x0 bmdma 0x0 irq 225 ata3: SATA max UDMA/133 cmd 0xF8806E00 ctl 0x0 bmdma 0x0 irq 225 ata4: SATA max UDMA/133 cmd 0xF8806E80 ctl 0x0 bmdma 0x0 irq 225 scsi0 : ahci ata1: SATA link up 1.5 Gbps (SStatus 113 SControl 300) [this should be the real problem, the SControl value] ata1.00: failed to IDENTIFY (INIT_DEV_PARAMS failed, err_mask=0x80) ata1: port is slow to respond, please be patient ata1: port failed to respond (30 secs) ata1: COMRESET failed (device not ready) ata1: hardreset failed, retrying in 5 secs ata1: port is slow to respond, please be patient ata1: port failed to respond (30 secs) ata1: COMRESET failed (device not ready) ata1: hardreset failed, retrying in 5 secs ata1: port is slow to respond, please be patient ata1: port failed to respond (30 secs) ata1: COMRESET failed (device not ready) ata1: reset failed, giving up scsi1 : ahci ata2: SATA link down (SStatus 0 SControl 300) scsi2 : ahci ata3: SATA link down (SStatus 0 SControl 300) scsi3 : ahci ata4: SATA link down (SStatus 0 SControl 300) ===== Google didn't help for "ata1.00: failed to IDENTIFY (INIT_DEV_PARAMS failed, err_mask=0x80)" and for "ata1: port is slow to respond, please be patient" neither. For the latter, [1] could be relevant, but the reporter has a different SStatus: ata1: SATA link up 3.0 Gbps (SStatus 123 SControl 300) Mine is correct and the difference between a working setup [2] and the not-working is minimal: work -----> ata1: SATA link up 1.5 Gbps (SStatus 113) not-work -> ata1: SATA link up 1.5 Gbps (SStatus 113 SControl 300) Following [1], I tried with both acpi=off and pci=noirq, no differences in the SStatus but only SControl (still 300). I guess I need to report it to the LKML and/or trying to contact Hitachi... Thx, bye, Gismo / Luca Footnotes: [1] http://lkml.org/lkml/2007/1/22/14 [2] http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=406026 From luca at pca.it Tue Feb 13 18:04:08 2007 From: luca at pca.it (Luca Capello) Date: Thu Oct 11 13:18:23 2007 Subject: Data recovery in Switzerland References: <878xf25sti.fsf@tora.pca.it> <20070213110030.GA21607@lapse.madduck.net> Message-ID: <87tzxq2dmf.fsf@tora.pca.it> Hello! On Tue, 13 Feb 2007 12:00:30 +0100, martin f krafft wrote: > also sprach Luca Capello [2007.02.13.0907 +0000]: >> 1) I don't remember where I read it, but some could recover data >> from broken HD after having put the HD in a freezer > > I don't see the scientific basis of this. Me neither, but as Mario reported, it worked for me at least once (but I don't think it'd be relevant with this specific problem). > Is there really absolutely no noise when you plug in the drive? No noise at all. Putting my hand on the HD doesn't reveal any movement inside, this is why I think it isn't broken, but it's "sleeping". >> 2) buying the exact same model and trying to swap the electronic >> circuits > > No way. I'm not an HD-expert, but if the hdparm settings are stored in the electronic circuit, swapping them shouldn't do the trick? IMHO two hdparm settings could have caused my problem: 1) option -B with value 0, because it seems that the first available value is 1 (information not found on `man hdparm`, but at [1]). In this case, the HD is simply powered-off. 2) enable option -s, which means that the HD is powered-up in standby mode and thus the controller should spin-up it, as per `man hdparm` -s Enable/disable the power-on in standby feature, if supported by the drive. If enabled, the drive is powered-up in the standby mode to allow the controller to sequence the spin-up of devices. This feature is usually disabled and the drive is powered-up in the active mode (see -C above). Note that a drive may also allow to enable this feature by a jumper. Some SATA drives support the control of this feature by pin 11 of the SATA power connector. In these cases, this command may be unsupported or may have no effect. The HD doesn't have any jumper and the SATA power connector any pin neither. >> 3) search for a recovery company and hope that it won't be too >> expensive :-( > > They are all massively expensive. I know, but I'd still like to have a clear price idea, this is why I asked for a company. > Sorry, dude. Well, basically I should blame myself for having played with hdparm. Thx, bye, Gismo / Luca Footnotes: [1] http://gentoo-wiki.com/HOWTO_Use_hdparm_to_improve_IDE_device_performance#Power_Management_-B From pjordan at whitehorse.blackwire.com Tue Feb 13 20:04:56 2007 From: pjordan at whitehorse.blackwire.com (pjordan@whitehorse.blackwire.com) Date: Thu Oct 11 13:18:23 2007 Subject: Data recovery in Switzerland In-Reply-To: <20070213110030.GA21607@lapse.madduck.net> References: <878xf25sti.fsf@tora.pca.it> <20070213110030.GA21607@lapse.madduck.net> Message-ID: <20070213190456.GA25911@panama> > If your drive head-crashed (then it will make clicking noises on > startup), you can sometimes cause it to spin up once or twice more > by dropping it 20cm onto the table. But a freezer? Yow! I once had a drive flip over off of its edge onto the desk. I was using it "on edge" with just the cables attached. It died mercilessly. I immediately went into a boot disk and tried to backup the data over the network, and I actually recovered some. Spinning it after the shock however seemed to kill it done good dead. It made a horrible shreaking sound as it gave up the magic pink smoke. Since then I've learned: 1) The slightest scratch at all on the hub of the drive and it is toast. 2) Backups are a better friend than google :) Maybe you could find a friend with an STM who wouldn't mind giving it a shot. Peter From luca at pca.it Thu Feb 15 01:29:48 2007 From: luca at pca.it (Luca Capello) Date: Thu Oct 11 13:18:23 2007 Subject: Data recovery in Switzerland In-Reply-To: <871wku3sd3.fsf@tora.pca.it> (Luca Capello's message of "Tue, 13 Feb 2007 18:00:24 +0100") References: <878xf25sti.fsf@tora.pca.it> <45D188E3.6020906@cateee.net> <871wku3sd3.fsf@tora.pca.it> Message-ID: <87y7n08dqb.fsf@tora.pca.it> Hello! Some more tests... On Tue, 13 Feb 2007 18:00:24 +0100, Luca Capello wrote: > 2) dmesg on the above machine booted with Sunday Debian LiveCD: [...] > Google didn't help for "ata1.00: failed to IDENTIFY > (INIT_DEV_PARAMS failed, err_mask=0x80)" and for "ata1: port is > slow to respond, please be patient" neither. For the latter, [1] > could be relevant, but the reporter has a different SStatus: > > ata1: SATA link up 3.0 Gbps (SStatus 123 SControl 300) > > Mine is correct and the difference between a working setup [2] > and the not-working is minimal: > > work -----> ata1: SATA link up 1.5 Gbps (SStatus 113) > not-work -> ata1: SATA link up 1.5 Gbps (SStatus 113 SControl 300) Actually, this doesn't matter at all: I finally found a second S-ATA cable and on the ASUS machine, the working S-ATA HD is recognized with the same SStatus and SControl. And even XP doesn't recognize the HD neither it powers it up :-( Thx, bye, Gismo / Luca From luca at pca.it Sun May 6 14:04:41 2007 From: luca at pca.it (Luca Capello) Date: Thu Oct 11 13:18:24 2007 Subject: Data recovery in Switzerland References: <878xf25sti.fsf@tora.pca.it> <20070213110030.GA21607@lapse.madduck.net> <87tzxq2dmf.fsf@tora.pca.it> Message-ID: <87slaai2ee.fsf@gismo.pca.it> Hello! On Tue, 13 Feb 2007 18:04:08 +0100, Luca Capello wrote: > IMHO two hdparm settings could have caused my problem: [...] > 2) enable option -s, which means that the HD is powered-up in > standby mode and thus the controller should spin-up it, as per > `man hdparm` > > -s Enable/disable the power-on in standby feature, if supported > by the drive. If enabled, the drive is powered-up in the > standby mode to allow the controller to sequence the spin-up > of devices. This feature is usually disabled and the drive > is powered-up in the active mode (see -C above). Note that > a drive may also allow to enable this feature by a jumper. > Some SATA drives support the control of this feature by pin > 11 of the SATA power connector. In these cases, this command > may be unsupported or may have no effect. > > The HD doesn't have any jumper and the SATA power connector any > pin neither. Henk Schaer (cc:ed to inform him) informed me that this is a known "bug" in hdparm [1]. In fact, using the suggested CD bootable image the HD is spun up, but unfortunately with the following result: ===== ata2: SATA link up 1.5 Gbps (SStatus 113 SControl 300) spinning up drive ata2.00: qc timeout (cmd 0xef) ata2.00: failed to IDENTIFY (SPINUP failed, err_mask=0x104) ata2: SATA link up 1.5 Gbps (SStatus 113 SControl 300) spinning up drive ata2.00: qc timeout (cmd 0xef) ata2.00: failed to IDENTIFY (SPINUP failed, err_mask=0x104) ata2.00: limiting speed to UDMA7:PIO5 ata2: SATA link up 1.5 Gbps (SStatus 113 SControl 300) spinning up drive ata2.00: qc timeout (cmd 0xef) ata2.00: failed to IDENTIFY (SPINUP failed, err_mask=0x104) ata2: SATA link up 1.5 Gbps (SStatus 113 SControl 300) ===== The same moment the HD is spun up it produces some scratching noise, thus there's also a mechanical problem. The HD has been sent to a recovery company, whose answer was that the HD suffers of an electronic problem, thus they cannot do anything without the same exact electronic circuit. Nevertheless, they opened the HD. Thx, bye, Gismo / Luca Footnotes: [1] http://sourceforge.net/forum/forum.php?thread_id=1655144&forum_id=461705