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Re: Will Testdisk create a drive image?

Posted: 08 Oct 2012, 00:18
by Lito
Okay, I'll have one more bash.
You never posted the maker of your hard disk. Only the size: 500.1 GB
I have two 500.1 GB Hitachi hard drives. If by a chance in a million your brand were to coincide, I would be willing to post one of the drives on loan until you recover your data.

I also spotted this video in YouTube, amongst many, of somebody swaping control boards (circuit board).
The guy is part of a commercial company selling replacement circuit boards.

I leave the links just in case.

HDD repair video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRkFDFguT5A

Company web site:
http://www.onepcbsolution.com/

Best of luck

Re: Will Testdisk create a drive image?

Posted: 10 Oct 2012, 03:06
by AndyII
Thank you again, but I had made a purchase with another company minutes prior to seeing your latest post. Swapping PCBs isn't so easy with newer hard drives. The new hard drives store information about the drives on an EEPROM on the circuit board that is specific to the drive itself. I don't know what is stored exactly, but I do remember it's as specific as the resistance in that particular head assembly. This information must be transferred to the new board and requires a piece of equipment that costs around $15,000 to purchase. Some boards only require the transfer of a ROM chip. Alas, mine isn't one of those.

I went with Donor Drives, LLC in Ohio. They include the transfer for free if you buy the board from them. I was hoping to find something a little closer to home due to the time involved without my computer. I just checked the website for the company you mentioned and they do not have a listing for my hard disk controller board.

By the way, I was able to start an image with Testdisk, but my drive conked out before it could finish. I never did figure out how to use the image or restore it if I ever got it created. If they can fix the drive, I may get another chance.