www.deadharddrive.com

[howiezows]

Since I found this forum useful, I am posting both to add more data for others, and also to see if anyone has additional input.

A client of mine with a Dell Dimension containing a Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 8 40GB (part # 6E040L0 ) received an "unmountable boot volume" error. The drive spins, no strange noises, but Dell bootup diagnostics showed failure ("Primary IDE Drive 0: Maxtor 6E040L0 - Fail. Return Code: 4" whatever that meant.) Dell sent a replacement, but it was not same drive (it was a WD.) I tried adding the bad drive as 2nd drive in another computer - it was recognized on boot as a Maxtor drive and type, but did not mount in Windows. Also tried the drive attached to an external USB adapter and Windows 2000, but Windows Event Viewer reported multiple messages of "The driver detected a controller error on \Device\Harddisk2\DR18."

The drive was built in Aug 2003, and I wanted to try the logic board swap. I was able to find a reseller locally selling the same drive new, and for only $47 it seemed worth a try. The circuit board is almost identical using same "ARDENT C9-C1 040112600" chip, (there was a tiny difference in code, if anyone wants the details, I'll post them but I don't think it's relevant.) Swapping the logic board didn't help. I then tried the original logic board on the new harddrive, and it was recognized right away, which leads me to conclude that the new board would have worked on the old drive if that was actually the problem.

Having come this far, I was wondering if anyone here might have any other ideas. Obviously there is more circuitry within the casing of the drive itself, but would this be a logical stopping point (sorry for the pun) in my attempts to reclaim this drive?

Thanks,
Howie

[happyhappy]

I think I follow your problem, and while I'm no expert I think a board swap will not get you where you want to go. But...

I did a successful board swap an two Maxtors with different Argent controller chips (C5-C1 and C8-C1). I don't think anything else written on the Argent chips is relevant. What is relevant is the firmware version of the drive which is shown as "Code" on the drive label.

It sounds to me like to boot sector might be corrupted and I have no idea whether that can be repaired. Whether or not it can, I think you may be able to recover some or all of your files with software called GetDataBack from getdataback.com. You can find out using their free trial, but make sure you are attentive to the installation procedure and don't install it with the errant drive attached. To actually recover the files you have to cough up $80 for the license key. It was a godsend for me.

I have a more detailed account of my experience on the More Stories thread.

I hope this is of some help, and thanks for contributing. This can be an invaluable site for some desperate ordinary folk, but only if those of us who have done some tinkering share our experience, successful and otherwise.

[ranikolahdd]

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