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Topic: How to recover an empty hard drive? (Read 181 times) previous topic - next topic
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How to recover an empty hard drive?

I have a "bricked" HD here. It was running fine today. I was able to make an image backup using Foxclone, but then I decided to re-partition it, and that failed. Now I can plug it in using a USB/SATA adapter, and see it as /dev/sde, but the system thinks there's no media there. Nothing I've tried will recognize it to do anything. Not fdisk, sfdisk, gnome-disks, or gparted. If I plug into a Win10 box, it shows up as E:, but also with nothing there, and I can't format it, or do anything with it. Even hdparm can't work on it.
Code: [Select]
$ hdparm --security-set-pass password /dev/sde
security_password: "password"

/dev/sde:
Issuing SECURITY_SET_PASS command, password="password", user=user, mode=high
The running kernel lacks CONFIG_IDE_TASK_IOCTL support for this device.
SECURITY_SET_PASS: Invalid argument

An example:
Code: [Select]
$ sudo dd count=8 if=/dev/null of=/dev/sde
[sudo] password for myname:
dd: failed to open '/dev/sde': No medium found

It shows up in lsblk as type disk, with a size of zero.

I also tried using Western Digital's drive utility, but that works only with their various external drives, and maybe with RAID controllers. Doesn't see it at all via USB.

I'm about to try it in another machine, connected to the SATA, using a live CD to boot from. But I'm pretty dubious about that working.

I know the drive isn't dead. I'd just like to use it as an external backup device. Any thoughts?

Re: How to recover an empty hard drive?

Reply #1 –
How many hours on the drive do you know it's stats at all?
Cat Herders of Linux

Re: How to recover an empty hard drive?

Reply #2 –
It came out of a system that originally had Win8 on it.  :P

But no, it isn't an issue of drive failure. It was working fine, right up until the failed re-partition.

I've since noticed the same issue on other drives I have around here. I wiped them with either Darik's Boot and Nuke or the equivalent GNU wipe/erase. Now they don't work(?) at all. (I was trying other drives as part of a decision path to find one to use as a detached archive drive.)

I installed that particular drive back into the system it came out of, and even the BIOS doesn't see it.

Or, something really odd, or simple, is going on, and I'm just not seeing it.

I wish I had a test system here with an eSATA port, so I could simply plug it in and try that. Alas, I have severely limited desktop / workbench space, and even if I had such a PC, I don't where I'd put it.  :(

Re: How to recover an empty hard drive?

Reply #3 –
According to this doing a Secure Erase through a USB > Sata adapter can brick the device.
 

Re: How to recover an empty hard drive?

Reply #4 –
Nope, didn't do that.
 

Re: How to recover an empty hard drive?

Reply #5 –
Quote from: just_jed – on
Nope, didn't do that.
Is this a guessing game because you haven't told us what you did do ?
Quote
but then I decided to re-partition it, and that failed.
A masterclass in vague.

Model of this drive?

From what you say
Quote
I've since noticed the same issue on other drives I have around here. I wiped them with either Darik's Boot and Nuke or the equivalent GNU wipe/erase. Now they don't work(?) at all.
I'd suggest you cease secure erasing drives for now.

Re: How to recover an empty hard drive?

Reply #6 –
Quote from: gripped – on
A masterclass in vague.
Oh, good grief, really? Is there some reason why you can't just ask useful questions?
Quote
Model of this drive?
Western Digital WD10EZEX. 1TB
Quote
I'd suggest you cease secure erasing drives for now.
And then just what? Give them to Goodwill so anyone can then take my data? I'm not interested in that particular discussion. I am very much conscious about data security, and personal privacy. Oh, I can pay a local shop to wipe them, but why spend the money?

FWIW, I can't see that it matters whether I used gnome-disks or gparted or something else. I'm just looking to find whether there's a way to unbrick the drive now, or any others. I also have one which came out of a Win10 box, direct into a static bag, and it's also apparently a brick. That one's a Seagate. Since I have 2Seagate 500GB drives here, I now couldn't tell you which one in the pile is that particular one.

I'm grateful for any useful advice. People don't need to get snarky about it.

Re: How to recover an empty hard drive?

Reply #7 –
I don't sell or give away drives.
This is what I use for secure erase.


Useful advice generally needs accurate and detailed information.

The main information I had was that every drive you secure erase gets bricked.
Not secure erasing any more, untll you know why, seemed a reasonable suggestion to me ?


Re: How to recover an empty hard drive?

Reply #8 –
Secure erase is good enough for me to sell drives, it seems pretty wasteful breaking a perfectly good drive, although I don't keep state secrets, and if it was connected to the net then any data could have been taken already. I have used hdparm on SSD's and NVME's, and badblocks on spinning disk ones - but on a 1TB drive like yours, it would probably take literally days to complete the 4 runs. That sort of drive doesn't support secure erase (which is virtually instant in effect) so if you did something that was fast, it might not have been the right approach for an old 7200RPM SATA drive like yours. There are a lot of caveats in drive wiping, and you need to read and research carefully first I find:
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Securely_wipe_disk
You could try getting another drive of the same type and swapping the electronics PCB over but as it's blank then it's probably not worth it. It worked until it stopped working - this is often a typical pattern with things that don't work.

Re: How to recover an empty hard drive?

Reply #9 –
Quote from: ####### – on
it seems pretty wasteful breaking a perfectly good drive
As time and storage capacity moves on the future usefulness of a 10 year old drive is fairly limited. If I'm disposing of them I smash them.
But in the case of HDDs's I do tend to extract the magnet as they are fun to play with.