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How would I know if one of my platters was upside down

Posted: 20.09.17, 16:31
by osity
WD 2.5" 2 platter drive-FBlite
Seems like a simple question, but I'm looking for detail. What symptoms would I see if the bottom platter was inserted upside down? Would I still be able to access SA?

Re: How would I know if one of my platters was upside down

Posted: 20.09.17, 18:09
by Blizzard
Even if we ignore that 0 becomes 1 and 1 becomes 0... If you think about it, wouldn't an "upside down" platter be spinning backwards? :)

Re: How would I know if one of my platters was upside down

Posted: 20.09.17, 21:41
by osity
Blizzard, Yes it would.
I'm in this situation where the bottom platter may be upside down but interestingly enough I'm able to get SA SPT and to copy 1 and copy 2 of the SA. The drive actually stays spinning but only if i use headmap 1111.
I think it's ignoring the other platter completely and thinking its a one platter drive. Im not getting full ID though..

Trying to figure out if the platter is in fact upside down.

Re: How would I know if one of my platters was upside down

Posted: 20.09.17, 21:47
by Blizzard
What model HDD? What is the head map? Head 1 is probably the same platter as head 0 so I think you might just have a bad head 0. What makes you think someone flipped the platter?

Re: How would I know if one of my platters was upside down

Posted: 20.09.17, 21:57
by osity
WD10JMVW
Head map is 0123.
I think the platters may have been flipped because I removed them a few times ;)
Originally the drive was stable without modifying headmap and now its not unless i modify it to 1111.
I haven't ruled out platter alignment but I took precautions for that. It could just be heads.

Re: How would I know if one of my platters was upside down

Posted: 21.09.17, 01:15
by DataMedics
osity wrote:Source of the post Originally the drive was stable without modifying headmap and now its not unless i modify it to 1111.
I haven't ruled out platter alignment but I took precautions for that. It could just be heads.


So why the heck did you remove the platters? I really hope this isn't a client's drive you're messing around with.

Re: How would I know if one of my platters was upside down

Posted: 21.09.17, 02:51
by osity
Of course it's a clients Drive. This is a professional environment not HDDguru.com :) One head was reading but others were not despite being changed three times. Platters were completely contaminated with splatters and smear residue from another lab in San Francisco that deemed it unrecoverable. I've already recovered some files from this 'unrecoverable drive' despite it's terrible condition. Any input is appreciated!

I'd also like to know how you expect to find scratches on platters zero and one without removing platters. Bore Cameras don't seem to do a good job.