IOMEGA External HDD Working Like Magnet

Hello, I purchased a IOMEGA 1TB External HDD from UK (When my cousin went there), around 3-4 years ago. The HDD was working fine till 20th. But from 21st morning HDD was not getting detected, and I thought it might be some problem with the USB Cable. And due to office I didn't get much time and didn't bothered.

But now when I tried to change the USB, it didn't worked. And I noticed that HDD is behaving like Magnet. I don't know what it's attracting but the power is too much.

Then I detach the case, as it's out of warranty anyway, and there's a Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 Series HDD. I connected it without the case too, just thought might be some problem with the case, but the HDD is working like magnet. It's spinning like a magnet.

May be due to my bad english I can't explain, but the thing is, when I turn it on, a magnetic field gets generated, and it spins like a high power magnet.

Is it dead? Or anything I can do?

krishnandu.sarkar said:
Hello, I purchased a IOMEGA 1TB External HDD from UK (When my cousin went there), around 3-4 years ago. The HDD was working fine till 20th. But from 21st morning HDD was not getting detected, and I thought it might be some problem with the USB Cable. And due to office I didn't get much time and didn't bothered.

But now when I tried to change the USB, it didn't worked. And I noticed that HDD is behaving like Magnet. I don't know what it's attracting but the power is too much.

Then I detach the case, as it's out of warranty anyway, and there's a Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 Series HDD. I connected it without the case too, just thought might be some problem with the case, but the HDD is working like magnet. It's spinning like a magnet.

May be due to my bad english I can't explain, but the thing is, when I turn it on, a magnetic field gets generated, and it spins like a high power magnet.

Is it dead? Or anything I can do?

Only thing I can think of is that maybe too much current is passing through , leading to increase in magnetic force . lol.

maybe you can " The Force is Strong with this One.! "

Either way it's gone right?

So can I anyway RMA it? I mean I'm ready to pay price. But is it possible to RMA it? If yes, who would do that Seagate or IOMEGA?

Sorry but , I have no idea about RMA policies.

Although the problem you are describing feels like as if the platters are spinning at a speed way more than their actual speed.
Although , would like to know that is it the magnetic field with metallic items that you are able to observe or is it that the drive feels heavy to move or shake when it's on , like some sort of force is trying to hold it in position. ??

Yes. It's the sort of magnetic force due to which I can't hold it properly, it moves like in 8.

Looks like time to buy a new HDD. In that case what do you think about *www.flipkart.com/wd-caviar-green-2...GTK&ref=0b40049d-dd3f-492e-8ed0-88ce1ef55508?

I'll just use it as a backup drive to store movies, games etc. and to download torrents.

is it magnetic force or something like electric current passing?

krishnandu.sarkar said:
Yes. It's the sort of magnetic force due to which I can't hold it properly, it moves like in 8.

Looks like time to buy a new HDD. In that case what do you think about WD Caviar Green 2 TB Desktop Internal Hard Drive (WD20EZRX) - WD: Flipkart.com

I'll just use it as a backup drive to store movies, games etc. and to download torrents.

Then maybe the platters may have gone dis-oriented and are causing the problem .

BTW , are going to put that new HDD you are planning to buy in that USB casing or are you willing to use it as internal HDD ?? And what interface will it be using , like USB3.0 / USB2.0 or what ??

Rishi. said:
Then maybe the platters may have gone dis-oriented and are causing the problem .

BTW , are going to put that new HDD you are planning to buy in that USB casing or are you willing to use it as internal HDD ?? And what interface will it be using , like USB3.0 / USB2.0 or what ??

Sorry for late reply..!! Went to play Tomb Raider 2013. No I'm looking forward to buy Internal HDD, and my Motherboard supports Sata 6Gbps.

you definitely can't RMA the HDD with Seagate as this one is an OEM only HDD and the serial no will get rejected. as for iOmega, back then most HDD manufacturers were providing 5yrs warranty but as your cousin bought it from abroad, it most likely won't qualify for warranty.

krishnandu.sarkar said:
Sorry for late reply..!! Went to play Tomb Raider 2013. No I'm looking forward to buy Internal HDD, and my Motherboard supports Sata 6Gbps.

Gamer , uh!!!

Well it'll serve more than what you'll need for backup.So go ahead , with it. There's one from seagate in similiar price range , but I personally prefer WD.

sam said:
you definitely can't RMA the HDD with Seagate as this one is an OEM only HDD and the serial no will get rejected. as for iOmega, back then most HDD manufacturers were providing 5yrs warranty but as your cousin bought it from abroad, it most likely won't qualify for warranty.

I guess now all he can do is try to open it safely and see if any screws loose inside.

sam said:
you definitely can't RMA the HDD with Seagate as this one is an OEM only HDD and the serial no will get rejected. as for iOmega, back then most HDD manufacturers were providing 5yrs warranty but as your cousin bought it from abroad, it most likely won't qualify for warranty.

I know as it's brought from abroad I can't claim Warranty, so I not even expecting it to be serviced. But I'm looking for Paid RMA. I mean HDD's can't be fixed outside, so is it possible that service centers will fix it up and I'll pay the money required? Or new HDD is the only way?

Rishi. said:
Gamer , uh!!!
Well it'll serve more than what you'll need for backup.So go ahead , with it. There's one from seagate in similiar price range , but I personally prefer WD.

I guess now all he can do is try to open it safely and see if any screws loose inside.

Thanks a lot Rishi

Rishi. said:
Gamer , uh!!!

was a time when he didn't play games at all. sudden change you know :razz:

Rishi. said:
I guess now all he can do is try to open it safely and see if any screws loose inside.

opening a HDD manually is really difficult as the bolts are tightened extremely hard. normal screw driver can't even make them bulge.

krishnandu.sarkar said:
I know as it's brought from abroad I can't claim Warranty, so I not even expecting it to be serviced. But I'm looking for Paid RMA. I mean HDD's can't be fixed outside, so is it possible that service centers will fix it up and I'll pay the money required? Or new HDD is the only way?

never heard about HDDs being repaired. at most the data can be recovered using third party service.

sam said:
never heard about HDDs being repaired. at most the data can be recovered using third party service.

They will charge a huge I guess..!! Still can you please name a few whom I can approach?

In Delhi , I know about Nehru Palace and couple of shops who are known for performing such operations. But it seems like you are in Cal.

sam said:
was a time when he didn't play games at all. sudden change you know

opening a HDD manually is really difficult as the bolts are tightened extremely hard. normal screw driver can't even make them bulge.
.

Never had the chance of tampering screws or owning any damaged HDD.

, but I did saw some videos for occasions like this.

Fortunately I have those Set of screw drivers ,purchased from local shop.

*www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyC-_pVBpOQ
Doesn't seems that hard from the Vid.

Talking seriously , Even I will also advice him to take it to a service center as there may still be chances if the surface has not been damaged.

Yeah. Contact Steller (Data Recovery | Data Recovery Services | hard disk data recovery)..!! Will go on Monday, lets see.

Yeah I have that Screw Driver set too..!! But googling around I came to know that, there's some Zero Environment like thing, where you must have < 100 Micron Dust Particles in your room, else it may damage the magnetic disk inside, which will lead to no chance of data recovery.

@OP; can you post a video?

krishnandu.sarkar said:
Yeah. Contact Steller (Data Recovery | Data Recovery Services | hard disk data recovery)..!! Will go on Monday, lets see.

was going to name Steller's. but forgot the name.

krishnandu.sarkar said:
Yeah I have that Screw Driver set too..!! But googling around I came to know that, there's some Zero Environment like thing, where you must have < 100 Micron Dust Particles in your room, else it may damage the magnetic disk inside, which will lead to no chance of data recovery.

platters and the head (pin) are extremely close so any amount of dust means friction or jam.

Rishi. said:
Never had the chance of tampering screws or owning any damaged HDD. , but I did saw some videos for occasions like this.

opened (actually just hammered it apart) a dead HDD quite a while back. just 3-4 metallic plates.

harshilsharma63 said:
@OP; can you post a video?

Sure. I can. But you won't understand anything. It's spinning slowly. One can feel it with hand only. I mean if one is holding the drive then only he can understand the thing.

sam said:
was going to name Steller's. but forgot the name.

platters and the head (pin) are extremely close so any amount of dust means friction or jam.

opened (actually just hammered it apart) a dead HDD quite a while back. just 3-4 metallic plates.

Let's see. How much they charge. I'm confused whether to recover or not.

krishnandu.sarkar said:
Sure. I can. But you won't understand anything. It's spinning slowly. One can feel it with hand only. I mean if one is holding the drive then only he can understand the thing.

Let's see. How much they charge. I'm confused whether to recover or not.

Actually most of the 7200-10000RPM Drives feels heavy and a sort of gyroscopic force , when they are switched on.That's true for fully functional Drives as well. It's because of the moving parts.
In my suggestion if you want to have the recovery , stop using the HDD for now until it reaches the Service center , to avoid further damage.

Also here's a page I found for "Free Quote" , I think you can get an estimated cost of recovery from here.
"Request Free Quote" , Also they have mentioned have no charge if no recovery has been made.

Good Luck.

Rishi. said:
Actually most of the 7200-10000RPM Drives feels heavy and a sort of gyroscopic force , when they are switched on.That's true for fully functional Drives as well. It's because of the moving parts.
In my suggestion if you want to have the recovery , stop using the HDD for now until it reaches the Service center , to avoid further damage.

Also here's a page I found for "Free Quote" , I think you can get an estimated cost of recovery from here.
"Request Free Quote" , Also they have mentioned have no charge if no recovery has been made.

Good Luck.

Yeah I stopped using it for the same reason.

And yes, the receptionist told me about No Data No Fees thing. Well I tried that thing, but they can only say the price after assessment.

First they do Media Assessment, and sends a report like how much charge, whether data can be recovered, if yes to what extent, the list of directories etc. And once you confirm what MAR, then they will start recovering, and you'd be called to verify the data, and if everything is fine, they will charge you else they wont.

Hey guys, just bumping this thread up instead of creating a new one.

I'd like to know, is it ok to buy 2nd Hand RMA'ed HDD? Ofcourse I'll check HD Tune Health, and if it's in warranty or not.

But other than that, generally RMA'ed drives which have been replaced and seller selling it sealed, is it ok buy them?

krishnandu.sarkar said:
Hey guys, just bumping this thread up instead of creating a new one.

I'd like to know, is it ok to buy 2nd Hand RMA'ed HDD? Ofcourse I'll check HD Tune Health, and if it's in warranty or not.

But other than that, generally RMA'ed drives which have been replaced and seller selling it sealed, is it ok buy them?

Depends on how old the device is , and what is the price difference compared to a brand new one.

Rishi. said:
Depends on how old the device is , and what is the price difference compared to a brand new one.

It's sealed pack, RMA'ed, replaced and new.

Anyway, after thinking a lot I decided to go for new one. May be WD Blue 1TB. Any suggestions?

^^WD Blu is nice.
Option : Toshiba 1 TB (DT01ACA100)

Chaitanya said:
^^WD Blu is nice.
Option : Toshiba 1 TB (DT01ACA100)

Though I don't have much idea about Toshiba's quality now (Yeah I know previously it was used much), and the RMA process of Toshiba. So I'm bit inclined towards WD because of their door to door RMA.

Anyway, I'm open to options though.

But as you said if WD Blue is good, then may be I can go with it. But day by day $ price rising high IDK how much I'll be able to spend.

Guys is it ok to order WD Blue WD10EZEX 1 TB Internal Hard Drive - WD: Flipkart.com ?

krishnandu.sarkar said:
Though I don't have much idea about Toshiba's quality now (Yeah I know previously it was used much), and the RMA process of Toshiba. So I'm bit inclined towards WD because of their door to door RMA.

Anyway, I'm open to options though.

But as you said if WD Blue is good, then may be I can go with it. But day by day $ price rising high IDK how much I'll be able to spend.

Guys is it ok to order WD Blue WD10EZEX 1 TB Internal Hard Drive - WD: Flipkart.com ?

You are correct with WD's RMA service.
Check locally for better prices else buy from Fk(4.5k is ok IMO)

Chaitanya said:
You are correct with WD's RMA service.
Check locally for better prices else buy from Fk(4.5k is ok IMO)

It's 4k here locally and at Fk it was 3.8 but today I see it's 3.9.

So for 100/- I'll not take risk of shipping and all, I'll buy locally instead.

krishnandu.sarkar said:
It's 4k here locally and at Fk it was 3.8 but today I see it's 3.9.

So for 100/- I'll not take risk of shipping and all, I'll buy locally instead.

go ahead no need to worry about shipping...
WD blue is really good

^^Thanks