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Need Help retreving data from removed harddrive

D

DewCad

New Member
Joined
Jul 25, 2008
Messages
7
Can anyone please help me retrieve data from the hard drive I removed from my old IBM AT clone about 17 years ago. I've kept it in case someday I may need the data, well that day has arrived. I'm looking for a 286 computer to swap out hard drives with mine, to back up the data onto diskettes.
- Thanks.
 
Where are you located?

Since it's just a data retrieval most AT class systems will suffice. Hopefully someone nearby is willing and able.
 
I'm in Bradenton, Florida.

I have spoken to a couple local guys who are looking into it.

One guy has a few IBM AT's. The first one blinked, and the second one smelt like it was about to catch on fire. He'll try a couple more to see if he can get one running.....

The hard drive controller is an issue too, however another website my have identified it. I don't have those notes with me at the moment.

Your help is appreciated - Thanks!
 
Try to remember that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing (and gets stuff cooked)

I'm an ISCETT certified computer technician with 35 years experience and I do drive recovery as part of my business.

So, if the "couple local guys" don't destroy your hard drive and render any chance of retrieving the data from it into a REALLY expensive "platter swapping" experience, you ship me the drive and I'll burn you a CD of the contents and keep the drive.
 
Make sure you are attaching it to the correct type of controller on a PC with
BIOS configured with the correct drive type. Attaching to the wrong type
of controller or a wrongly configured BIOS could erroneously write to the
drive and destroy the FAT and/or data.

If you could provide the drive make/model someone here could probably
tell which controller/drive type setting is needed.

Good luck
 
You guys are great. I knew there are knowledgible professionals like yourselves that can help - thank you.

Yes. One time the motherboard quit and I had to recover the hard drive.
I got Norton Utilities and was one bottom press away from restoring it when I was given the wrong information regarding the type, that ended-up scrabbling it. Had to reformat. That was before the data that's on there now.

The hard drive is a:

Rodime
RO203E
43023269
Build level 6
------
SECTOR MAP
195-2-22 294-3-21

It was pulled from my IBM AT Clone (by Multitech) purchased in 1986.
It had 8 mHz, and was an 80286 chip with a math coprossor that made it 10 mHz. (a real screamer!)

Please provide a phone number contact where I may speak with you.
Thank you, David (941) 322-9739
 
Google shows the following info (see link below). Seeing as how its only 30MB it might
have been running off of the original AT controller. I don't know if IBM
shipped AT's with a Rodime drive. (just noticed you did say it was an AT clone)

I think there must be a table somewhere to figure out what drive type this is.

http://stason.org/TULARC/pc/hard-drives-hdd/rodime/RO203E-31MB-5-25-FH-MFM-ST506.html

R O 2 0 3 E RODIME
NO MORE PRODUCED Native| Translation
------+-----+-----+-----
Form 5.25"/FH Cylinders 640| | |
Capacity form/unform 31/ 40 MB Heads 6| | |
Seek time / track 60.0/ 8.0 ms Sector/track 32| | |
Controller MFM / ST506 Precompensation
Cache/Buffer KB Landing Zone 639
Data transfer rate 0.625 MB/S int Bytes/Sector 256
0.625 MB/S ext
Recording method MFM
 
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MikeS said:
I assume the controller card is long gone, and you don't know what it was?

m
Click to expand...

Chances are very good it was either a WD or a modified WD (a la AST). However, I can't see them using a modified controller in a clone.

Other possibilities from that time would be DTC or Adaptec, but Western Digital was, pretty much, the weapon of choice. Most likely a WD-1002 or variant.

Only real way to find out is to try controllers until you find one that reads it. Trying the wrong one shouldn't cause any damage because, if it can't read it, is sure as hell isn't going to be able to write anything to it.

@ OP, whom is it you wish to talk to?
 
True enough, no harm done if it's the wrong one. But if he/we knew for sure it'd help if whoever he took/sent it to happened to have the identical controller (unless it's you (Dru) of course, who no doubt has every hard disk controller ever made ;-)

m
 
Nope, not me, and although I do have quite a number of controllers, some of which I've laid the non-connector end over a brick on a hot day to reshape it around a CPU, I don't have ALL of them (but, I'm working on it) LOL
 
It's hard to say without the controller. You might try a plain vanilla WD 1003 and see if it works, but there was a lot of variation. RLL was a cheap option (compared to a new drive) and many upgraded to them--and depending on controller model and make, pretty much incompatible. I've got more RLL controllers than MFM in my collection, so that must tie into their popularity.

The old Rodimes were pretty good drives--I've still got one running in one of my systems. The half-height models weren't nearly as good and I no longer have any of those.

The sad thing is that I used to know the fellows who sold Multitechs in the US--and I didn't bother to hang onto any of the documentation that I had. To me, it was just another Taiwanese clone.
 
Thank you guys for your insight.

I got the machine from a company in Texas, to be used as a cadd drafting workstation. I'm trying to get my cad files from the projects I worked on.

When I had to recover the drive before I remeber having to select either a Seagate 6, or a Seagate 4.

The guy told me the wrong one and it scambled everything.

I believe the correct answer was the Seagate 6.

The thing is I cannot remeber what that was. Is that a controller?

The machine was working great but I got a 386 and pulled the hard drive just incase I needed it - tossed the rest (not smart...).

All my cad back-ups are on 5 1/4" floppies. I just tried to read one and it the message came up to format the diskette. Any idea if it is still possible to retrieve the data from the floppies?

Druid6900 if you don't mind can you call me. If you think you can retrieve the data.

You all are very helpful and I appreciate your advice.
 
It may be possible to retrieve some of the info from some of the floppies and, between the two sources, all the files may be recoverable.

The numbers 4 and 6 would be the "type" number of the hard drive that "tells" the controller the parameters as set up in the computer's CMOS. They are FAIRLY standard from back then, depending on the motherboard BIOS.

Yes, I think with a great amount of confidence that I could recover the files.

I will call you tomorrow afternoon. PM me if that is good for you.
 
Druid6900 I appreciate your optimism!

Please call whenever it is convenient for you.

Thank you,

David
(941) 322-9739
 
I've got a fair pile of old MFM/RLL controllers, so if you run out of candidates, let me know. Maybe I can contribute something.
 
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Great job Richard - you are a Druid!

I appreciate your help!

Chuck G thank you for sharing your insight, and everyone else who typed-in!!

Peace,
Dewcad
 
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