Dead hard drive causes system to freeze @ post screen

IBM djna-352500 25gb hard drive, causes the computer to freeze @ the post screen. I have tried this drive on a couple of computers with the same result. I have tried the jumpers @ master and cable select, same result. Bios is set to boot from diskette drive and to stop on 'no errors'
Data recovery dudes are talking in the 1000$ range to recover the data.
I have found some used but working djna 352500 drives for sale and I am thinking to try a contoller board swap before commiting to a lab for recovery service.
Anyone seen this problem before?
Anyone gone the data recovery route?
Recommendations for a recovery lab are welcome

Thanks in advance

 

You should be able to navagate the bios with or without a hard drive installed, freezing at the post screen has nothing to do with the hard drive, this could be memory , power supply, unless we are not talking the post screen, tell us what the screen looks like when it freezes. ed

 

a) I have tried the drive as a slave, with the same results
b) the computers(I have tried this drive on two different computers)freeze at the screen that reads"hit del for setup', which is the post screen, yes? Absolutely nothing works @ that point. I must push and hold the power button to initiate a restart.
I unplug the drive and the computers work just fine.

 

I have slaved the drive as per your request, both primary and secondary @ cable select with the primary last on cable and defective drive @ middle connector. Same result, freezes at post screen. I disconnect the defective drive and all is well. I even setup the defective drive in the bios manually, then powered off, connected the drive, powered up and the computer froze @ the post screen.

 

Have you let it set there for a few minutes to see if it is just taking the bio a while to register it properly?? I had a instance where I was doing the same thing...trying to slave a drive for the purpose of retreiving important data...and it was appearing as though it was locking up in the post, just like your saying...so I figured to hell with it...I just restarted it again, went and occupied myself with something else and came back about ten minutes, and low and behold if my destop wasn't on the monitor and sure enough...I found the drive slaved in my computer!!

So I guess to make my uneccessary ramblings shorter...it might take awhile, as it appears it is freezing at the post point of declaring your IDE drives, so just let it set for a few minutes and see If it plows it's way through!!

Roger

 

I connected the drive to an old, very old 500mhz computer and I have access to the bios, however, the drive is posted as not installed.
Some advice for plan B, please.

PLAN B:
I am planning to replace the contoller board on the defective drive with a controller board from a working drive. I am thinking that this is the last option before the data recovery folks get a crack at it.

Thanks in advance

 

Resolved.

It was a bad controller card.
Swapped out the bad with a good one and all is right with the world again.

Many thanks for all who responded with suggestions.