Hey wildstar,
I just tried to fire up the 3000T again. There's no sound whatsoever from the Quantum. I also had my hand on it and felt no pulse, clicking or popping.
If it is well and truly dead then when I hook it up to the PC's SATA port I'll rotate the Quantum by hand as you suggested.
This all seems like a long shot but a year from now I'll be able to say there was no stone left unturned.
R/ Ben