hard drive recovery/pcb question

[bobmarley]

Was working on my pc, which has mirrored 250gb drives. PC Locked up and heard light clicking. This had happened once before, it was the power cable loose on the sata drives. I touched the cable, pc remained locked.... seemed like it powered up for a sec but nothing happened.
Powered off pc, both drives unrecognized by system. Which is odd for a mirror, but it must have gotten a power surge. One of the mirrored drives clicks on boot (not clack-clack-clack like a crashed head) but more like spin up, click, spin up, click... like it can't find where to start. the other drive gets no power at all.

Have done PCB replacement before with success and so decided to try again. Took pcb off drive that would not power up, moved to drive that clicked. Now the "clicking" drive would not power up. that means pcb is broke/burnt.. likely both are in that case..
moved pcb from "clicking" drive to the drive that wouldn't power up. it clicked once, and i pulled power from the system.. likely that pcb dead then too.

The mirror worked not 15 seconds before the clicking began. It would be odd for both drives in a mirror to have simultaneous head crashes... so i'm thinking it's the pcb.

Questions:
i have 2 new drives coming in from Western Digital.. could take a PCB off one of those and see if it works... if not would need data recovery.
the pcb obviously supplies a power source. can a busted pcb make a drive click? i would THINK so, but hey, maybe not..

has anyone done data recovery like this? used a place and had good results, and not as expensive as someone like OnTrack?

[Paul Komski]

has anyone done data recovery like this?

If the hardware is not detected by the BIOS then you are into expensive non-DIY recovery. If the drives can be accessed (try the maker's diagnostics which can tunnel through and not let the RAID array complicate things) then www.runtime.org has GetDataBack recovery software for FAT and NTFS that has had a lot of success round here.

It's certainly unlucky to have apparently lost two such mirrors at the same time. Are they attached directly to the mobo (which one) or to a pci card. You may be lucky switching PCBs but they must abosolutely match the correct HDD to have a reasonable chance of success.

I have mirrored SATAs and if the power supply gets disrupted them I do hear an occasional click from somewhere in the box but the system keeps going and then the array bios reports a problem with the array at the next boot-up.

I would personally like to try the drives in a known good system before writing them off.

[bobmarley]

but if the PCB is gone, due to power, it won't be seen by the bios either...
i have two new identical pcb's on the way.. should be here this week.

my guess is a surge caught the pcb's and zapped em.

my real curiosity though, is thie scenario i put forth
A won't power with A's PCB
B clicks with B's PCB....

move PCB-A to drive B.. now B won't power up. therefore, PCB-A determined to be dead

move B's PCB to drive A, A clicks, once or twice, but won't be seen by bios.

would a bad pcb make a drive click? i would think it's possible...
a bad pcb would also keep the bios from knowing what's attached to it...

[bobmarley]

yes, they are attached right to the mobo. P4C800E-Deluxe, running off the intel sata controller as mirrored.

[techguy_877]

First, let me say do not give up hope as I was just able after 4 weeks of trying to successfully recover my Western Digital WD2500JB (250GB EIDE drive), which had a bad primary controller board (PCB). It did NOT make any strange clicking or grinding noises. It simply would not power up when turned on.

The most important "number" for your search is the primary controller board (PCB) model number. On the Western Digital drives, it is usually found on a white bar code label affixed on the PCB near were the data cable is connected to the computer. It can also be found etched along one side of the board, but the bar code is more complete.

In my case, the PCB model number was "2061-001179-003A DE" followed by several additional numbers, which I believed to be a serial number of some type. If the drives you ordered do not match, which they probably won't, you should start scanning the eBay auctions for matching drive models. You need to email each seller, explain where the PCB number is located (on the white bar code label) and ask them what it is on their drive. You should also find out the manufacture date which is on the main label on the top of the hard drive. The closer the date to the one on your drive the better. I added in my emails that it was for a data recovery project (I did not identify the exact PCB I was looking for) and that I would be an aggressive bidder if it was the right one. Fortunately, the white bar code lable is visible from the bottom of the hard drive, so it takes minimal effort for a seller to check for you. You will get about 2 out of 3 sellers that will respond.

CAUTION: You may be wasting your money if you simply buy hard drives that match the model number without checking the PCB number. I made that mistake with my drive which was the WD2500JB-00FUA0. I bought one of those manufactured several months after my drive (without knowing to ask about the PCB number). The PCB was a newer model, did not match the wiring patterns on mine and did nothing to help me. In my case, I had success with matching a PCB from a WD2500JB-00EVA0 drive to my WD2500JB-00FUA0 drive. However, the PCB number was the same on both.

I was led to believe that when I found a matching PCB, I might have to swap a firmware chip from my bad PCB to the replacement PCB (see my response at http://www.deadharddrive.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=52 for additional information and links ). While the firmware chip swap might be necessary in some cases, in mine it was NOT required. I attached the PCB from the WD2500JB-00EVA0 to my drive, placed the hard drive in an external hard drive case, plugged it in, and connected it to my system by a USB cable. The drive powered up and was recognized by Windows XP Pro. It was correctly recognized as a WD2500JB-00FUA0 (even though the PCB came from a WD2500JB-00EVA0). I may just have been very lucky to not need a chip swap.

A couple of final notes about the PCB I used. There is a four digit number printed on the underside of the board (something like "3903" or "4403"). I was led to believe this represented the week number / year the board was manufactured. In this case, week 39 of 2003 and week 44 of 2003. If this is correct, I successfully used a board made five weeks after my original one without a chip swap. There was another single number printed on the underside (something 1 through 4). my original board had a "4" while the replacement had a "2". Finally, while both PCBs were visually the same, there were minor variations in some of the chip numbers on the boards. I was led to believe from my reading these minor variations would not matter, and they did not. These numbers and chips are not visible without removing the PCB. I needed a small star wrench to remove the PCB and affix the new one (as they are not attached with standard screws).

Please post your hard drive model, PCB number and hard drive manufacture date here, as someone may have one. It may also help others in the future who share your issue.

Good luck,

Techguy_877

[Fruss Tray Ted]

Welcome to !!!!

What a coincidence! The ONLY WD drive that has ever gone bad on me (greater than 250meg) was a 250 gig 8mb. I never even was able to install an os onto it. It died in the process and was sent back to WD for replacement. They sent a 300 gig drive for no added cost. Makes one wonder if that particular drive or pcb had a bad run at the factory.

[jlreich]

Good information Techguy. Certainly may come in handy sometime.

I love this kind of stuff.

[Cam]

I've never used it, but this might be worth looking into: http://highergroundsoftware.com/?hop=gejseinc

[Paul Komski]

@ Cam

Why have you suggested an expensive piece of software that you have never used?

[Cam]

Originally Posted by Paul Komski

@ Cam

Why have you suggested an expensive piece of software that you have never used?

It said there was a demonstration. I automatically thought that meant the program would let you know if it would work on the particular drive, then charge for the full version [like image recovery software]. Seems that's not the case, sorry. I had been searching for hours to find something to fix my CF card [no luck], which is how I saw this link, and didn't really look into it after finding it was just for hard drives, and the price. Sorry, should have checked it out better. Thought it might help.

[Paul Komski]

Thanks for the explanation. I also checked-out your other thread and have suggested the HP formatter to try on your CF card.

[dylskee]

I'm searching for a PCB for my Seagate Barracuda 120GB HDD.
Here's the specs:
SPECS:
Model: ST3120022A
S/N: 3JT2C82X
HDA P/N: 100275528
P/N: 9W2002-030
CONFIG LEVEL: 9SMA1
CONFIG CODE: D1I-02
FIRMWARE: 3.06
Here's the PCB Number:100282770 B 7414RAB7
Please PM me or email me if you can help. Thanks.

[yamma98]

I have the same problem as Techguy_877 with the same hard drive, WD2500JB-00FUA0. My PCB number differs slightly, though. Mine is 2061-001179-000 DE, where his was 2061-001179-003A DE. I have been inquiring with numerous sellers on Ebay, with no luck so far. If anyone has this, PLEASE LET ME KNOW! Thanks!

I'm close to paying through the nose for data recovery, as that HD has all of my important things on it and I need to figure something out quickly, but I'd rather try swapping the board first.

One guy told me he can change the ROM setting on a different board so it would work with my hard drive, but I'm skeptical. Anyone heard of that method?

[techguy_877]

Yamma98:

I just read your post concerning your western digital hard drive issues. If you are still looking for a pcb for your drive (i.e. you have not already sent it to a data recovery shop), please let me know. I will look and see what boards I have, as I have some close misses to mine and MAY have the one you need.

You should post the date of manufacture for your hard drive and the 4 digit number on the underside of the pcb for your drive that indicates the month and year the board was made.

techguy_877

[Paul Komski]

One guy told me he can change the ROM setting on a different board so it would work with my hard drive, but I'm skeptical.

It is another approach and in effect is equivalent to a ROM flash. It requires expensive hardware and software to accomplish but is not "cloud cuckoo-land" but neither will it always be successful.

PS
See links at http://www.pc3000.com/ and http://www.acelaboratory.com/pc3000.htm for the sort of stuff I'm referring to.

[HDD_pete]

Hello,
just joined the Forum.

After reading this thread I would like to point out, that the exchange of PCB'S does not in every case guarantees that the drive will work, even if the card has the same model number.

Nowadays the drive manufacturers store signal optimization values into flash ROM which is on the card. The values are set during functional tests at Manufacturing site.
That means beside the card components itself for a proper function after a PCB exchange you are depending on the gain values, which the heads in the drive use in order to provide the appropriate signal for read/write operation.
If they differ too much from the ones in the other drive the read/write performance may be affected from not working at all over working partly to working well. Thus PCB exchange is not a 100% guarantee.
My recommendation for PCB exchange would be: use for data recovery only, (if pcb exchange works), then put the card back to the drive it came with and use this one.

Regards, Pete.

[shishe]

Hopefully this will bring some light/hope to you, if you are reading this is because like me you are having some problem w/ a HDD and like me don’t want to pay $2700 to recover 40 GB of data, what a rip off. My HDD is a Western Digital 80 GB w/ a motor controller chip burn, just like in the following picture. http://wd1200jb.freewebspace.com
MDL: WD800BB-00DKA0
DATE: 27 DEC 2003
DCM: HSBHCTJCH (firmware)
PCB (Primary Controller Board or Printed Circuit Board or Circuit Board or Logic board, whatever) #2061-001159-200 AB (white sticker and bar code by the IDE connector)
My try and errors:
1: I Tried a PCB from another WD800BB-00DKA0 but w/ deferent PCB # and deferent DCM # and it did not work.
2: I tried a PCB w/ same PCB # 2061-001159-200 AB from a deferent MDL # and w/ a deferent DCM # and it did not work.
3: I contact eBay seller (dariusale) they informed me that what is important is the DCM # (firmware) it is in a small 4 + 4 legs chip in position U12 on your PCB (see it on above picture) dariusale was able to write the firmware I needed on one of the many PCB he had, for $50 my HDD is working as new again.
Conclusion: Same HDD MDL # may have different PCB # and different firmware (DCM). Same PCB # may have different firmware (DCM) and can be found in different HDD models, so try to get the same PCB # with same DCM # or you have to exchange the firmware chip.

[classicsoftware]

Originally Posted by shishe

Hopefully this will bring some light/hope to you, if you are reading this is because like me you are having some problem w/ a HDD and like me don’t want to pay $2700 to recover 40 GB of data, what a rip off.

How wrong you are. If you can change the PCB and get your drive running. More power to you. But if the drive fails and you send it to Drive Savers or On-Track and they save your data, it's worth every single penny you spend.

[classicsoftware]

One more thing here guys. Especially to those who are tech savvy enough to change the PCB or flash the ROM, you need to have a reliable method of backing up your programs and data. The very first lesson I learned almost 20 years ago is:

There are only two kinds of computer users. Those that have experienced hard disk failure and those that are going to.

[jlreich]

I have to agree with Classic. Why go through all this trouble? Hard drives are cheap. If you have your data backed up, throw away the old drive and pick up another one and restore your backups.

No searching on ebay trying to find the correct PCB etc... Sheesh, hard drives are like 30 cents a Gig these days...

I have tons of data, I don't back it all up, just all my important files that I can't recover if the hard drive fails, and all my OS/important program partitions are imaged so I don't have to worry about reinstalling windows and Linux.

Everything else can be reinstalled or downloaded again. No big loss.

Your system will fail at some point in time in such a way that you won't be able to get your data off the hard drive. Be prepared for it.

[Tanttech]

please, I'm searching for a PCB for my Seagate Barracuda 200GB HDD.
Here's the specs:
SPECS:
Model: ST3200822A
S/N: 4LJ382VS
P/N: 9W2844-301
HDA P/N: 100314751
CONFIG: A5C-08
FIRMWARE: 3.01
Date Code: 06292
Site Code: TK
Here's the PCB Number:100299703 E 7628AC7V
Please PM me or email me if you can help. Thanks.

[Paul Komski]

A 200gb drive must, by definition, be fairly recent and swapping PCBs is unlikely to be of any use (and can cause harm) except on much older devices. The reason is that the firmware is unique to each drive and must usually be rebuilt.

http://www.essdatarecovery.com/parts_exchange.asp
http://www.iswamp.com/data-recovery/...repair-pcb.php
http://www.harddrive-repair.com/pcb-repair.html

Ebay might be your best bet for a matching drive - or Amazon

[SurfKahuna]

I have two WD HDs that I pulled out of AT&T HZ units. 2Wire, the maker of the Homezone product, flashed the PCBs so that they will not work in a computer. Does anyone have a suggestion for how I can get these drives to work? My BIOS does not recognized the drives at all.

[Darkened_sol]

Hi does anyone know where I can obtain a PCB for a Maxtor Diamondmax 16 4R080J0 80GB 2MB cache HDD? I want to recover files from my old hard drive that happened to have a surge in the power..

Thanks in advance

[mjc]

About the only place I can think of is ebay...and then you should match the board as closely as possible...revision number, etc. Today's drives are getting harder and harder to 'repair' this way.