WD5000AAKS-00YGA0 pcb

[ranmamez]

Hello.
Now, first of all, I must say that this time I'm really unfortunate with hard drives
I have an old Western Digital 500 GiB sata drive, that I used for recording stuff from the tv with a digital satellite receiver a few years ago, and that after I filled it up with that stuff I put it away not using it anymore, until now.
I don't know if I mustn't do it, if it was my fault or not (and I think, and hope, not), but I connected the sata power plug while the pc was running, as I did several times with many different drives, knowing that the sata power (also the data) plugs are made for hot swapping, so they must support plugging in while the power is on, right? This time, when I plugged it, the pcb made a spark (and a typical smell of burnt components), not on the plug but somewhere else, I'm not really sure on the exact location but I felt it near the heads connection. I'm not sure because it was unexpected so I didn't put so much attention while connecting the drive (I was seeing the pcb because when I plug drives on-the-fly, I put them upside-down, to avoid unwanted shorts on the pcb, and then I cover them with some non-conductive plastic to be sure too, after I got them running good).
So I immediately pulled the plug off the drive, and, while swearing in my native language and saddening, I removed the pcb from the drive and examined the component side (that's normally toward the drive) searching for something burned using a magnifier, but everything appears good, and there were no burning smell at all. I then tried to clean the contacts of the heads, of the motor and the power and sata connectors, and tried to connect it again, while the pc is off this time, to see if it was still working.
Result: no luck at all, the drive spin-ups but isn't detected either by the OS as by the BIOS, even tho this one seems to get that there is something connected but doesn't understand what, and get stuck even. The drive then spins down since maybe the pcb doesn't work well and doesn't read/gets anything from the heads.

So here I come to get help, as always (and always thanking you): I figure that I must get a new PCB, hoping it would be enough, but I'm not sure to how to proceed to searching it.
I tried a first search on the *bay and I found some more or less "cheap" ones but that doesn't match the exact part number code.
Then I tried searching for the complete p/n and I found one that's way more expensive, costing me as much as a new 500 GiB hdd!
And maybe it would be not enough too, so here my question:
what should I look for?
The p/n is in the subject of this thread, feel free to ask any other infos or a scan/picture of the label of the drive (maybe later I'll post it anyway).

Thanks in advance for any help.

[jermy]

for PCB replacement you have to look for the PCB printed number (hopefully the preamp didn't damaged)
it keeps spinning ? any unusual noise ? clicking knocking Etc.

[ranmamez]

Yeah it clicks the heads, but not so loudly, so I guess not "knocking".
After a few clicks it spins down.
I hope it too that's not the preamp
As for the label/printed number of the pcb it got this:
printed number: PWB 2060-701444-004 REV A
label: 2061-701444-700 AD XT 4Z08 G8G0 A 0007210 8 217

[jermy]

according to the symptoms you just described

Yeah it clicks the heads, but not so loudly, so I guess not "knocking".
After a few clicks it spins down.

i find it hard to believe, that replacing the PCB is gonna help you

[ranmamez]

You mean that that spark could've came from the preamp, meaning that it blew itself?
I really really hope not but I guess that there's about no way to ascertain it without opening the drive, right?

I still wonder why this had to happen to me, even tho the drive was carefully stored away

[jermy]

You mean that that spark could've came from the preamp, meaning that it blew itself?

no, such things doesn't happen by themselves, maybe you blew it

I really really hope not but I guess that there's about no way to ascertain it without opening the drive, right?

currect

I still wonder why this had to happen to me

maybe... accidentally you short circuit something

This time, when I plugged it, the pcb made a spark (and a typical smell of burnt components), not on the plug but somewhere else, I'm not really sure on the exact location but I felt it near the heads connection.

read what "fzabkar" wrote

Catastrophic failures in Western Digital PCBs:
http://www.hddoracle.com/viewtopic.php? ... 119&p=5033

[syntaxerror]

A knackered SATA cable might also be the cause.

[ranmamez]

A knackered SATA cable might also be the cause.

I didn't connect any sata cable before connecting it to the power cable.

[CidiRome]

Hi.

I have on hands one WD5000AAKS-00YGA0 (2061-701477-900 AA XT 4V08 AMKV 8 0004110 8 114) Date Man. 18-SEP-2007.
(I also another one exactly the same model manufactured one and a half month later with slightly different sticker code with the same exact problem)

- It spins up;
- Spins slightly down and up again 3 times;
- Spins down;

It is not correctly detected by the computer;
Nothing appears burned on the PCD;

By what I've read it seems to be a board problem, I would like very much to recover data from this HDD, but I don't want the spend too much money nor wait too much time.

I'm able to make perform fine pitch soldering, is it possible that this problem can be cracked solder joints?

Cheers.