Hey all, just had a quick question about swapping pcbs with western digital drives. If the pcb serial number is the same and the dcm matches, would the swap have any chance of working if the model numbers are different due to difference in drive size. The reason this question popped in my mind was that before I posted a request in the for sale/buy forum, I was looking for a replacement pcb for my WD 160 gb drive. I was searching on ebay and when the exact model of my drive didn't come up in any searches, I just decided to try the pcb serial number and see what came up. What came up was a 250gb WD drive that had the same pcb numbers (both from the board and sticker) as my 160gb drive as well as the same DCM. So I was wondering if there was a possibility of the 250gb pcb working in the 160gb if the u12 was changed also?

-thanks

No spoon feeding in this forum, do your own research, googling or search this forum and summ your own conclusion.
swap-pcb-head-rules-for-all-brand-hdd-t12564.html

Bravo.

With Western Digital, there are different families of drives which can be identified by the two middle characters in the last six characters of the model number (ie, WD300BB-00AUA1) The AU in the example identifies the family and subsequently, the PCBs are compatible. However, you will still need to transfer the ROM in order to make the transfer successful. Once the PCB has been changed, you may then need to address the damaged heads and media damage within the drive.

Note: to save yourself having to resolder the ROM back onto the donor board after the process is complete, save the information off it before you take it off, then just reprogram the other ROM when you are done with it. Be sure to back up the original ROM as soon as you are able, too. You never know if you'll need to go back to it again.

I hope that my information makes sense and isn't too cryptic...I haven't had my morning coffee yet.

On a side note. The reason most labs charge $500 or more for a simple PCB problem is because of the problems you are having sourcing a donor drive. It is not uncommon for us to be charged $200 or more for a suitable donor drive. Throw in the time & tools needed to do the job and the cost of running a business, I'm not surprised that some larger companies charge more than $1000 such jobs.

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Luke
Recovery Force Data Recovery