i have a seagate 5400.6 , model number st9500325as; P\N 9HH134-286; F\W 0002SDM1 that needs a head replacement. i need to purchase a donor drive in order to get this done, do the donor drives detail need to match exactly the specs written above or does it need to be just the same make, model and size? can somebody recommend on a dealer\site from which i can buy the correct drive??
thank you very much
udi perets

Are you certain the heads are bad?
Are you willing to take the risks of DIY? A professional may not charge as much as you think.
I believe this board has a document that tells you exactly what the criteria must be. There are other sites that share this information as well.

yeah im sure its a head problem- at least thats what 2 different DR experts said after checking the disk...i pretty much gave up on the diy option. if i would get the donor disk by myself then it would cost about 200$ less..

These may be really hard to match. They are tricky. A donor with matching specs to the failed drive does not guarantee compatibility.

Without drive behavior understanding and experience, it is hard to determine whether it is a compatibility issue, media damage, or other issues.

Also, it is important to think ahead about the next steps once let's say the drive is mechanically stable. Typically, plug-n-copy does not work.

Best wishes.

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Hard Disk Drive (HDD), Solid State Drive (SSD, SATA, NVMe, etc), USB Flash Drive and RAID Data Recovery Specialist in Massachusetts

To reinforce in general terms:

could-hdd-recovery-require-more-than-donor-drive-t23020.html

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Hard Disk Drive (HDD), Solid State Drive (SSD, SATA, NVMe, etc), USB Flash Drive and RAID Data Recovery Specialist in Massachusetts

Contact scottamoulton (member12169.html). He is a valued member of this forum.

He offers a fixed price data recovery service for US$800 plus parts:
http://myharddrivedied.com/hard-drive-recovery

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A backup a day keeps DR away.

800 + parts , so expect :

800 (fixed price)+part CAN mean :

if 1 donor is required : add 100 to 200 $ average 150$
if 2 donor are required : add 200 to 400 $ average 150$
add shipping back and forth.

100 to 200 $ for donor is the average market price for a 5400.6 matching the requirements (yes !) unless you are able to find (and you have to be 100% sure) a perfect part - Better 2 or 3 just in case your drive was dropped...

They're sold in something like ebay http://allegro.pl for about 60-70$ (used in good condition).

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data recovery Poland

It depends on how much "GOOD CONDITION" , IF and only IF they MATCH the requirements and then you have to SHIP them.
And of course , as the far west on trading is going to finish, pay customs and taxes on it (the "FREE SAMPLE" or "$1 value" trick seems not to work fine lately ).

Then tell me if it doesn't reach $100 or more.

I agree with this fully. Even though a lot of the public think that data recovery service companies are just huge ripoff, you have to remember that we do take a massive amount of hassle out of the whole process. We could probably source you a donor drive in less than a day. But, we are course going to charge you for that. It just makes sense.

It's funny, because some clients that we have dealt with before have taken so many hours trying to find a donor drive and then getting it shipped and then fixing it themselves that they might as well be working for three dollars an hour. People are funny with economics.

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Nationwide data recovery services for RAID servers and laptops - http://www.harddriverecovery.org/

Frank, before you refer people to someone, please do some research...
Read some reviews, send them your drive to diagnose it or etc. and you will find out on your own whether they are good or not...
I believe you will feel awkward, if you do that.

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www.datarecoveryne.com

Researching Scott Moulton is easy. He is all over the Internet. His video presentations are everywhere. He has trained many of HDD Guru's valued forum members. He has his own data recovery forum. My research tells me that he is disliked by many in the DR profession because he exposes their innermost secrets, and because he teaches their trade to anyone who wants to learn.

If you have any links to genuine "reviews", then please post them.

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A backup a day keeps DR away.

This is so sad and so mislead. I am sorry but if you believe everything on the Intenet then I can sell you ........ for what ever price I want. Like I said before fighting with you is like holding your breath and being red in the face. You are always right. So be it keep going. You are so right in this one. I just feel sorry for people that is all.

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Iorana Haraharaini

Ann, do you have any concrete evidence of fraud or misrepresentation on the part of Scott Moulton? If so, then please post it.

In the absence of such proof, I will continue to view him as a valued forum member.

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A backup a day keeps DR away.

So highly valued he managed to make nine posts in three years...

Simply amazing!

member12169.html

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Buy your friends Toshiba\Hitachi and your enemies Seagate.

Please where is he and how has he helped people here. I do not ever see him post here at all. Sorry but if he this good he should be here and giving his professional answers to help people like others do. Sorry I wait to see him on here and answering. Otherwise I consider this spamming and spamming is not allowed on here.

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Iorana Haraharaini

I highly doubt that he has trained any senior member of this forum. As far as I can recall, it's from this forum that he got a lot of his so called research and knowledge back when he started and good information was still shared here

thanks for the tip, after 2 months of digging all over the web i found the drive that i need on that polish ebay, unfortunately i dont speak polish and i tried contacting the seller and he didnt get back to me.. is there an english version of allegro.pl??