Seeking Help w/ Seagate ST360021A - Replace PCB or TVS?

[ssebeny]

Hi,

I am having problems with my Seagate 60 GB hard drive, and I would appreciate any help and answers to my questions below. Thank you.

Drive Details:
Seagate Baracuda ATA IV
60 Gbytes -- 16,383 Cyl -- 16 HDS -- 120,103,200 LBA
Model: ST360021A
P/N: 9T6001-040
HDA P/N: 100165484
Configuration Code: SDN-03
Firmware: 5.05
Date Code: 02305
Site Code: AMK
Sticker on PCB, line 1: 100151014 (PCB model number?)
Sticker on PCB, line 2: E 223062SA

In this post I will:

1 - Describe the symptoms of my problem & troubleshooting done thus far
2 - Relay the advice I received so far to remove the TVS chip
3 - Ask questions concerning...
- Other's opinions on the advice I've received
- Help in finding a suitable replacement TVS chip if necessary
- Help in finding a suitable replacement PCB board if necessary
- Recommendations on a professional data recovery company if necessary

1 - The Story
I own a PowerMac G4 tower that contains the Seagate hard drive mentioned above. The drive has been in the computer and been functioning fine since 2002. There has been no odd noises, or other signs of degraded performance over time.

About six weeks ago I moved the computer, and doing so it would not power on. When pressing the power button no fans would come on, and there were not even any chimes to indicate a specific POST failure. I planned to replace the computer anyway, so in the meantime I purchased a new external FireWire/USB enclosure for the drive. After placing the drive into the enclosure it worked fine. A few weeks later I tried placing the drive back into the computer that previously wouldn't power up, and to my surprise it powered on and booted up from the drive fine. Then after a couple more weeks of using the drive I got a new (used) computer, a PowerMac G5 tower, which I started up in FireWire target disk mode (makes the computer act just like a Firewire drive enclosure) and went to plug it into the older computer that was the one with the earlier problems to copy the data off the drive. However, as soon as I plugged in the Firewire cable the older computer immediately powered off and would not start up again.

This time when I removed the hard drive from the G4 computer to put into the external case I discovered the drive itself will no longer spin up in the external case. When another HDD is in the external case or G4 computer they both work fine, so it appears the issue is with the HDD. As soon as the power is plugged into this hard drive then the entire computer will not power up again (no fans, etc). So it would appear the problem is related to the power connector on the drive in some way.

2 - The Advice I've gotten so far
I contacted a data recovery company called Datahounds, and had an e-mail exchange with an employee there named Cliff. He said that based on my description (reproduced above) and a photo that I sent him that it sounded like the TVS chip on the drive's PCB had gone bad. He sent the photo back with the TVS chip circled and said, "simply pry it off (with a small flathead screwdriver) and try to use the drive." If that doesn't work he recommended buying another drive of the same model and "simply remove the circuit board and place it on your drive."

3 - Questions

- Based on the symptoms my drive is exhibiting does it sound correct that the issue is likely the TVS chip?

- Is it safe to just pry the TVS chip off with a screwdriver as recommended? Or should I try to cut through the metal/solder on the sides, or even try to de-solder it?

- The TVS chip has a fancy letter F on it (Fairchild Semiconductor logo?) followed by the letters "T133" then in the second line is "LC" or "LG" (probably LG). If I remove the chip, then should I try to find a replacement one before powering up the drive? I have googled extensively but can not seem to find info on this chip anywhere on-line. Does anyone know where to find this chip? Should I just remove it from another drive of the same model?

- If the TVS remove doesn't work he recommended replacing the PCB as the next step, but didn't mention any need to find one with exactly the same firmware as I've seen mentioned elsewhere on-line. Is it really important to find a board with the same firmware? I can find a drive of the same model with different firmware for $20, but the only one with the same firmware that I can find is about $100.

- Does anyone know a source to get the matching PCB for this drive? The drive details are at the top of the post, and my drive has the 5.05 firmware. I've been searching extensively and only found one with the 5.05 firmware and its $100 if he still has it available, and another with 5.21 firmware for $75. Most of them seem to have 3.05, 3.10, 3.19, 7.18, 7.73 firmware.

- Should I go ahead and send the drive to a data recovery company to let them do the PCB swap, or try to do it myself? I had a few electronics labs in college, but I'm no expert. I don't mind trying the swap myself as long as there isn't much risk of it causing MORE harm and loosing the data as a result.

- Has anyone dealt with the DataHounds company before? Are they a reputable data recovery company? I tried checking the Better Business Bureau, but they had no record of the company. I like their claim that they will not charge you anything except parts if they fail to recover data from the drive.

- Can anyone else give a recommendation for another data recovery company if it comes to that? I am out of work, so money is tight, but this drive has the last eight years of my life on it so I'm fairly hopeful and eager to try and get it back if I can.

I sincerely appreciate any help and answers to my questions.
Thank you.

Attachments

Picture of drive's PCB with TVS chip "T133" circled

tvs.png (329.1 KiB) Viewed 10195 times

[ssebeny]

I went ahead and removed the TVS chip from the PCB board on the drive. Then I tried powering up the drive (in an external case) and heard no signs of the drive spinning. After 15-20 seconds of the power being on I saw a small amount of smoke and immediately turned the drive off. Upon inspection I saw one of the other ICs on the board was now slightly burned. I'm attaching the same picture with the chip that is now burned circled.

My same questions above still stand. Specifically on locating a replacement PCB, whether the exact same firmware is needed, and requests for recommendations of a drive repair company.

Thanks.

Attachments

New picture showing burned chip circled.

tvs2.png (364.91 KiB) Viewed 10188 times

[BlackST]

A catastrophical sequence of errors.

Now the 1st step is to check the drive excluding the PCB for internal damage, then....
the worst idea was to leave the drive unprotected AND not checking the power.

[fzabkar]

The damaged chip is the motor controller.

I'm not sure, but I believe in this model series you only need to match the firmware version. I don't believe there are any adaptive data in the parallel flash. Also, the boards must be similar in layout, ie same ST MCU and same Agere read channel IC.

BTW, the TVS diode is a 12V part. The "T133" marking is a YWW date code, ie week 33 of 2001. I would examine the output voltage of your power supply, particularly its +12V rail.

[BlackST]

Have you ever seen FOR REAL a Barracuda ATA IV , not in pictures ?

(choose an answer between NO and NEVER).

[ssebeny]

I'm not sure, but I believe in this model series you only need to match the firmware version. I don't believe there are any adaptive data in the parallel flash. Also, the boards must be similar in layout, ie same ST MCU and same Agere read channel IC.

Thanks. I ordered a replacement drive with 5.05 firmware. It costs a $100, but if it works it will be well worth it. Thanks.

[fzabkar]

Have you ever seen FOR REAL a Barracuda ATA IV , not in pictures ?

(choose an answer between NO and NEVER).

How about this one?
http://www.users.on.net/~fzabkar/SmartUDM/40GB.RPT

I performed a logical recovery on that drive some two years ago. It had a bad sector in a critical file system area. Microsoft's tools (FIXMBR and FIXBOOT) trashed the file system and turned the job into a PITA. I wrote about my experience in Usenet.

I believe I may still have that drive in an old PC.

So I believe the answer is YES.

[poehere]

Watch out for your drive you ordered and paid for. If you go replacing the PCB and you have a preamp problem well guess what up in smoke on the new PCB you have ordered. Maybe it is time to have this drive tested by someone who knows what to look for and can fix it correctly. You drive, your money, and your experience on this one. There was a reason the Motor controll chip burned on this one. You have to correct this problems first before moving on to the other problem that is at hand.

[DDD]

Its my USB external hard drive detected, but the appearance is not out in the explorer, and LED lights are usually green, the color changed to red, I tried to change her chassis, but the results remain the same ..
help me!
Simak
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