3.5" Western Digital WD5000AAKS - 00YGA0 PCB recovery

[HARNNT2CHB]

Hello guys I am new to this forum!

I guess I was lead here as most of us, from the need to recover my data from a faulty hard drive.

First of all thank you all who contribute to providing this gem of a knowledge base, after endless crawling online it seems I have finally found, the mecca of gurus!

My failed hard drive is a

Western Digital:
WD Caviar SE16
Model: WD5000AAKS - 00YGA0
DATE: 01 DEC 2007
DCM: HARNNT2CHB
PCB#: 2061-701444-700 AD

I am looking to replace the PCB, and I hope that someone with the right knowledge / resources can set me to the right direction!

My symptoms:
[*]ATX power supply failure
[*]Drive spins up during POST check(BIOS), clicking sound, then spins down - result: BIOS cannot read it

NOTE: recently(before total failure) pc boot was delayed on load when trying to identify / access the hard drive, sometimes BIOS would not even report it, but once in windows the hard drive was fully operational! - this, along with the failed ATX power supply has me hoping that its the PCB thats fried!

As a refference, i came accross this post on HDDGURU:(successful recovery with board swap)
wd4000aaks-00yga0-pcb-replacement-compatibility-t22696.html

I am hoping to be able to access my data once more like HDDGURU user mooglover:

Hey guys, I've changed the PCB and it worked. I read all the data and copied it to the other hard drive.
It worked besides it has a slightly different PCB board.

I am in the proccess of purchasing a PCB with almost identical DCM.

DCM: HARNNT2CH

1- Motor (H)
2- Base (A) ---------------The one i found has a different value!
3- Latch (R)
4- Bottom VCM (N)
5- Media (N)
6- Headstack (T)
7- Actuator-Preamp (2)
8- Top VCM (C)
9- Separator (H)

I actually know someone who specializes on PCB soldering so if that is the case i could have him transfer the ROM for me...

Please help me troubleshoot and identify gurus!

[jono-ats]

The most common failure with these is a bad head. I don't think swapping PCBs has a very good chance of resolving the problem. I remember that the PCB is 2061-701477 and I think the ROM is embedded in the MPU.

Accurate diagnosis is the first step in data recovery. I doubt this is a DIY case.

Jon

[fzabkar]

I'm not a data recovery professional, but your drive appears to be a "Tornado". Its Marvell MCU (88i8745) often fails in a way that mimics a head fault. When replacing the PCB, the MCU's embedded "adaptive" data need to be transferred to the donor board. You would need to be very lucky for the replacement board to work without such a transfer.

The following PCB supplier (forum member "porthas") includes a free "PCB adaptation service":
http://www.donordrives.com/services

See this thread for more information:
wd5000aaks-00tma0-damaged-t19077.html

[HARNNT2CHB]

thank you both for your interest!
that was an interesting read fzabkar. i was really hoping i was facing an issue with dirty connections, but i am disappointed to find that after wiping them i have the same results..

let me note here that in the past when the drive was failing to be recognized by the bios i would swap sata cables, hence cleaning the connections sounded like a good idea, however they do not seem to have any trace of dirt / rust / etc...
I will definitely consider porthas services, and i appreciate the fact that people promote and help each other out in this forum!

jono-ats you are absolutely right.

Accurate diagnosis is the first step in data recovery.

let me clear out here that my BIOS can recognize there is something connected to the port, but it does not declare any information regarding what type of hardware is connected. I.E. it comes up with:
SATA port 2: "does not indicate anything"

then windows attempts to boot, but before any logo appears, the system seems to still try to access my failed hard drive, up until the drive spins down, then windows boots normally, discarding the failed hard drive.

i hope that helps describe my issue better.
also i can attempt to record the sound the drive generates in case it can be helpful for diagnosis..