What do you think about this service?

[avecvous9]

Hello everybody,
I found this service on ebay. It says that it repairs a pcb for "$60.00". What do you think about it?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Repair-For-HDT7 ... 25a2b00575
Best wishes.

[fzabkar]

There are companies that will supply a replacement PCB plus firmware transfer for US$40 - $50. The same companies also offer to transfer your "ROM" or "NVRAM" for US$20 if you supply the PCBs.

BTW, www.hddsupplier.com redirects to http://www.donordrives.com. Perhaps you should read some of the threads in this forum and others before you make a decision. Personally I would use hdd-parts or onepcbsolution (same companies).

[thatdellguy]

Something about advertising data recovery on eBay is really creepy.

[jono-ats]

Offhand, I'd guess that >90% of current drive failures have nothing to do with the PCB. If that's true, the odds are against paying $60 to get your data back.

In some cases where the PCBs are shot, so are the preamps, but they don't offer this type of service.

Would you want to operate a business that would routinely disappoint 90% of your clients? Would you think, under these circumstances, that all your "reviews" would be favorable?

[Doomer]

Offhand, I'd guess that >90% of current drive failures have nothing to do with the PCB.

And majority of PCB cases related to TVS diodes, which is possibly to cut out even without soldering, so I don't really know how those companies even survive

[fzabkar]

Offhand, I'd guess that >90% of current drive failures have nothing to do with the PCB. If that's true, the odds are against paying $60 to get your data back.

A reputable PCB supplier would lay the facts bare ...

http://www.hdd-parts.com/13102648.html

When to Buy This Item?

You are very positive the PCB is dead
There is obvious damage on the PCB board
The hard drive does not spin (the hard drive never fell or was shaken)
If the hard drive simply can't be detected, or if it is clicking, then it could be a circuit board problem, but it could easily be internal damage as well. It is often a gamble in this case.

... whereas this is what Donor Drives (aka hddsupplier.com) claim:

Most drives we receive can be fixed for $60, but if yours has further damage, it may require a more advanced repair service or full data recovery. If this is the case, we will contact you to let you know how much those services would cost. You may then either accept or have your drive sent back to you. You will not be responsible for the $60 fee.

Are Donor Drives grossly exaggerating their success rate, or is it that drives are prescreened by savvy users so that data recovery companies primarily receive drives with faults that require invasive work, while PCB suppliers primarily receive drives that have PCB faults?

BTW, I took up hddsupplier's invitation to "Check out our reviews", but ended up at non-existent URLs.

http://www.homeimprovement.com/outsourc ... -close.png

Error 404 - Not Found

We're very sorry, but that page doesn't exist or has been moved.

https://outsourcedatarecovery.com/hard- ... s/#reviews

File not Found
Error 404! Sorry, but we couldn't find the content you were looking for.

The eBay page states that "Outsource is official service provider for hddSupplier".

https://outsourcedatarecovery.com/

I would be particularly interested in the relationship between Outsource and Donor Drives.

[jono-ats]

Are Donor Drives grossly exaggerating their success rate, or is it that drives are prescreened by savvy users so that data recovery companies primarily receive drives with faults that require invasive work, while PCB suppliers primarily receive drives that have PCB faults?

I'd say it's hyperbole.

We are now receiving a lot more hard drives with two PCBs -- people have already tried sourcing PCBs. The most recent was an older WD Buccaneer PATA drive. The particular company didn't bother to match or transfer the ROM. The problem was a head crash with severe media damage.

"Regular" clients -- bless them -- usually don't accurately diagnose the cause of failure. They know that "real" data recovery is expensive, so they take a crap-shoot attitude and buy a board, "just in case"

One of our other recent clients had a Samsung 500LI with dirty heads. He said he was going to try to return the PCB to the supplier, since it wasn't related. I don't know how that turned out, but I couldn't imagine how much of a hassle it would be to offer this type of "guarantee".

If you are working out of your house and have a couple of boxes of hard drive parts, I guess it's 'found" money if you sell one to someone who actually needed it . . .

[porthas]

Just by going to Outsource and Donor Drives websites you will see same address. We have 2 suites combined into one: first, where we sell parts (AKA Donor Drives), and second, where we perform services (AKA Outsource).
For Outsource, 60% of drives we receive from eBay are bad PCB. Most people go through our videos or website for steps on diagnosing the failure, thus are the cases with bad PCBs. If the failure is NOT a PCB, we will quote for a data recovery service. For cases Outsource receives directly from Partners (not eBay), a significant amount of cases is not PCB. Combining 2 types of sources, we have a total of 41% of cases that are actually done for $60. https://outsourcedatarecovery.com/hdd-recovery/

[porthas]

There are companies that will supply a replacement PCB plus firmware transfer for US$40 - $50. The same companies also offer to transfer your "ROM" or "NVRAM" for US$20 if you supply the PCBs.

BTW, http://www.hddsupplier.com redirects to http://www.donordrives.com. Perhaps you should read some of the threads in this forum and others before you make a decision. Personally I would use hdd-parts or onepcbsolution (same companies).

I am not going to mention how many drives we received from "other" companies which had ROM for Seagate F3 drives lost. We try to forward those cases to one of the forum member in UK, who allegedly can recover data from such cases. Often costs over $2000, if even possible.
Here is feedback selector for eBay - so judge yourself. http://www.feedbackselector.com/feedsea ... ame=repair

[Doomer]

60% of drives we receive from eBay are bad PCB.

You are in minority then

[fzabkar]

Just by going to Outsource and Donor Drives websites you will see same address. We have 2 suites combined into one: first, where we sell parts (AKA Donor Drives), and second, where we perform services (AKA Outsource).

From your eBay site ...

Who is Outsource Data Recovery?

Outsource is official service provider for hddSupplier. They are an innovative data recovery company that wants to help you get your data back. They have decades of combined experience in data recovery, and they are committed to making the process as easy and pleasant as possible.

ISTM that your eBay site is trying to make it appear as though Outsource is a completely separate company with an arm's length relationship to hdsupplier.com. However, now you appear to be saying that your left hand (Donor Drives) is outsourcing jobs to your right hand (Outsource) via an intermediary (hdsupplier). Why so many different entities? Do you have any others?

[porthas]

Yes we have many others. 90% of which are software and app development firms