Don't know what to do...

[mulea]

Hi everyone!

I'll get to the subject abruptly - to not waste time...
My HDD is DEAD...! And it's a disaster because on it I have personal data, sensitive data.
It is an old WD 250Gb hard-drive, that was taken out of an old computer. This HDD was bought somewhere in 2007/2008 and it was "locked" in an external enclosure.
Ever since it had no flaws, no squeaks, no sounds... NOTHING!
But yesterday I have discovered that it didn't work; I've turned ON the external enclosure power button but no sound from the HDD.
I took out the cover of the enclosure and turned it ON again; from the HDD there was silence...

I don't know what to do because I MUST recover my data stored there!
I've checked the Internet in search of a solution but some suggested to change the PCB [a simple look shows me no burns/damages on my PCB], some others suggested to put it in the freezer for 24 hours... and so on.
Finally someone indicated this forum by telling me that here I will find the best and the most reliable solution to fix my HDD - just because HERE are specialists only!

Thank you very much!
[a DESPERATE owner]

[pcimage]

DO NOT put it in the freezer.

If you to try a DIY solution and are prepared to accept the risks of that, then you could try a new PCB with "ROM" swap.

Remove the PCB and post a photo of it, back and front.

But if the data is really that important then I suggest you contact a pro near you (maybe Luke at Recovery Force... "lcoughey" on this forum) to minimise the risks significantly, it shouldn't be expensive at this stage

[digitalferret]

Hi mulea,
to concur with pcimage, especially with respect to

I don't know what to do because I MUST recover my data stored there!

Do you have any experience with electronics, any gear whatsoever, soldering / desoldering skill ?
Are you prepared t risk screwing up?

DIY solutions are for people time rich, money poor and not afraid to lose data trying.

Messing with homebrew solution could make matters worse to the point of it being irrecoverable, by anyone, after a failed attempt.

Also to recommend, for Canada, Luke as mentioned.

regards
K

[lcoughey]

Start by testing to plug the drive directly to a desktop computer without the enclosure...
Might be just a bad enclosure or enclosure cable/power supply.

He already stated doing that.

I'm PM my contact details right away.

[lcoughey]

The op stated he opened the enclosure and the drive was not spining/making sounds when powered on (using the opened enclosure), so unless you have more info then I let's assume the op didn't try to apply power directly to the drive...

Now that I re-read it, you may be correct.

[fzabkar]

Assuming that the fault really is with the drive and not the enclosure or its power supply, and assuming the PCB has an 8-pin serial flash memory chip at U12, then the following company (in Canada) should be able to supply a replacement PCB, including ROM transfer, for US$50.

http://www.onepcbsolution.com/
http://www.hdd-parts.com/