WD Scorpio won't spin up, safe to test motor w/ similar PCB?

[Elvis]

Hi everyone,

I've got a WD Scorpio 120GB WD1200BEVS that no longer spins up properly. It starts for about 1–2 seconds, but then powers down again. There is no clicking, it seems the motor never reaches full speed and the drive powers down again before it can spin up fully.

The patient drive uses PCB 2060‑701424‑007 Rev A (SATA).
I also have access to multiple 2060‑70142499‑000 Rev A (SATA) boards from similar, but not identical, Scorpio models.

Before I try anything: Is it safe to test whether the motor spins up using this alternative PCBs, just to check if the original board is the issue?

A short reply would be greatly appreciated.
Elvis

[WebClaw]

Safe is a vague term when it comes to DR.
I assume your real question is will you destroy the drive or cause data loss using a mismatched PCB?

Likely not.

That said, I would move the ROM (or read the source and write to the donor) to avoid unnecessary complexities.

Is damage possible? Yes.

Also, based only on your description, I would not assume PCB first.

[Elvis]

Thanks for your quick answer and clarification.

My intention isn't to run the drive with a mismatched PCB for data recovery, but simply to check whether the motor reaches full spin‑up or whether the original board is failing before the drive can stabilize. I'm aware that a further tests and data recovery would require moving the ROM to the donor PCB, and I can do that if needed.

Before I proceed with ROM transfer, my question is: Would a brief spin‑test with the donor PCB (without attempting to access firmware or data) still be acceptable for ruling out a dead motor driver, or is the risk of further damage significant?

If PCB failure is unlikely based on these symptoms, I'm open to checking other causes first.

Best regards
Elvis

[WebClaw]

I will be concise as I think that's the answer you want -

A brief spin test with the wrong PCB is still not a clean diagnostic test. It may spin, or it may not, and neither result proves much without the correct ROM / adaptives. On WD, the ROM matters. A mismatch can cause odd startup behaviour that looks like another fault.

Is it likely to instantly destroy the drive? No. Is it zero risk? Also no. On a drive with valuable data, I would not use a mismatched board just for curiosity.

What you likely want to hear - if it still spins briefly and powers down with the correct ROM, I would look more toward heads / preamp / media / SA access rather than assuming a dead motor driver.

[ora]

If possible, it's best to test the original board by installing it on another drive you don't mind damaging. If the drive spins up and starts moving its heads, the board is considered good. If it doesn't spin up, one of the motor controller phases is likely damaged. In the worst case, one of the motor windings is damaged—an open or shorted winding.

I hope you're testing the drive with a good computer power supply, not USB adapters or docking stations. I've encountered very similar behavior with desktop hard drives when connecting them to a docking station with a low-quality power supply. Some drives worked fine, while others refused to spin up.

[Elvis]

Thanks a lot for both of your replies, they were very helpful. I've done some testing based on your suggestions, and here are the results:

I mounted the original PCB from the faulty drive on a known‑good WD Scorpio -> The test drive spins up normally, so the motor driver on the PCB appears to be fine.
2nd test: With the HSA contacts isolated (with thin plastic card), the test drive also spins up and stays running.

I repeated the same isolation test on the faulty drive with its original PCB. -> The motor of the faulty drive spins up fully as long as the HSA contacts are covered.

I measured the HSA pads with a multimeter -> No shorts detected, resistance values are similar to to my healthy reference drive.

Based on this tests, I conclude the PCB and spindle motor seem to be OK. The shutdown only happens when the HSA is connected, which points more toward heads / SA access / preamp (probably not, due to no shorts?!) rather than a PCB issue.

Thanks again for helping me test the motor.
Elvis