Hitachi desk(deathstar) Hard drive repair.

[AndyUK]

Hi guys, I have an hitachi deathstar 120gb hard drive which recently along with another drive ended up suffering from the dreaded click click. I'm thinking that through my impatience one evening when I did not put my anti-static wristband on I may have caused ESD on the boards or maybe it is a dodgy power supply given my front LED on my pc case comes and goes also.

Anyway to cut a long story short, although the data on the drive has no monetary value, it would save me a significant amount of time if I could recover the data on Hitachi. However having read a few bits and pieces on the net it may be pot luck as to what is causing the problem. The logic board being the easiest thing to try and replace as it does not involve removing the cover. I have read that it is important to get a logic board that is not only from the same model number but also one which contains the same firmware. There are alot of numbers dotted about the label on the front, some of which are obvious and some not so much and there are some different numbers on stickers on the logic board side, but nothing which specifically says f/w so I was wondering how I go about identifying the firmware version.

The information I have is as follows:

Front Label
Feb-2003 NI55 - Obviously year of manufacture
Model: IC35L120AVV207-0
P/N: 08K0995
MLC: H69205
CHS: 16383/16/63 - I'm assuming is cynlinders, heads and sectors
DS/N: TH-04X474-12567-321-1JFE
DP/N: 04X474
C/O: TH
A141111 Rev A00

Back Labels

07n9225
H69056-
MdB252
862Y

259098M
Assembly Made in China

Label on Motor
BC23-)N - not sure whether it is a backward c or if the info has worn away
2501
228
07N9130

Can anyone give me an incling which of the serials refers to Firmware version. Also obviously I would like to know if it is true it needs to be the exact same firmware. I've seen a drive on ebay that the seller has sent me a picture of the logic board, physically it looks the same but some of the info on the labels differs.

Finally if all else fails, will assume my best option is to transfer the platter to another drive, is the logic board as relevant in that circumstance or do I just need the same model number to achieve that.

Any help would be greatfully recieved. I have absolutely nothing to lose by attempting, well apart from the cost of used hitachi deathstar from Ebay.

Thanks in advance.

Andy

[sceggy]

Sounds like you want to dive in at the deep end... to give you some idea of best approach; is the drive seen in BIOS, or is it a "no show". Depending on the drive its not just a matter of swapping the PCB, but the firmware on the drive and PCB all has to be tickety boo..... you could end up swapping the PCB and still have a "no show"...

scegs

[AndyUK]

Thanks for the reply, the drive is a no show in the bios. The problem occured with two different drives simultaneously, the timing was somewhat ironic given I had ordered a new external drive so I could make backups more frequently. The new drive arrived just days after the old ones went wrong. The Samsung I'm not so bothered about, that was just operating system and programs, the hitachi I had backed up all my CD collection to MP3 on so if I can recover the data, it would save a lot of time plus there are a few documents which wont be in my last backup. I never backed up the MP3 partition simply because a) I had the CDs still but also the amount of space required for backup.

I have been able to find plenty of hard drives with the same model number, but there are variations in part nos etc. I'm wondering if transfering the platter to a drive of a similar model would work. Nothing to lose by trying, aside from the £15 it's cost me 2nd hand, the data certainly isn't worth the expense of data recovery but being a curious sort of chap I have to at least try and recover.

I've ordered a drive of the same model, with the same amount of cynlinders, heads and sectors and am going to make an attempt. I've read up as much as I can in regards to the procedure. Worse case scenario, I will have two useless drives.

I will report my result, beit success or failure with as much detail as I can for others to read.

Thanks again for the response.

Andy

Sounds like you want to dive in at the deep end... to give you some idea of best approach; is the drive seen in BIOS, or is it a "no show". Depending on the drive its not just a matter of swapping the PCB, but the firmware on the drive and PCB all has to be tickety boo..... you could end up swapping the PCB and still have a "no show"...

scegs

[sceggy]

Andy

Don't know where you are based...but maybe worth getting hold of a copy of Data Recovery - Tips and Solutions which gives a good all round discusison on the aspects including what you're trying to attempt. ISBN 1-931769-56-7.

scegs

[sceggy]

Andy

Also - re-reading your post, the likely line of diagnosis would be the PCB(, heads, firmware modules ... try with the elements that don't require the drive to be opened. pc3000 or other tool is required for the firmware fixes.

scegs

[pcimage]

Hi,

If you wanna post to me in UK, let me know and I'll make sure you get a special deal.

Sean

[shakedown]

Got an almost identical drive if it helps.

[Nationwide DR]

I'll give you a tip.

Transplanting the platters will be totally pointless and a waste of time. The motor is not at fault.

[salvationlaura]

Hi,

If you wanna post to me in UK, let me know and I'll make sure you get a special deal.

Sean

Andy,

You can trust Sean, he is very professional in Data Recovery in UK.

Regards,

Laura