Hitachi Travelstar dead :(

[FionaN]

I have a Hitachi Travelstar drive, model HTS541080G9AT00, which died last week after being connected in an external USB case to a PC with incorrectly connected USB port (it was the older type, where you could connect the port to motherboard the wrong way, which unfortunatelly happened). The drive went totally dead, no spin-up, not a sound, no detection in BIOS. I took it to a recovery lab, they told me the PCB plus some internal electronic parts are damaged, the plates, motor etc. are OK, and asked a pretty high price.
Is there any way around the recovery lab? My bro is an electronics engineer, but has no experience with harddrives...

[jono-ats]

If the DR company's diagnosis is correct, then the preamp (which is part of the head assembly) is bad.

The tasks for repairing and recovering this drive are standard fare for DR companies, but would be very challenging for an amateur:

1. Locate compatible heads & swap them
2. Remove ROM from PCB (assuming it is not destroyed) and move to good PCB

Head swaps require quite a bit of practice for most mortals. In my experience, Hitachi heads can be damaged if they are allowed to touch.

Bottom line: If you want to play, go for it. If you want to recover your data, send it to a competent DR firm.

Jon

[DRNJ]

Try a new PCB and rom swap first.
I think they are BS you that the "the plates, motor etc." are bad.
You can't blow the motor with 5 volts. Even if you hook it up backwards.
The preamp may be bad but you won't know unless you try.

[pepe]

Hi DRNJ

electronic parts are damaged, the plates, motor etc. are OK

they did not state motor is bad.
but yes, it is reasonable to try a pcb swap first.

pepe