Fried WD MyBook

[zoomzoom02]

So about a week ago, a was traveling and unpacked my WD MyBook to get some data off of it. I was extremely tired and accidently plugged my laptop power cord into the back of the external drive (plugs look nearly identical). Needless to say, the extra 7V fried the drive. I pulled the drive apart to find the interface between the enclosure and the drive itself completely melted in one part, as expected. I tried to hook the drive to my computer, crossing my fingers, but as most would assume the thing won't even power up. Now, the 500Gb of data isn't imperative to retrieve, but it would be really nice. That being said, I really don't feel like spending $800+ to get the data off. I am simply inquiring if a PCB swap could be a feasible last ditch effort to get the drive working or is all hope lost. The PCB itself doesn't have any visible damage to it, but obviously it is there.

Drive Details:
MDL: WD5000AAKB-00UKA0
Date: 15 JUN 2007
DCM: HANCHV2AAN

PCB: 2061 - 701508 - 900 AA XT 4N03 BC2N 7 0004490 7 494

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated!

[rchadwick]

What is your skill level? Can you solder?

[zoomzoom02]

I am adept with computers, but as far a soldering I have little experience.

[beto]

U could post it here the photo of u pcb

Regards

[jerkykid]

If you need any parts I believe I have them all. I will double check when I get back to work.

[mediaman]

you can probably do it yourself with pictures to guide those who you would like to help you.

If the data is really important to you though, send it to a specialist. It's probably cheaper than the awful loss if you mess things up.

[zoomzoom02]

here, sorry for being so blurry, camera is acting up.

Attachments

Fried chip carnage

Fried Interface of External for reference

PCB of hard drive

Last edited by zoomzoom02 on July 28th, 2008, 15:05, edited 1 time in total.

[CK]

ok, forget about the PCB from the enclosure, what we're interested in here is the PCB from the drive. Can you post a pic of the PCB again (chip side)??

[zoomzoom02]

The last one is the PCB from the hard drive itself, do you want a pic of the flipside of it? I took it off the hard drive to see if I could see any physical damage on the underside of it.

[CK]

yes, the reverse side of Photo 3 is the important one. Judging by Pics 1 & 2, you've suffered a nice spike so it's very likely the PCB is damaged (damage may not be visible), and possibly the preamp chip (hopefully not). If you can get a decent shot of the chip-side, it would help.

[zoomzoom02]

Ok here they are

Attachments

[zoomzoom02]

The whole PCB.

Thanks guys

Attachments

[rchadwick]

It might be worth checking out the TVS. It looks like the USB PCB took the brunt of it. If data is important, and you don't feel comfortable with work on the PCB, you might consider sending it to someone.

[zoomzoom02]

Sorry for my ignorance, what is the TVS?

[rchadwick]

Search the forums for the term. It's all been said over and over. In a nutshell, it's likely the best, most fixable problem you can get, assuming it's only the TVS. It certainly helps if you can solder and use a multimeter, or know someone who can.

[zoomzoom02]

Ok, so I learned a little about the TVS...other than the fact of where the thing actually is. I found several conflicting threads where some said you could simply "cut" it out of the circuit and it would work and others stating that you need to replace it. But, wouldn't it be easier, if I could find a PCB, to just do a swap? Or is that one of those things that works 1/10 times?

[rchadwick]

It's easier to replace or remove the TVS if that's the problem. The TVS is a device that starts to conduct when the voltage gets too high. With a small spike, the TVS is often fine, but sometimes it is damaged, and permanently shorts. Removing it may let the drive work, but you won't have any more protection unless if you replace it. So, replace or remove is more of a personal matter rather than scientific. Are you a combination of lazy, and lucky? Just remove it.

Replacing the PCB is not as simple as it sounds. Data the drives uses itself, and is critical for it's operation, is stored inside the CPU. One way or another, you're going to have to solder.

The TVS's are likely the two black rectangles by the power connector. It's not possible for me to teach you enough Electronic theory for you to know what to do.

[zoomzoom02]

So, I finally was able to get a hard drive off of Ebay. It is the same model, although the numbers on the PCB vary. I swapped it over, and got my drive working again! I swapped everything to a new drive, in case it breaks, but it seems to be working with no problems. Thanks for all your advice and help.