deskstar woes

[jerkykid]

hello everyone, looking for a little advice on this drive. It is a ic35l090avv207-0. when I started working on this drive it had a locked up spindle motor. I have now swapped the platters, head and pcb into an identical donor. I am using the wd doctor from salvation. When starting the drive up it will trip the power protection in the hd doctor, and obviously will not reach ready status. If I pull he pcb off the drive and turn the hd doctor on it will reach ready status and not trip power protection. The donor drive spins fine and it was checked prior to swapping parts. Any advive would be greatly appreciated.

[rchadwick]

You're using WD Doctor from Salvation?

[jerkykid]

ok, sorry up late last night...no I am using hitachi

[rchadwick]

Did you check for shorts with a multimeter?

[jerkykid]

Yes I have checked in some areas for shorts. I am a little new at this so please bear with me here. I have tried two different cases(and motors) 2 different heads. I double checked the insulation under the pcb and also the rubber seal under the head assembly connector at the case. In hitachi hd doctor I am seeing current draw in excess of 1.5 amps before it shuts down. What should these be drawing for current? The motor spins freely and the head also is free.. I am not sure where else to look. Any ideas or suggestions?

Thanks

[jerkykid]

I am tracing back my steps and realized I used the original pcb with my last new head. Is it possible that the old pcb has burned my preamp, possibly creating the clicking and excessive current draw?

Thanks

[jerkykid]

Anyone have any ideas on wher this might be coming from?

Thanks

[jerkykid]

Ok, I am still having current issues. I believe I have narrowed this down to the pcb-> motor ribbon cable. I have once again swapped platters into another donor and used the donor pcb. When I had the ribbon cable out I looked at it under a microscope and it seemed somewhat worn. I had thought this is maybe where the problem was coming from. Is this an issue on these drives, where you may want to reflow the solder at the end of the cable? I have no idea what to do at this point as this has happened to about 4 donor drives and other than swapping platters the only other thing I did was remove pcb? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks

[jerkykid]

nobody has seen this??

[BlackST]

Simply it's not software.

[jerkykid]

With all due respect to you and everyone else I am just looking for a forward direction on this. I am very aware that this is not a software issue. How can I re write nvram to a donor pcb if I can' t get the tool to stop shutting down on me? This is where my question comes in with the current draw. I am trying here and thought I was asking the right questions.

[dobrevjetser]

The simplest is to desolder the nvram from the old pcb and solder it onto the new one.

Regards,

Dobre

[BlackST]

Didn't understand: salvation tool shuts down when rebuilding nvram?

[rchadwick]

Possibly a bad Salvation box. Measures 1.5 Amps, current is really .5 Amps....

Does box work with good drives?

[badboy]

oh, how to say, master

microscope, 4 donors, pcb, platters, ribbon cable ..

so powerful!

you never considered sending it to a pro..?

[BlackST]

oh, how to say, master

microscope, 4 donors, pcb, platters, ribbon cable ..

so powerful!

you never considered sending it to a pro..?

I also repair electronic boards in volume, so sometimes people ask me if I can do something for their appliances. Usually I can do everything, but sometimes why hassle? A long time ago a high end prosumer VCR came this way, beside the worn head hard to find - I did anyway with long delay - there were so many regulations to perform after head change that could took a week or so of "pain in the ass" : I changed the head, the rest was done by the authorized service center FOR ME quickly and with honest fee. Simply that monkey wasn't mine, I was happy to give a service (PAID!!!) to my customer, boosted my reputation and image and had the time to serve other customer(s) in the meantime. The customer only had ME as reference, not bounced to another SC...
I collaborate with many SCs the same way, they send me what they are not able to do or , more often, what could take them more time to investigate because they don't have the knowledge or specific tools or service docs etc. Of course they pay my bills, I charge them a honest fee leaving them margin for "reselling" the service and for compensating their effort contacting me, eventually shipping , telephone calls etc. (anyway it's not my business how much they do charge to the end customer : I only want to get paid for my job).
So, probably this monkey is not yours : hire a pro or send it to a pro / colleague and get the job done, then resell the service to your customer: less work, less hassle, no delay , better image and reputation. That's what they call PROFESSIONALITY.
It was only my 2 cent.

[jerkykid]

Hmmm.... What can I say? Badboy were you ever new at this? Was there ever a time that you may not have been considered a "pro"? Yes I have all of the tools, and yes that does not make me a "pro" but eventually I will do just fine. Please dont take this the wrong way, but if indeed that is what you are concerned about or just want to say "send it to a pro", why bother responding? I do appreciate all of the input from everyone that replied. BlackST you are right, due to my lack of experience in this field I should have sublet it out. I do have to admit you are much more courteous in the way you say "send it to a pro". Maybe one of the other 8-10 "pro" shops this drive has been to also should have.

[BlackST]

@jerkykid

you're welcome, I told the story just because I hate wasting time and if I can avoid someone else wasting his too , the day is not going to pass by in vain.
I suggest you to find another reference in the field near you or at reach via express courier, with serious reputation and equipped, go and speak. You can collaborate.
Remember : sometimes together we win, alone we lose

Regards

[Steve]

Did you solve this problem?
What power supply are you using ?
I normally use an external power supply, but have found that
sometimes it sends too much power ( to some drives) .
In those situations , I use the power supply of the computer,
and it seems to solve the problem.

[jerkykid]

I believe this drive issue has been figured out. A kind individual has been helping me with it. I will post the results in the next few days. I had a few things that were working against me such as a very important step that I missed.