WD5000AAKS

[versor]

Hi,

my WD5000AAKS just broke down. SATA link is not responding very well (sometimes down all the time, sometimes not). First look at the PCB - part of a foam that covers Marvell is a bit browny... I believe uC is partially down.
Fortunately I have second identical drive, i want to replace PCB but of course ROM is embedded in marvell...
Have you any ideas how can i fix that?

[N.C.]

Hello,

You need to read out the ROM from MCU and write into the another one.
This is the only solution.
You can do it with PC3000, or if you have not this tool, i suggest to find a pro near you...
This can be cheap problem, based on your story....

Best regards,
Janos

[versor]

Thanks for your ultimately fast response
I'm just wandering what if marvell won't let me read the rom or it is messed up? How can i figure out calibration data then?

[N.C.]

If the marvell MCU is dead, than the case is not cheap, it can be very expensive instead...
Only a good skilled pro can restore the ROM if the content is gone....

Janos

[beto]

and that shorcut could be damaged into the MHA too,

[N.C.]

yes, beto have right.
If the MCU is gone, there is a chance, the preamp is gone too....

[pcimage]

Hello,

You need to read out the ROM from MCU and write into the another one.
This is the only solution.
You can do it with PC3000, or if you have not this tool, i suggest to find a pro near you...
This can be cheap problem, based on your story....

Best regards,
Janos

Not quite true, you can re-write ROM from data in SA into a new PCB. But essentially N.C. is right, pro help is required.

PC3000 or Salvation products can both do this.

[jono-ats]

My guess is that the ROM info will be intact, and you need to get someone with a PC3000 to perform the transfer to a compatible PCB that you provide.

I would not contract with a client to do only that, but perhaps there are others who might show you a little mercy . . .

[BlackST]

It's not mercy it's work... if and only if it is paid and limited to that, and don't want to hear 'hey it still doesn't work...can you...?'

[versor]

yes, beto have right.
If the MCU is gone, there is a chance, the preamp is gone too....

Disk spins up perfectly, i believe only sata link part of the MCU is damaged.

Thank you all for your replies. I'm gonna find someone with proper equipment.

[jono-ats]

It's not mercy it's work... if and only if it is paid and limited to that, and don't want to hear 'hey it still doesn't work...can you...?'

BlackST,

Exactly.

The "laws" of computer service include:

1. No good deed goes unpunished;

2. The person that you bend over backwards for, discount, do for free, etc. will invariably be the person who demands the most support after the fact.

Yesterday I had a long-term acquaintance who was outraged that we quoted $1350 for a (3) x (1TB) RAID 0 drive array that he had dinked with and tried to fix. Surely, he told us, we could just "do a little something", fix his directory, and send him on his way . . .

Well, we did send him on his way . . .

[BlackST]

Don't want to know precisely what way....

[hddmania]

That price seems a great favor to me!!!! I don't think he can find that price anywhere even on Ebay or Craigslist. If he does, he may not get his data back...

In fact I wander were those WD 1TB green drive??? I just had a quote request for WD 1TB Green Drive X 3 on a RAID and gave him a good price for it but he said it was outragous price and he didn't want his data back.

[BlackST]

The more I see and hear these stories, the more I think they mainly call 'data' their collection of porn and warez, otherwise the scenario would be different...

[jono-ats]

That price seems a great favor to me!!!! I don't think he can find that price anywhere even on Ebay or Craigslist. If he does, he may not get his data back...

In fact I wander were those WD 1TB green drive??? I just had a quote request for WD 1TB Green Drive X 3 on a RAID and gave him a good price for it but he said it was outragous price and he didn't want his data back.

I thought I was bending over backwards to be nice . . . apparently he thought I was bending him over forwards . . .

I told him the going rate for that recovery scenario was $4K - 10K. Everyone who has done these kinds of things knows what an incredible headache it can be undoing someone else's "work."

You know, the sad thing is he thinks we are hosing him and he'll probably tell his other buddies what a greedy jerk I am . . . I'll probably lose a "friend" over this transaction.

One of my techs examined the array -- I'm not at the office, and I'm not sure what they were. But if they were WD greens, I'll shoot you a P.M.

[lcoughey]

A RAID with 3 1TB drives for less than $2000 is a steal.