I have a laptop drive that got the polarity reversed. Can I simply replace the PCB with one of type and identical firmware to recover?

Is there a section of the forum that answers this and similar noob questions?

Regards,

Jeff

Please post a model number. You will getter a more accurate answer after that.

You can try a simple Board swap and you may get lucky as long as the firmware matches

This would depend on the strength of the power supply which was connected in reverse and the path the current made through the electronics. If something shorted it out from the beginning, chances are that the head preamp survived.

hi,
yeah. it can be recovery simple if you just got PCB problem.

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data recovery service[/b]

If your drive has a TVS protection diode, then it may be that all you need to do is to desolder it or snip it out with side cutters. Hopefully it will have sacrificed itself by going short circuit and thereby protecting the rest of the electronics.

If you have difficulty identifying the diode, post a photo, or visit Seagate's forums.

Thanks for the help and hope!

I added a couple of pics of the damage

Here are the specs:

Seagate momentus 160gb

ST9160821AS
fw:3CDE
Date Code 08231
Site WU

Yes, that's the culprit. If you remove it, then hopefully your drive will power up. Just be careful with your PSU, as your drive will no longer be protected.

For continued protection, a replacement 5V TVS diode, p/n SMAJ5.0A, can be obtained from Farnell, Mouser, Digikey.

Removed the diode and voila problem solved!

Imaged and replaced the drive.

Many many thanks!!

Jeff