Hi
My HDD has a burnt PCB and I wanted to know if there is a workaround or if I could replace the PCB board, just to get the data off. Please find the picture here http://users.tpg.com.au/jamestam//018.JPG and the bit that looks burnt is R29.
Thanks for your help

HDD = WD5000AAKS - 22TMA0

The PCB looks pretty badly burnt. There is info on the big 'M' chip that needs to be transferred to the replacement PCB. Specialist (expensive) tools are needed for this. It's possible that more than the PCB is damaged, possibly the pre-amp on the head stack is gone as well.

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I think you'll have preamp burned as well, so I wouldn't advise you for DIY job.

I could be wrong, but I believe that D2, L2, and Q2 would be associated with the preamp's negative supply rail. These components appear to be unaffected.

The damaged components appear to be part of the MCU's Vcore supply, or perhaps Vio.

I would check TVS diodes D3 (5V) and D4 (12V), near the SATA power connector, for shorts. That would help determine whether the fault was due to an external overvoltage. Also check R67 and R64 for open circuits. They should both measure 0 ohms.

A fault on the +5V rail could affect the preamp.

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