Hi,

I have a Hitachi HTS545032B9A300 320Gb 2.5 SATA HDD that is powers up but is not recognised by BIOS.
I placed it in a usb caddy to power up so I could listen to the drive & its making a noise for a seized motor (will confirm this when I open the drive to make sure its not a sticking head).
This is just for learning & their is no critical data (works hdd thats been replaced) but I was wondering if it is a seized motor & I get a HTS545032B9A300 320Gb HDD could I swap the original laptops hard drive platter, heads & PCB to the donor? that way the rest of the HDD info wouldnt need to match or am i mistaken?

As i said this is for me to practice on & the data is not important.

Thanks

Loki

Hi,

The platters are micron precisely aligned.
If you loosen up the screws of the platter, the game is over.

BTW your drive have >90% of head stiction, 5% for seized motor, and 5% for electrical problem.

The PCB have unique adaptives, so you can't replace it with similar.

If you have no important data, i suggest to RMA the drive before you open it.
If you have valuable data, seek for professional help.

User "pcimage" are in the UK, he can dianose and recover for you if you want.

Janos

Hi,

I have just confirmed from a Hitachi PDF that they do have 2 platters (was hoping it was 1)
Thanks but I already knew about keeping multiple platters aligned I probably should of said that in OP.

My idea was to swap all components from the faulty drive to the working drive ie platters, PCB head stack etc that way the only parts used from the doner were the casing & motor. So my question still stands

RE: BTW your drive have >90% of head stiction, 5% for seized motor, and 5% for electrical problem.
Thanks didnt know that

RE: The PCB have unique adaptives, so you can't replace it with similar.
Knew that u12 or the chip with the big M on it would require swapping if using the doner PCB.

As stated in my OP this is just for me to practice on & learn. Data on it is not required

Thanks for replying

Hi N.C.

Finally got round to looking at this drive tonight & you were right it was head stiction. Thanks for the heads up.
Managed to gently pop the head off the platter & to my surprize when I put the top back on & booted it up it was recognised & was able to access the data - thought I was going to have to try my SD Compass.

Just need to find out how to decrypt the CSC (offline files) folder now & then I can surprize the user & give him back his offline files which he didnt sync for the last couple of weeks.


Loki

Just to update:
Managed to dycrypt the CSC (offline files folder) by setting up a laptop with the same OS & SP.
Then created user account that matched the existing users & the copied over the CSC folder.
Then I just logged on as the user & had access to the offline files.

User was happy & surpirised.

Loki.

Very nice work all round!

_________________
A backup a day keeps DR away.

What do you mean by popping the head off the platter? I think I have the same problem so if you could give me some more info on how you did this then that would be great.

Firstly if your data is important to you don't try DIY as if it does go wrong it will cost a lot more money to recover via a DR company if you haven't ruined your chances.

Is it a Hitachi drive? The reason I ask is that if it is not & its a western digital drive some western digital drives align the headstack with a screw in the lid - not DIY to realign.

Ok saying all that & you still want to try here's what I did.
I took the lid off the Hitach drive & found the heads were parked on the platters & not at the inner or outer edge where they should be depending on the drive. I used a desk fan to keep a constant airflow across the drive to try & keep dust particles to a minimal as I dont have a cleanroom. I used a very small flat screwdriver to see if I could very gently lift the arm for the top head from the platter (do not touch the platter or head). Mine was stuck but with a very lite pressure (dont bend the arm) it came free. The head was still intact on the arm. I then checked the motor wasn't seized by rotating it anti clockwise. Their was a slight mark where the head had been on the platter but there's nothing you can do about that. I then rotated the the platters as i moved the heads to the outer edge. Then I replaced the lid & was surprised that when I booted it up it was recognised by windows & was able to access the data.

If you do try the above & it works get your data off as quick as possible & then bin the drive.

Loki.