Hello to all.

This is my first post in here, as I "had" to join you people after a failure of my HDD yesterday night (don't take the "had" to join you in a wrong way, but obviously most of the people that join such a forum are because of an unfortunate incident...).

My incident started like this: My Toshiba laptop's HDD (model mentioned in the topic title) had 8KB of bad sectors, however was working fine. Just to play safe, I bought a new 500GB WD HDD, installed the OS, and plugged in my Toshiba HDD externally through an Equip multi-HDD connector to transfer the data... The unfortunate came after I dropped the Equip's power supply that took with it the spinning Toshiba HDD... The HDD immediately disappeared from the system, and a clicking noise started...

I panicked and after some plug/unplug cycles, I took the big decision to open the disk. I'm a computers technician, so I'm familiar to dealing with electronics at some degree. Anyway, once I opened the HDD's case, nothing interesting happened, except that I saw what I was hearing before. The heads were traveling from their rest point to the center of the platters and back to the rest point... Also, while the USB cable of the Equip connector was plugged in, the computer was like frozen (probably trying to identify the HDD), once I unplugged it, it was working fine and prompted me that I should format the HDD...

Anyway, I tried to move with my hand the heads, and unfortunately, I bended one of the heads' tip (the tiny black thing that looks like a little magnet). Then, with the tip of the screwdriver I tried to straighten that magnet, but because my hands where already shaking from my anxiety, the screwdriver accidentally touched some of the soldered connections of the flexible PCB tape that connects the heads to the main PCB's connector. After that the HDD stopped spinning...

After this huge introduction (sorry about it), my questions are these:

First of all, I will obviously need a spare identical HDD to swap some parts. I found this one, which is a MK3252GSX, but the rest of the model name is kind of different (mine is B UK01 S, while the new one is B UK01 T). Do you think this will be a proper donor HDD for mine?

Also, I read in some other topics that I will have to swap an 8-pin EEPROM chip, which should be marked as IC12, while the only 8-pin chip on my PCB is IC602, manufactured by SPANSION. Is this the one we are interested in?

Also, I read something about a white shock sensor marked as E1, while again, the only thing in my PCB that is white is one small think that looks like an SMD capacitor that is marked as E2. If this is the one we're interested in, do I have to swap this one as well? Because it's a shock sensor, and obviously my disk had a big shock when it fell down.

Third, is it the correct procedure to swap the heads arm, and the PCB (with swapping of course the EEPROM as well), or is there anything else I will have to do?

Finally, once and IF everything goes well, will my system recognize the disk as if nothing had happened, and I will have access to my data in their original structure, or will I still have to use a data recovery software? Just a speculation...

Guys, I'm really waiting for an answer, as the data that was in there, is a whole world to me (pictures of my newborn baby, and some other stuff of minor importance regarding my business). Thanks for your replies, and excuse me for the huge post.

I am not sure what to say about this one =(

You will need professional intervention to save the data.


1) You opened the HDD outside of a clean environment and let it spin to make things worse

2) You damaged the heads, and likely the platter/s in the process

3) You may have shorted the drive out, and killed heads, and maybe the PCB


I am sorry my friend, but thinking about DIY recovery is the last thing I would worry about at this point, if you are very "shaky" then this type of procedure is not for you; you really need a perfectly steady hand to safely perform mechanical repair and replacement on HDD. Not to mention a clean room (not just a room you cleaned well, an actual clean room, or clean chamber with at least less the 100 particles per cubic foot, 10 is much better)

Xronis can help you, but it is not going to be cheap because of these mistakes,


Good luck,

Hi thanks a lot for your reply.

Actually I don't care much about my current heads or PCB right now... The donor disk is on its way... So as long as I manage to swap the heads without damaging them (I'll do my best on that), I think I'll be fine. As for the PCB, I will swap that too if need be. Swapping the EEPROM is not a problem either, as I'm very familiarized with soldering.

My only actual issue is the lack of a clean room, but I'll wear one-use medical gloves, and clean the desk thoroughly before the procedure. Nevertheless, I only need to transfer 2-3GB (the whole content ~160GB would be ideal, but at least 2-3GB of vital data would be more than fine too). So how much damage could a particle of dust cause in case it gets stuck on a platter?

One question I have, once everything is complete, will I have to operate the driver with its cover open or closed? And also, if I post an image of my PCB, could someone point the EEPROM chip to me? Not that I don't have a clue about which one it is, but just to make sure!

By next Tuesday-Wednesday I'll have the donor disk here. So I'll keep you informed about the procedure.

Edit: One question that just came in my mind... Is it a good idea to use an air-blower to blow air on the platters just in case some particle of dust got stack there? Or will it force even more particles on them?

Your chances of success are very low, even with a clean desk the average room has over 1000000 particles of dust per square foot, even 1 piece of dust can kill the heads.

You have likely ruined your chances of recovery because running the drive with the cover off will suck dust into the lower platters, where you cannot see and clean easily.

Dont think about taking the platters off to clean, as you cannot do that, alignment will be lost.


If the data is important then I would highly advise a pro, if not...get some canned air, and if you can somehow manage to perform the headswap without doing damage to the heads or platters, clean them off to the best of your ability, and then look around for a shooting star, make a wish that it will work, sometimes magic helps to, if you have a magic wand laying around.


Good luck!

Wow... so even after what has already happened you think it is a good idea to try it yourself?

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You don't have to backup all of your files, just the ones you want to keep.

I don't want to encourage you in any way but I do want to assure you that- and people will jump all over me for saying this- a clean room is the least important element of the data recovery equation. As long as you're not standing in the middle of a dust storm and you have a clean workspace, canned air diligently and carefully applied will suffice. I tell you this not because I want to encourage you to try this repair yourself but because I want you to understand that even if you had a clean room the likelihood of your success is pretty slim. You have almost certainly damaged the platter surfaces when you were messing with heads. This means that even if you successfully swap the heads you will still be stymied by media damage. Add to this the likely PCB failure and you've got the cards stacked against you. I'm sure nothing said here will discourage you in any way so good luck to you.

Actually, like you said, nothing will discourage me, but not because I'm so confident about my ability to fix this... But because I don't have much to loose... Given the fact that I can't afford the 500-900EUR a professional company asked to deal with it, I will either have to try it myself with any risk involved, or live with the idea that I lost some precious data for me.

OPtion 3
Put this drive away safely for a few weeks
Buy some cheap? (ebay?) 2.5" disks, preferably working ones,
these new disks should be the same model as each other
(but can be old cheap 4GB drives or similar)
put some recognisable data on them
practise swapping heads between the two
to get practice and to see how you get on

Repeat with two new 320GB Toshiba's (you aready have one)
to get familar with them
but this is then starting to get expensive
Or just disaaembl the new Toshiba and reassemble it

Hi, Maybe if you attempted this task 100 times on 100 drives you might ruin the first 99 and get lucky on the 100th.
Why don't you test this out by practicing on a similar working drive. Open it and remove the heads, then immediately put the heads back and test it. The results will give you a better understanding of whats to come.

How many platters does this Tosh 320GB drive have

If it was just one, you would be better trying a platter transplant
Or maybe not because -
- this density is likely to be multiplatter and changing those and keeping them exactly aligned is very hard
- each individual drive (and set of platters) has its own specific defect / remapping list, and so would some how need to read and copy that across with the platter(s)

So back to a head transplant (when practised and confident)
and hope the original PCB is still ok


I must say we are all being helpful and polite today. Normally you would get insultated or laught at.
Not that it is a laughing matter

Hehe!! Thanks for being so polite, if this is actually an exception in your normal behavior.

I appreciate all your answers and suggestion, though some are really exaggerating... Like to test head transplant on 100 drives!!! Then, a professional assistance would seem a cheaper idea.

So, what makes me wonder is that most of you say that you hope my PCB is OK. Where is the problem in transplanting the PCB of the donor disk as well (which is a simpler task in my opinion).

About the clean room and possible dust, I know that I can't provide such a "sterile" environment. But OK, my intention is to rescue 2-3GB out of 160GB... What are the chances that the particle will stick to those 2-3GB out of 160 usable, and out of 320 total? And even if it does, it's still OK to loose a file or two out of 2-3GB, isn't it?

Seriously, I can't afford a professional look on my problem. So I'm down to trying it myself. I'll research the head transplant (already watched a lot of interesting techniques on YouTube), I may sacrifice a small spare disk to test the head transplant in that guinea-pig before I try it in my disk... I will also have in mind that PCB transplant will require donor EEPROM exchange with my original one (fortunately I'm good at using the soldering tool)...

So basically my only problem seems to be the case of the platters being already damaged, though at least the top one looks perfectly shiny, and free of any scratches...

Afterall, need is the mother of invention (or motivation in my case). With some luck and careful steps I hope I succeed.

Of laptop drives, I think that Toshiba is most forgiving for a heads swap.

The unknown is the amount of media damage. Sometimes you can overcome slight damage, but bad damage will kill the new heads. Assuming that you beat the odds and did a successful heads transplant, you'll need a process to image the drive (i.e., not just copy off files).

You ought to be able to find some defective high-capacity Toshiba drives with good heads and bad sectors, that you can practice on for just a few Euros. If you don't have rock-steady hands, this would be a very good investment.

Kali Teehi, Vre . . .

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http://www.datasaversllc.com

Thanks a million

Well guys, I just used an old 20GB WD as a guinea pig to try uninstall and re-install the heads. It worked!!!!

The only problem is that the WD has one platter only while my Toshiba has two platters. I imagine this will make things a little harder with my Toshiba, but probably tonight a friend will bring me a 320GB WD Scorpio that, if I guess correctly, it has two platters inside.

Another factor of failure or success however is tension. While practicing tension is minimum, but with my Toshiba it will inevitably be high... I can't imagine what the effect of it will be, but I'll try to be as calm as possible.

Anyway, I'll keep you informed about the final outcome.

Thanks for your good words and support people!

Guys the donor disk will be here later today or tomorrow. I am so nervous right now...

In the meantime, I prepared a handmade "tool" to safely remove the heads from the donor disk without damaging them (I used the little plastic piece that is found in the parking area of another 2.5" disk, and cut it properly so that it serves my need). I really hope everything goes fine...

I have two questions however. 1: Once everything is done, and if successfully, will it be safe to start a normal copy/paste data recovery to a safe disk, or should I image this disk to another?
2: When I was "playing" with my patient disk, I realized that the little black thingy of one of the heads disapeared. After searching, I didn't find it anywhere on the desk... Can it have been stuck in any of the lower platters? If I gently tap the whole disk on the desk, will it fall if this is the case?

The tool is this one

Yep
Nope

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You don't have to backup all of your files, just the ones you want to keep.

Did you test the Cap on the PCBA with a voltmeter? It does not look like it is blown, but if it i 0 ohms then it is bad.

I would also not recommend doing this on your own. The plastic piece came from where? Was it the Load Ramp or something else in the interior of the drive?

Also, the slider that was dislodged from the Gimbal/Load beam If you can not find it it is either destroyed and is in the drive filter or lodged into the spindle motor. Keep in mind the the Slider is removed from the Load Beam the Load Beam is going to scratch the surface of the media. This means loss off data, the the damage is on a Service Area Track, then it is gone for the most part.

I admit I didn't use the proper terminology, hence your confusion.

Indeed the orange thing that I am going to use as a home-made head retaining tool is the Load Ramp of a totally different disk (a WD Scorpio, that I had sitting somewhere within some old PC spares)...

The other black thingy that got dislodged and lost, is indeed the Head Beam's slider, but it can't have been destroyed, because when it fell of the head, the head arm was on my hands, not installed in the spinning disk. And the surface of the platters is absolutely scratch-free, as it never worked with a head missing a slider.

I'm just worrying because when I heard the slider hitting down after it got dislodged, the open disk was right under it, so I thought it must have fallen somewhere in the disk. But I didn't find it anywhere. I think that due to its size, I must have missed it somewhere on the desk, which is dark colored anyway...

Anyway, the donor disk didn't come today, so my anxiety will be prolonged for another day... What can I say...

Guys the disk arrived today.

I swapped the heads, and everything went flawlessly in regard to it. Then, I connected the disk to the computer but it didn't power up.

Then, I swapped the PCBs, and this time my disk (with the donor PCB this time) powered up, but the heads were ticking. Not the kind of ticking they were making when it fell of the desk. Another more "persistent" one...

I took the big decision to swap the EEPROMs as well... This was really tricky however... At first when I saw the 8 "legs" on each PCB, I thought they were a part of the EEPROM, but they were just the printed paths on the PCB, and the actual connectors of the EEPROM were BGA-like... Anyway, to cut the long story short, the result is two missing "pads" on my EEPROM, and one path broken on the donor PCB... So now what am I supposed to do with my destroyed EEPROM? Isn't there any other way to make the disk read its contents without my EEPROM but with the donor's one?

Now you really are in trouble.
What was first an easy job for a pro has now become a very hard one.
Dont know if there is a pro in greece willing to take a look at it.
DIY has become KIY (kill it yourself).

Sorry Mate,

Dobre

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Murphy was an optimist

Datarecovery in Belgium, Holland, France and Germany
Datarecoverytools http://www.drtools.eu

....a classic example of why such failures are not a DIY Fix. I think you have just put this job beyond economic recovery....

Remember, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.

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Data Recovery Ireland