Western Digital PCB Swap Rule

[zed]

Hi All,

I currently have over 20 hard disks with burnt/damaged motor controller board problems or other problems. Most of these have suffered power surges.

In the past i have looked for a Donor PCB with the exact same model number, DCM number and PCB board number, e.g i would match all of these:
Model: WD300JB-22KFA0
DCM: DSCACAJCA
Number on white sticker on PCB: 2061-701314-A00 AF.
+ I check the Country of Manufacture to ensure it's the same.

Once this donor hard disk is found, i remove the EEPROM Chip from the faulty disk and put it on the new disk using a small nozzel heat gun and soldering iron. In the past this has worked but as you can imagine it's hard to find the matching parts needed.

Is there any easier way to find a compatible board? Am i being too fussy? Is there a less-strict way to match the PCBs?

Thanks for any help.

[rameez]

just match the CPU number and the spindle motor controller then swap rom to that pcb .

[zed]

Is the cpu number or spindle motor controller number printed on the label of the disk at all?

If not - this makes buying the donor nearly impossible as people on Ebay or other computer shops with old stock usually are not willing to unscrew the pcb and look at it before i buy.

[rameez]

No its printed on the Ics.
Matching the 2061-701314-XXX would be enough then .

[gsimon]

No its printed on the Ics.
Matching the 2061-701314-XXX would be enough then .

It seems that this is NOT always correct

There are in few cases the same numbers , for example ,
2060-701335-005

but with two totally different procesor (CPU)

88i6889-TFJ1
and
88i6545-TFJ1

but when the ROM U12 is changed --- no works....!

[zed]

I'm even more confused now.

In order to find a similar enough CPU number (i.e the number on the white sticker on the PCB) - does the model # have to also be an exact match?

i.e What drive should i be looking for as a donor for my example:
Model: WD300JB-22KFA0
DCM: DSCACAJCA
Number on white sticker on PCB: 2061-701314-A00 AF.

The average seller on Ebay or running a computer sales business won't know what the cpu number is, they usually just advertise the model # then i need to contact them to confirm other information.

I am willing to transplant the U12 chip, i usually do that regardless.

Anybody with experience with these drives care to suggest a 'rule' they use? It would be great aprecaited.

[gsimon]

That is WD !!!

[zed]

I know it's WD but there must be an easier way. I'm sure somebody on this forum must know and we can all be wiser as a result.

[rameez]

Then match the whole sticker number .

[zed]

Match all of the numbers on the white sticker on the PCB side?
Is it possible other model disks will have the same sticker # or as i asked in my 1st question for this post, do i need to match the model # in full as well as the sticker # ?

I am really looking for some easier way to search on Ebay and other sites (e.g PowerSourceonline.com) for the part needed to order it ASAP.

[rameez]

If u match the model number of the drive no need to check the pcb label then .

[zed]

Rameez, so no need to match the DCM or numbers on on the PCB at all?
i.e Match up the full model # only (e.g WD2500JB-00FA02)

[dobrevjetser]

Zed,

Match the full model number e.g. WD2500JB-xxFAxx and as much of the DCM. x = don't care
Some say 5th and 6th character, but i have allready found that the second character has to match too. So the more letters match, the better.

Regards,

Dobre

[zed]

Thanks dobrevjetser, i don't want to be buying HDDs off ebay or other suppliers based on this criteria of "WD2500JB-xxFAxx" and 'as much of the DCM as possible' and keep wasting time & money on parts which are not compatible. Can the DCM be ignored?

[dobrevjetser]

No, Zed.
The DCM is of utmost importance. I always try to match as much as possible.
For example a drive with HBBHCTJAAN and one with HSBHCT2AA are very likekely NOT to be interchangeable since the second and the seventh letters are different.
I found that an extra letter is not a problem if all the others are the same.


Dobre

[zed]

Thanks Dobre, What is the DCM? I always assumed it was the firmware version and thought if the firmware chip is being swapped over then it would not be really that important. I'll try what you suggested.

I was looking at many PCBs on ebay and some people sell the PCB but do not list the DCM, they just advertise the PCB by itself and they cannot provide the DCM code for the drives they came from. I guess it's too much of a risk.

I have found some drives with the EXACT same model number (in full) as well as the same number on the largest chip on the PCB and a board number very close but not exact to a match.

Does anybody else want to share what they find is the minimum requirements are to match PCBs for WD drives?

[dobrevjetser]

Hi Zed,

The DCM indeed contains some info on the harddisk; one of the first letters indicates the bearing type; the meaning of the other letters is unknown for me, but i suppose that the preamplifier-type is also coded in these letters.


Dobre

[zed]

I found this web site today:
http://www.harddrive-repair.com/hard-drive-parts.html

This site says:
"PCB: (Printed Circuit Board)
You will need to match the first two sets of numbers printed on the IDE Insert of the PCB This will match the compatibility of the PCB with your drive
If you can match these sets of numbers to the hard drive Firmware number then you will have a high chance of a compatible part.
Of course if this does not work there are more complicated means that the data recovery experts can do." then under this it shows this image:
http://www.harddrive-repair.com/images/ ... 20Info.jpg

It also mentions on this site the country the drive was made in may be important too.

This is even more confusing n ow, every data recovery expert has their own rule. What does everybody else think of this claim?

[dobrevjetser]

Zed,

Read the PC3K manual! From the 6 digits after the drive model only the middle two are important. I can confirm this from my experience.

I know the country for Seagates is important (but not always as i experienced), but i am not aware this should also be for WD.

Dobre

[zed]

I have just ordered 4 PCBS for 4 WD HDD i have with burnt/damaged motor controller chips

1 I ordered with a matching full model # and same country but different DCM.
1 I ordered with a matching board number and matching Model # but differen DCM.
1 I ordered with the same model # and matching DCM with a different board #.
1 I ordered with a very close board number, similar DCM and same model #.

So i'll experiment and record the results and post it back here in about 1-2 weeks so it may be of help to others.

In the mean time if anybody else would like to share their method for PCB swap for WD drives it would be most greatly apreciated.