I'm sorry if this sounds redundant, but I really have not been able to find the answers by searching.

I have a Hitachi Deskstar HDS722525VLAT80. Several ide pins have broken on it.

I understand that PCB swapping requires NVRam swaping for data recovery, but is it possible to swap the PCB but not any chips if you have no interest in recovering the data?

Also, this drive came in both IDE and SATA styles, is it possible to swap the IDE pcb for an SATA pcb?

And the final question: if chip swapping is necessary, is there anybody that actually offers this service?
Best would be one that would let me mail the old PCB to them and then mail me a replacement PCB with the swapped chips. (This would save on shipping and give me peace of mind that my data isn't being rifled through.)

Thanks.

Why not replace the pins on the pcb, or work around them if it's only a few?

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On a clear disk you can seek forever.

Yeah, trying to replace the pins is what made me hip to the fact that I would not be capable of swapping chips.

And what do you mean by 'work around'?

Oh by workaround I mean make temporary connections with bits of wire, enough to get the data off.

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On a clear disk you can seek forever.

You need to transfer the NVRAM, or its contents, whether or not you need the data.

AIUI, you cannot simply swap from PATA to SATA without significant changes to the firmware.

The following PCB supplier includes a free "PCB adaptation service":
http://www.donordrives.com/services

Alternatively, your local TV/AV repair shop should be able to do the chip swap.

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A backup a day keeps DR away.

The data had already been transferred off the drive so it could be installed in a different system.
While connecting it in the new system the pins got broken off.

Thanks for the info on DonorDrives.com. Are they considered reliable?
Assuming it's cost efficient versus a new drive, I'll go that way.

The proprietor (porthas, member15871.html) is a valued member of this forum.

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A backup a day keeps DR away.

Turns out it doesn't matter. They don't have the PCB.
Probably cheaper to just throw the drive away at this point.