trying to recover a wd500bevt

[blofeld]

hello,

i have the following hard drive:
WD500BEVT-00A03T0
WWN:50014EE202BC2D97
from the 27 4 2009
DCM: EHCVJBBB
LBA: 976773168
R/N 701609

PCB:
2060-701609-000 REV P1 (on board)
2061-701609-800 03P (on sticker)

the drive is completely dead and i would like to see if the PCB is the culprit.
i have another drive of the same model albeit from 2011.
i tried the PCB from this one and the drive spins (with some clicking however) up but is not recognized by the computer

now what can i do?
i found a similar drive on ebay with a different WWN (50014EE2AD9792EE) and a different DCM (HHCVJBBB)
but with the same R/N and MDL
do i have a chance that i can use this PCB?

what else can i try before i send the drive to a (costly) recovery center?

thanks for all help!

[N.C.]

You should send it....

This drive have unique adaptives inside the PCB, you can't use another drive's pcb on this model.

Janos

[fzabkar]

Is there an 8-pin chip at location U12?

[blofeld]

no,
U12 is empty

thanks

[Nick_CT]

Then the adaptive information is stored in the main controller chip, and needs to be transferred with professional equipment.

[blofeld]

is this an expensive procedure?

[fzabkar]

Could you upload a detailed photo or scan of the component side of the board? If you're lucky, there may be a simple DIY fix.

[blofeld]

shure, here it is

Attachments

[fzabkar]

I can't see any obvious problems.

If you have a digital multimeter (US$10), then we could measure a few voltages. We could start with your good board and establish some test points. It may only turn out to be a post mortem exercise, but it may help others.

[blofeld]

i do have a multimeter. shoot!

[fzabkar]

Could you measure the voltages at each of the following test points and components on your spare board?

http://www.users.on.net/~fzabkar/HDD/WD ... mp_VCM.jpg
http://www.users.on.net/~fzabkar/HDD/WD ... 12_Vio.jpg
http://www.users.on.net/~fzabkar/HDD/WD ... re_Vio.jpg

Also measure the voltages at the jumper pins.

Use the SATA power ground as your reference:
http://pinouts.ru/Power/sata-power_pinout.shtml

Set your meter on the 10VDC range. Be careful not to slip with your probes, as serious damage will result.

[blofeld]

hmm, i just realized you want me to measure my good board.
however, since it seems impossible to simply excahnge the boards, i did not get a good one ...

[fzabkar]

Well, do the same with your bad board.

[jhauss]

what are the voltages supposed to be

[HARD RECOVER]

hi blofeld i have send a pm to u check please for solution

[data-medics]

Hi Blofeld,

I strongly recommend against experimenting on the board hoping to fix it. If your data is important, you really should have a professional rebuild a circuit board for you. You'll need a PC-3000 to do it, which costs ~$10,000 USD. If you mess the board up too bad while experimenting, it may actually become impossible to recover the data.

I normally charge $500~$650 (plus parts) for this type of recovery in my lab based in Providence, RI USA, but if you just want a rebuilt board and not the imaging onto a new drive, etc. I can probably do it for $350 plus parts. Other labs should have similar prices. If you're outside the USA and would like a recommendation of a company to use, let me know.

Jared

[fzabkar]

US$50, including firmware transfer:

http://www.onepcbsolution.com/
http://www.hdd-parts.com/

[data-medics]

Yep, that's the problem with donor drive suppliers. They buy pc-3000 just to do a million rom transfers. But, most people aren't willing to risk trying to recover data themselves. So they still hire a professional.

[fzabkar]

@data-medics, you don't need PC$10K to do a ROM transfer.

To Spildit, as much as I like you, and as much as I am grateful to you, you must understand that the world doesn't owe anyone a living. My mission is the same today as it was 20 years ago when I first started posting to Internet forums, and that is to help people as much as I possibly can. If that conflicts with other people's commercial interests, then that is a fact of life that they will have to accept. When I went into business, I did so with the same understanding, and I still managed to earn a respectable living.