WD RE3 broke! (Please! Help!)

[WDBill]

Hi. I have a big story. I hope someone can help. I have a broken HDD for a long time now. I have not tried a recovery company and I am not willing to. No trust for data and the security of my disk. I am going to fix it myself. I believe that if everything is the way it is suppose to be (equipment etc) it will work out.

So here is the story.
WD 1TB had high temperatures but back then (it's been 2 years) I was stupid enough not to keep Backups of my data. Soooo the external docking station it was on fall and... it kept working for months. Some day it just stopped.

I had a very hard time locating a donor disk.
When this happened my first thought was that the disk's PCB was burned. I ordered a clone PCB from china but I had no luck. I thought; ok the PCB is not right so I must find another disk. Then I stared looking for a donnor. Took me a few days and then at a local store I found a disk with very close codes.

Here they are:

BROKEN HDD
WD RE3
SATA / 32MB Cache
WD1002FBYS
S/N:WMATV3699484
MDL: WD1002FBYS-02A6B0
WWN: 50014EE001AC96E1
DATE: 10 OCT 2009
DCM: HARNHT2AA
LBA: 1953525168
R/N: 701567
CODES ON PCB: 2060-701567-000 REV A
STICKER CODES: 2061-701567-400 AD XW 6T12 AC5B 5 0005120 0125

WORKING HDD
WD RE3
SATA / 32MB Cache
WD1002FBYS
S/N: WMATV4619991
MDL: WD1002FBYS-02A6B0
WWN: 50014EE057293502
DATE: 29 NOV 2009
DCM: HBNNHT2CA
LBA: 1953525168
R/N: 701567
CODES ON PCB: 2060-701567-000 REV A
STICKER CODES: 2061-701567-400 AE XW 6T13 SWXL 5 0006210 0216

Here is the funny part. Even the disks don't have the same code something weird happened. I tried the "new" PCB on the broken HDD but again I had no luck. So I thought; is the PCB really burned? I took out the PCB from the broken HDD and screw it on the brand new HDD. And quess what! IT WAS WORKING!

Yes; the new HDD was working with the suppose to be burned PCB. Soooo.. my PCB is ok. What do you think is the issue?

Does it make any noise?
Well, it only clicks once. Like the way we click our fingers. No other noises.

Does it spin down?
No it does not.

Does bios recognize it?
No. And if I leave the disk connected while booting up; the pc won't boot untill I remove sata cable. Tried to go to disk management but the window freezes untill again I remove the sata cable.

What's next?
I am ordering a portable clean room but still can't find the correct tools to safely remove my heads. Found "HDD Head Combs" that help you remove the heads but I am not sure if will work on my WD even if in the compatibility list I can see that the tools support 3 disks / 6 heads.

Do you think moving the new heads to the disk will make it work?

[MindMergepk]

it could be a FW issue so changing heads will change nothing I guess. To diagnosis it properly you need tools like PC3K etc.

It is really better to send it to a DR company who offers you NDA (Non disclosure agreement).

[WDBill]

Thank you for your reply. Umm.. Well isn't the firmware on the PCB only?
Can you please suggest the proper diagnosis tools I will need to check what is happening with the disk? There are so many tools and I don't know what is needed (for example salvationdata offers a ton of options)

[fzabkar]

Well isn't the firmware on the PCB only?

No, most of it is located in a reserved area on the platters.

See viewtopic.php?t=6562

[WDBill]

wow... way too deep for me. I think I am going to stick to the plan. (I suppose it is ok to paste a link since salvationdata has a subforum)

Link: http://www.salvationdata.com/data-recov ... -tools.htm

As far as I understand I am going to need HDD Repair Tools-HD DOCTOR for WD and then HD HPE PRO used inside the clean room.

Can we say for sure that HDD Repair Tools-HD DOCTOR for WD will read the disk no matter what? So it can diagnose the issues?

[fzabkar]

Can we say for sure that HDD Repair Tools-HD DOCTOR for WD will read the disk no matter what? So it can diagnose the issues?

Certain tool suppliers will help you with your first few cases. You should look at WDR, DFL, SeDiv, WDMarvel. ISTR that someone mentioned that DFL will assist you with your first 5 jobs. You could always resell the tool.

In your case you would try to edit the drive's head map (to disable a bad head) and then see if the drive comes ready. Then you would retrieve its firmware resources and look for bad modules.

[WDBill]

Thank you all for your replies. One last thing. I am confuded by this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CAn22TiVV0

One of the companies that offer head replacement tools told me that what the guy says in this video is not true. Is it? And if it is how can we find the preset torque settings for the drive before we open it?

[pclab]

You are trying to do a heart surgery on yourself...
Are you sure your data is not important?

[WDBill]

It is not so much about data privacy. The most private thing I have in there is me drunk showing my butt. It's I don't trust others handling my drive. What if they screw up? I am gonna have to kill them. But if I do screw up. I am going to punch me a couple of times.

That's what I am trying to prevent. I suppose forums are made for this. Asking for information. And before doing the surgery I am doing so. It would be selfish and ignorant not to ask for information before I try to fix it.

It's only a few steps. Information is free these days. Nothing is a secret. Not even the biggest secrets like how to properly move the heads of a drive. Head transplantation videos are on youtube. A dousin of them and even more. I am not saying it is simple. But it is not a heart surgery.

I am sorry anyways. Thanks for support. I will ask for help the company I will buy tools from. When the surgery is done I will post pictures here.

[lcoughey]

It is not so much about data privacy. The most private thing I have in there is me drunk showing my butt. It's I don't trust others handling my drive. What if they screw up? I am gonna have to kill them. But if I do screw up. I am going to punch me a couple of times.

I'd say that you have a 90% chance of completely killing the drive, losing the data permanently. If you go to a professional data recovery lab (one that is reputable), there is a 99% chance that they will recover the data, if it is even recoverable at all.

[data-medics]

I'd say that you have a 90% chance of completely killing the drive, losing the data permanently. If you go to a professional data recovery lab (one that is reputable), there is a 99% chance that they will recover the data, if it is even recoverable at all.

+1

However difficult you're assuming that a headswap will be, multiply it times 100. There's a reason why data recovery companies are charging as much as they do. Even if you successfully move the heads over without killing them (unlikely without a lot of experience) you'll still need pro tools to get the drive really working and extract the data.

And FYI - Salvation Data is a big joke, their tools just don't work.... period.

[WDBill]

I'd say that you have a 90% chance of completely killing the drive, losing the data permanently. If you go to a professional data recovery lab (one that is reputable), there is a 99% chance that they will recover the data, if it is even recoverable at all.

I might have to do that in the end.

However difficult you're assuming that a headswap will be, multiply it times 100. There's a reason why data recovery companies are charging as much as they do. Even if you successfully move the heads over without killing them (unlikely without a lot of experience) you'll still need pro tools to get the drive really working and extract the data.

And FYI - Salvation Data is a big joke, their tools just don't work.... period.

Really? The fact that the admins have created a forum here made me think that they are a pro company. As far as I can see the only issue with moving the heads is not letting them scratch the surface of the drive while beeing removed and not touching with each other. As for the second part... I 've seen people using home made tools. Like plastic parts from product covers etc.

I will take the disk for diagnostics in a pro company and then I will make my decision.

[lcoughey]

I'd say that you have a 90% chance of completely killing the drive, losing the data permanently. If you go to a professional data recovery lab (one that is reputable), there is a 99% chance that they will recover the data, if it is even recoverable at all.

I might have to do that in the end.

Don't bother if you insist on killing it first...assuming that you haven't already.

[labtech]

If you really want to increase your chances, practice first. Buy another drive like yours and practice at least a dozen times. Then test that drive and see how well you did. Then you adjust based on results.

As far as tools, yes, there are very advanced professional tools aiding in head swaps that can basically eliminate a lot of possible mistakes in the process of performing the work, but someone experienced can do without and results are just as good. It is not really the tool, it is the person/experience.

If you still have the desire, report back on your journey, should be interesting.

Truth: Been in DR a good number of years now, have soldered all kinds of ICs and so on. These days I am working on a SSD with a bad VRM IC. The soldering is not easy. Don't have experience executing flawlessly the soldering on this particular kind of IC as it is not a frequent occurrence, yet. So, I am practicing on donor until I am comfortable to execute on important drive.

[fzabkar]

These days I am working on a SSD with a bad VRM IC. The soldering is not easy. Don't have experience executing flawlessly the soldering on this particular kind of IC as it is not a frequent occurrence, yet.

I have done very little SMD rework, but as a rule I remove a bad IC by snipping its pins with sharp, flat-jawed flush cutters. Then I tin the remaining pins with solder and remove them one by one. This may not be feasible for very small parts.

[labtech]

Yeah, that sounds good Franc. Not possible here in this case, plus I don't want to destroy the bad VRM.

Speaking of, just got the soldering done properly with success after practicing a bunch of times. So, practice never fails. Same with head swaps, OP.

[data-medics]

Really? The fact that the admins have created a forum here made me think that they are a pro company. As far as I can see the only issue with moving the heads is not letting them scratch the surface of the drive while beeing removed and not touching with each other. As for the second part... I 've seen people using home made tools. Like plastic parts from product covers etc.

If you're curious about the usefulness of SD tools, just compare the number of used SD tools for sale compared with the number of other systems like PC-3000. No one is selling off the useful tools because they work and actually make money. And although people on youtube show all sorts of ways to "recover data" using home made junk, they rarely show the drive working afterward because it probably doesn't.

As a test, get two matching drives on ebay. Swap the heads between them and see if either works. If your technique is good, they should both work. Then and only then should you attempt it on a drive with lost data.

[WDBill]

Just a qick update. After labtech's suggestion I used MHDD that run via DOS. I had a 500GB drive that was also dead so I can test it without beeing afraid. Even though the 500 had similar symptoms (Disk management and windows booting froze untill I removed the sata cable) MHDD read the drive and see what we saw: http://s12.postimg.org/4syn1kvy5/omg.jpg

note: This is NOT the drive I am talking about on the post. I just test run it. So, after that I tried erasing the drive. Only erased the first 1000 sectors. And guess.... The drive was read by disk management and I was able to start formating it. I stopped it anyway it was very very slow and making noises.

I then put on my 1TB anddddd... NO data. MHDD was not able to read/see it. So... Don't know what's wrong with the disk. I guess some sector/firmware. I am taking to a data lab.