Data Recovery from Hitachi 2.5 HD

[osvl1968]

Hi all,
I am new in the forum and I write to get some help to try to get my data back from a Hitachi HD that not longer works.
The broken HD has been installed in a USB-SATA case where it was working Ok. Suddenly, it was no longer spinning nor recognized by the computer anymore. (Case is still working, I tested).
The Broken HD has the following specs.
HDD: 7K500-500
HTS725050A9A364 7200RPM
Type TS7SAA500
5V 800mA DC 500GB SATA 3.0Gb/s
MADE IN THAILAND BY Hitachi Global
Storage Technology (Thailand) , Ltd. TD NOV-09
P/N: 0A72335 MLC: DA3212
(16383CYL. 16HEADS. 63SEC/T)
0A72335DA32120P9B
S/N: VLG22PAC

I found in Amazon one unit exactly the same as follow:
WORKING UNIT
HDD: 7K500-500
HTS725050A9A364 7200RPM
Type TS7SAA500
5V 800mA DC 500GB SATA 3.0Gb/s
MADE IN THAILAND BY Hitachi Global
Storage Technology (Thailand) , Ltd. TD MAR-10
P/N: 0A72335 MLC: DA3212
(16383CYL. 16HEADS. 63SEC/T)
0A72335DA32120P03
S/N: VLH02RSJ

As you can see the only differences are the manufacturing date, and last two numbers. Physically are exactly the same.
( I tried to attached the pictures, but I could not find how, sorry)

My question is, if I take the plate (Disk) out from the broken unit and install it into the working unit keeping the electronics and heads as they are, will this work and I´ll be able to recover the data ? Do I need to do anything else or with this plate replacement on the working unit is enough to be recognized in the computer and get the data back ?
Any suggestion is welcomed, of course

Thank you in advance for any answer.

[jono-ats]

Hi all,

My question is, if I take the plate (Disk) out from the broken unit and install it into the working unit keeping the electronics and heads as they are, will this work and I´ll be able to recover the data ? Do I need to do anything else or with this plate replacement on the working unit is enough to be recognized in the computer and get the data back ?
Any suggestion is welcomed, of course

Thank you in advance for any answer.

You will likely permanently ruin your chances for data recovery. "Plates" are not normally moved unless there is a motor or bearing failure.

[fzabkar]

( I tried to attached the pictures, but I could not find how, sorry).

"Attach a picture or file" or "upload attachment"

The no-spin symptom suggests that the PCB may be faulty. Are you certain you cannot hear any sound, however faint?

If you upload a detailed photo of the component side of the PCB, I will try to help you locate the problem. Often there is a simple, no cost DIY fix.

[osvl1968]

Hi,
After some months I am back, I've just received at home the second HDD to use as spare.
Attached you will find the pictures of the two HDD and their cards identified as Failed and Ok/Working.

This is the state of the Failed HDD plugged into a PC's SATA connector after powering on:
- disk does spin, engine seems to be fine.
- very low beeps all the time,
- heads movements are not perceived,
- HDD is not detected by motherboard's BIOS in any way.

On the other hand, I checked and confirmed that the Working HDD is correctly detected by BIOS and works Ok, connected to the same SATA slot than Failed HDD. A louder beep is hear when powering on then heads move and the device starts working correctly.

Test#1:
I swapped the cards (see on pictures) between the HDDs and the result was the following:
- Original Failed HDD is still doing the same symptoms described above.
- Original Ok/Working HDD is no longer detected by BIOS either, and of course not working propertly.
So, after swapping cards, Failed HDD and Working HDD are both not detected by BIOS at all.

Do you have any suggestion ? I appreciate your feedback.
Let me know if additional info is required.
BR
Osvaldo

Attachments

[osvl1968]

I forgot to clarify that after the test#1 I swapped back the cards and everthing returned to the begining: Failed HDD keeps not working and OK/Working HDD returned to work perfectly again.

Regards

[data-medics]

The reason it isn't spinning up is likely due to stuck or possibly short circuited read/write heads. I highly doubt it's the motor or bearing on that model. If your data is important, I'd highly recommend that you stop messing around and take it to a professional.

If it's not that important, and you just want to see if you can do it you should first try listening very carefully to see if you can hear a slight hum as the motor is attempting to spin. You'll need to stick your ear right onto the drive to possibly hear it. And you'll likely feel one area of the PCB (where the motor control chip is) getting very hot. If that's the case you may be able to free it up by opening it and gently spinning the cylinder counterclockwise while gently guiding the heads back to the parking ramp.

Again, you should not try this if the data is at all important. In all likelihood you'll only make the recovery impossible. In fact I've got a drive here right now that's a failed DIY attempt to unstick the heads and it's unrecoverable now.

[osvl1968]

Thank you for your explanation. I will take it to a professional as you advise and let you know the result.
Regards
Osvaldo