Is it possible to fix that HDD. Toshiba 500GB.

[alfredleo]

It is a Toshiba 500 GB sata HDDfrom my hp pavillion notebook. It has no physical damage. It just died after 6 month of usage. I used Spinrite to fix some bad blocks but after 2 days of run it can't be seen from even BIOS. I see some leakage there and 4R7 thing corrupted. Can you give me some advice on what is that and if it is possible to fix it. Some images are attached. I circled corrupted parts. Any help will be appreciated. Thanks.

Attachments

[northwind]

It just died after 6 month of usage. I used Spinrite to fix some bad blocks but after 2 days of run it can't be seen from even BIOS.

I have a lot of questions.
What does it mean "it just died"?
Why did you use SpinRite?
How did you decide that the drive has bad blocks?

I have seen worse corruptions yet the drive would still spin up. Does your drive spin up?
If not, which is the most likely, you now need a new PCB and transfer of IC602 onto the new board. But since you left Spinrite run for two days, you might have bigger problems now. Spinrite is a drive killer.

If it does spin up, then you have other problems.

In any case, if you value your data, take this drive to a professional to evaluate it.
If the data is not very important and you want to experiment, do what I described above, and hope that spinrite did not turn the drive into FUBAR.

Good luck

[fzabkar]

I see some leakage there and 4R7 thing corrupted. Can you give me some advice on what is that and if it is possible to fix it. Some images are attached. I circled corrupted parts.

The 4R7 coil (L2) appears to be part of the Vcore regulator. The L3 coil is probably the Vio regulator. As bad as they appear, if the drive is spinning, then they would be OK.

[alfredleo]

It just died after 6 month of usage. I used Spinrite to fix some bad blocks but after 2 days of run it can't be seen from even BIOS.

I have a lot of questions.
What does it mean "it just died"?
Why did you use SpinRite?
How did you decide that the drive has bad blocks?
Good luck

I meant it stops spinning by 'just died'.
OS started to freeze from time to time. Spinrite showed there were some bad blocks.
I have no valuable info on that drive. I checked the prices of new PCB and 500GB HDD, they are about the same (~40$). So I think it is better to buy a new one.
Thank you for help.

[northwind]

Well yeah, if the drive has no valuable data, just buy a compatible PCB and swap IC602 and you're good to go, hopefully.
If your soldering skills aren't good and have no prior experience in swapping these kinds of chips, I suggest you ask someone skilled to do it for you, because if you damage the chip in any way, then you can forget about your data.

By the way, when you say 'it stops spinning', does it mean it DOES spin up and then stops spinning, or it just doesn't spin up at all? It's two different things. However, it's rare for toshibas to spin down due to mechanical failure. Just sayin.

[data-medics]

I never will understand why people try to "fix" broken hard drives when they don't even need the data. At the first hiccup, I just toss them in the parts bin. Isn't worth the aggravation of spending days trying to fix a $40 drive, just to see it fail again a week later after you've filled it with meaningful data.

[fzabkar]

I never will understand why people try to "fix" broken hard drives when they don't even need the data. At the first hiccup, I just toss them in the parts bin. Isn't worth the aggravation of spending days trying to fix a $40 drive, just to see it fail again a week later after you've filled it with meaningful data.

Life is not always about money. Some people enjoy the intellectual challenge. In fact I learned much of what I know by fixing broken equipment, so there is often commercial value in such work, even though its value doesn't appear immediately in the ledger. You don't learn anything by swapping "ROMs".

[data-medics]

You don't learn anything by swapping "ROMs".

Perhaps not, but I guess I just can't see the point in learning to repair a component that can be so easily replaced with a new one. To me it's like learning how to manufacture break pads instead of just going to the auto parts store, buying them, and getting the job done. You may learn some things, but will probably waste more effort than it's worth.

Though if that's what you love doing, more power to you. Personally I'd rather finish the job and actually have a social life.

[fzabkar]

You don't learn anything by swapping "ROMs".

Perhaps not, but I guess I just can't see the point in learning to repair a component that can be so easily replaced with a new one. To me it's like learning how to manufacture break pads instead of just going to the auto parts store, buying them, and getting the job done. You may learn some things, but will probably waste more effort than it's worth.

Though if that's what you love doing, more power to you. Personally I'd rather finish the job and actually have a social life.

I can probably diagnose and repair some faults in less time than it takes you to order a replacement board. AISI, the big payoff is when you encounter an unfamiliar problem and then need to call on your knowledge of first principles. IMO that's the difference between a real data recovery professional and someone who relies on canned solutions.

Years ago, when I was in the tech support business, a great many of the jobs I encountered were one-offs. In those days boards cost US$10K, so anyone who was able to repair them could make a good living. However, that was a skill that you needed to teach yourself, and there were often no manuals or diagnostic software. Nowadays PCBs are 3-chip throwaways, but ISTM that you can still learn a lot from them. At the very least I would perform some quick tests to determine the cause of the failure.

[HaQue]

You don't learn anything by swapping "ROMs".

Perhaps not, but I guess I just can't see the point in learning to repair a component that can be so easily replaced with a new one. To me it's like learning how to manufacture break pads instead of just going to the auto parts store, buying them, and getting the job done. You may learn some things, but will probably waste more effort than it's worth.

Though if that's what you love doing, more power to you. Personally I'd rather finish the job and actually have a social life.

Hey.. just googled "Social Life".. it actually looks pretty cool!

[northwind]

You don't learn anything by swapping "ROMs".

Perhaps not, but I guess I just can't see the point in learning to repair a component that can be so easily replaced with a new one. To me it's like learning how to manufacture break pads instead of just going to the auto parts store, buying them, and getting the job done. You may learn some things, but will probably waste more effort than it's worth.

Though if that's what you love doing, more power to you. Personally I'd rather finish the job and actually have a social life.

Hey.. just googled "Social Life".. it actually looks pretty cool!

[data-medics]

I can probably diagnose and repair some faults in less time than it takes you to order a replacement board.

Given the number of PCBs I have sitting here, it rarely takes me more than the time needed to walk across the room, open a drawer, pull it out, and walk back across the room.