WD5000AAVS-00ZTB0 with obvious head damage (no platter dust but head arms were bent) came in. Ordered donor drive and performed head swap. Drive quickly DRDY DSC but reports 0 size, no model/serial. Without access to PC3K or other firmware tools, am I SOL?

Does it keep spinning after going ready (reporting 0 size)?

Yes, as far as I can hear everything sounds normal. Spins until you power off. Its a ROYL Marvel board with no U12 so PCB swap is out of the question without firmware tools.

I'd say this drive has a great chance of recovery, but I'm afraid you need FW checking/editing tools. Does it get identified by its serial number?

Well lets rephrase this. Anyone East Coast USA want this recovery? The only caveat is that I am very interested in learning in what the problem is and the steps used to resolve, as I am very close to getting a PC3K myself and am interested in learning.

Spildit I have never used SeDiv but I am absolutely willing to try. I may need some help due to the lack of documentation.

I downloaded v3.9.7 from http://sediv2008.narod.ru/. I PCI scan and can ID the OS drive.

I believe I see the bad drive, as DRDY/DSC status lights are on but trying to ID the drives gives

and trying to read modules gives "Flash Module Read Error! DIR Module Read Error!"

Any ideas to try?

I'll gladly take a look at it for you. Probably will be an easy enough recovery, unless there's major SA damage like this DIY nightmare I'm working on right now.

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Data Medics - Hard Drive, SSD, and RAID Data Recovery Service Company

I'll volunteer to be DR option #2.

We're located in Atlanta, GA.

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http://www.datasaversllc.com

I offered first. LoL!

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Data Medics - Hard Drive, SSD, and RAID Data Recovery Service Company

Size, model and serial number are containing in ATA passport. So, if ROM is original and PCB works properly, you have a problem with Service Area, at least, ATA overlay is not loaded. Need to check/edit SA. It's better to bring it to profi, because even donor heads are enough compatible drive will not be alive for a long time.

I don't wish to offend but this is a prime example of somebody advertising data recovery services who clearly lacks the correct equipment and expertise that is required. I sincerely hope you haven't messed up the chances of recovering the data for your customer.

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Data Recovery Ireland

+1 unfortunately

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PC Image Data Recovery
http://www.pcimage.co.uk

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