Bad/blown ROM chip on HTS545050B9A300 drive...

[bcometa]

...and we can't find a donor PCB with the same ROM version (C60F). We have many C64X and some C60Q, but no C60F. Does anyone know of a method to "trick" the drive into using a different version ROM? Or, does anyone happen to have a PCB (0A71398 DA2969) with C60F they'd be willing to sell or lend (for a fee)?
Thanks,
Brian

[fzabkar]

Are you sure the ROM chip is bad?

Have you tried to repair the patient PCB? For example, have you checked the fuse and TVS diode?

[bcometa]

Hi Frank, thanks for your response. Yes, a fuse was bad and the rom has a buldge in a corner. Customer also said problem occured after a power outage. I may have found a donor (thanks to Jared at Data Medics). Seems there is no workaround possible for this situation (perhaps the first time we've got a hitachi with bad rom chip).

[Martin]

...and we can't find a donor PCB with the same ROM version (C60F)

NV-RAM, I think.
Did you try to read this by programming tools?
It's a VERY RARE situation when ROM/NV-RAM IC died completely.
In the worse case, for this drive data can be recovered without original ROM/NV-RAM.

[pcimage]

From the fact you know the ROM version, I presume you're talking about the NVRAM rather than "ROM" as such (confusing and conflicting naming system I know!).

In which case you should be able to do a "NVRAM search" with PC3K but you will need a suitable donor with the same "ROM" version.

Haven't needed to do this for a long time, but as I remember the Salvation Hitachi tool often produced good, if not better results in this situation. However it can take a LONG time, many hours if not days sometimes

[bcometa]

Definitely the ROM. Topic closed, found donor. Thanks guys!

[drHDD]

Why you lie to your customers?
http://www.300dollardatarecovery.com/th ... king-myth/
"Myth: A “clicking” hard drive means it has bad heads or is physically broken.

It’s reasonable to believe that “clicking” noises are caused by “bad heads,” since it is the heads inside the drive making the noise. However, in our experience, it is bad sectors, bad PCB components, corrupt firmware modules, or bad power supplies that are the most common causes for making the heads “click.” That is: it’s not that the heads themselves that are defective, but another component of the hard drive which causes the heads to “sound” damaged"

[data-medics]

I'd say at least 90% of the clicking ones I see are bad heads in the end (and/or catastrophic media damage). True there are other possible causes, but generally speaking it's usually bad heads at the least.

[bcometa]

Why you lie to your customers?

Revised: "However, in our experience, bad sectors, bad PCB components, corrupt firmware modules, bad power supplies, and other causes can also make the heads "click." That is: it's not always that the heads themselves that are defective, but another component of the hard drive which causes the heads to "sound" damaged."

Rather than coming at me, why not go after data recovery companies that diagnose all clicking drives as "bad heads" so they can justify their very high prices (even when the problem is not related to heads at all)?

"I'd say at least 90% of the clicking ones I see are bad heads in the end (and/or catastrophic media damage)."

While "90%" may be true for you (a data recovery company), I don't think it's true for the average computer user (meaning: the customer may describe a drive as "clicking," even if it's not clicking for you, due to firmware corruption, bad sectors, PCB, etc). Connecting a drive to a computer like a consumer is much more likely to cause clicking than connecting to PC3K.

[drHDD]

It's look like you don't understand why drive is clicking. Could you explain why drive would click if it has bad sectors or corrupt firmware modules? It was time when drive clicks with bad pcb (preamp power dead or some more rare pcb problems) but it's look like right now those case rarely happened. I would say same thing - drive clicks because of problem with head/surface in 80-90% cases (especially now with a lot faulty external drives).

I don't know why you think so badly about other data recovery companies and I don't understand why technician in other data recovery company can't find out why drive clicks (bad head or other reason) and if technician found that drive clicks because other reason why he should lie about bad head?