Dead Intel 535 Series 240GB SSD

[dataminer]

Hello All,

Trying to recover data from an Intel 535 Series 240GB SSD that is unresponsive and not recognized at the BIOS level. I suspect it has a short or failed component. It looks like an older model and I can't seem to find much useful info on it. I was hoping someone here might have some experience with this model and know if there were any known issues in terms of common failures. Otherwise I'm not sure of where best to start on this one in terms of tracing down the issue. Thanks in advance.

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[fzabkar]

There is a group of three 2R2 inductors, plus two smaller inductors in the middle of the group. Measure their resistances to ground. That will tell you if any of the onboard supplies are shorted. If there are no shorts, measure the voltages at each of the inductors.

Also check the e-fuse (U1, 10-pin IC, marking "35") near the 5V SATA pins. There should 5V on its input pins and 5V on its output.

http://www.users.on.net/~fzabkar/Datasheets/DATAURLS.HTM

[dataminer]

Thanks fzabkar. Working on and will get right back with that info.

[dataminer]

The 2R2 inductor nearest the SATA connector is reading 27.1 Ohms.

The other 2 2R2 inductors are getting no reading (or OL).

The 2 smaller inductors in the center of the group briefly read 135.6 Ohms then go to OL.

The e-fuse at U1 readings are a bit fluky. I'll sometimes get 4.8v-5.0v on all pins, sometimes nothing on either the input or output, sometimes just the input side and some outputs. It may be the residual PCB lacquer I'm not sure.

[dataminer]

Forgot to mention the voltage checks:

The 2R2 inductor nearest the SATA connector reads 1.0v.

The other 2 2R@ inductors read 2.8v.

The upper most (in the photo) of the 2 smaller inductors reads 1.8v.

The lower smaller inductor reads 1.0v.

[dataminer]

Correction to my last post:

The other 2 2R2 inductors read 2.8v.

[fzabkar]

The supplies seem OK. It appears to me that you have a "firmware" problem.

[dataminer]

Is it possible to correct this fzabkar?

[fzabkar]

The flash controller appears to be a SandForce SF-2281. Only a handful of people claim to be able to recover such SSDs.

[dataminer]

Oh that's not good news. I appreciate the help in diagnosing it anyway fzabkar!

[fzabkar]

I believe these SSDs have a UART port where you can observe diagnostic messages during power up.

[dataminer]

Checking on that.

[sourcerer]

J1 could be a UART
J2 could be JTAG
J3 could be a SAFE-BOOT / TECH-MODE
J4 could be JTAG