HDD GURU FORUMS

Hi there,
I need a PCB from a Hitachi Deskstar 3.5" 164GB Sata as soon as possible! I hope someone has one as I haven't had any luck so far. I'd need to Fedex overnight if possible.

The numbers are:
P/N: 0A3353
MLC: BA1957
164GB - Nov 2006
Model: HDS1616PLA380

Numbers on PCB:
0A29530
BA1790_
Z3A644
0RLB


I tried using a very similar board but no joy. I spooled up but couldn't read.

Thanks!

A straight board swap will not work. You need to transfer unique, drive specific, adaptive information form patient to donor. These data are stored in an EEPROM chip.

As for the original board, can you describe the failure symptom?

If you upload a detailed photo, one of us may be able to help you repair your board. Many times the problem is only a shorted diode, in which case it can simply be removed.

Thanks for your reply. I remember attempting a straight swap with an old 3gb IDE and it worked but I guess technology has changed since then. I've had a close look at the board and can't find anything that looks obvious, but my eyes aren't nearly as trained as your guys'. The drive won't power up. I've swapped a similar board with some success, it powered up but was unreadable.

The sad thing is, I really only need a few word documents off the drive, nothing major but one is my girlfriend's project for school and is important. I hope you guys can help, I've taken a few photos but I don't really know what I should be focusing on. Perhaps I should move this to a better section.

To be safe, you need to transfer the 8-pin ICs at locations U7 and U5 from patient to donor. Your local TV/AV repair shop should be able to do this for you. Be aware that you must not damage these chips, as data recovery will become much more expensive if you do.

Do you have a multimeter, preferably a digital one?

Yes I do.

I guess I'd still need a PCB to transfer to. The one I have is similar but not identical, the numbers are different.

If you wish to troubleshoot your original board, the first thing I would do, after removing the board from the drive, is to set your meter on the 200 ohms range and measure the resistances of the TVS diodes at D3 (12V) and D4 (5V).

Next, measure the resistance between power ground and each of the following:

- pin #8 of U7 (M25P05VP supply pin)
- pin #8 of U5 (S93Cxx supply pin)
- pin #1 of the SDRAM (K4S281632I-UC60 supply pin, rear of PCB)
- each pin of transistors Q1, Q2, and Q3 (2SC6052, 2SA1242)
- coil L1 (100uH)
- coil L3 (100uH)

If none of the resistances are near zero, ie no shorts, then power up the board and measure the voltages at each of the abovementioned points. Be very careful not to slip with your probes, as serious damage may result. Wherever possible, use a soldered test point on a nearby copper plane rather than a pin on the component itself.