Hi northwind,
I appreciate your concern, and I'm glad that you're willing to point out to anyone new to the field that there's a lot of risks involved.
Yes, I am certified, and yes I was taught that PCB's are unique to each drive, however, in a lot of detailed reading, I've come across some posts on other sites (trying to find the link) where people "reportedly" flashed a PCB from one drive of a similar model and used it in another drive... so this is why I asked.
If anywhere on the internet were a reliable place to verify this information... then here would definitely tell me true or false.
Also, I know that PCB swaps are hardly ever the cause of drive failure, but the term "hardly" does point out that it
can happen.
I personally prefer to try PCB swaps on any drive
before I open it, because as you insinuated, head swaps are very tricky (especially with 2.5" drives).
I have done many head swaps in the past, so I do have some practice logged, not enough to personally call myself a pro, but enough to be able to get it done.
Again, I really appreciate that you have the guts to step up and speak your mind, because it'd suck for the person that ended up losing data because of this.
I'm still relatively new to the field, so I appreciate your input