Maybe in another life, I'm too old.

Oh.. my god!

Hair dryer to clean the platters?

I admit though - I love the invention of head comb - for a fraction of a price that some websites sell them for.

And the persistence! Good for you man! You would make a great DR Guru- but there's better money in software development.

You did mess up by opening your HDD in your living room- that does not work my friend, you could have spend under 100usd making a temporary clean box if you are so into DIY and you should have invested in a nicer soldering gun with thin tip and temperature controlled- always comes in use even after this kind of project.

Too bad i wasn't part of this forum when you started your journey- would have stopped you from making critical mistakes and I bet you would have got your data off.. or at least some of it.

Ii bet if you write a program to scan each thread and count the occurrence of 'take it to pro' you would be amazed by the statistical outcome I saw it used at least 3 times in this thread and i breezed through it.

Did you ever manage to connect to the eeprom using some liquid?? man that is some thinking outside the box hey!

Amazing how much help a Hard Drive forum can be - don't you agree?

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Was the above post really intended as a reply to me? Did I ever say I've used or would use a hair dryer to clean the platters?

And what's with the comment about the comb? I didn't get it at all.

Finally, who said I won't take my data back? Of course I will... On Monday, as I'm off for the weekend...

Though I admit I totally agree with you about the "Take it to a pro" phrase... It's a cliche here, and should definitely become the official motto of the forum...

How old are you BlackST?

Alright, bad luck is my best friend for the last couple of months...

I returned home from a great weekend yesterday and can't seem to find the donor EEPROM chip to write the data I took from my original EEPROM after so much effort...

I spent 4 hours searching, but there is no way to find it...

Anyway, I'm in urgent need of a compatible chip to transfer the data. Any recommendations please?

My original Flash was a Spansion S25FL004A Device ID 010212
The first donor disk's chip was a Macronix MX25L4005M Device ID C22013 (destroyed while trying to unsolder it)
And the second donor disk's chip was an ST 25P40V6 Device ID 202013 (the lost one)

Any help please?

Summing up the cost of 2 programmers, 2 donor disks, shipment, other hardware...

Why the hell are you writing in my topic just to criticize me? If you don't wanna help, stop writing your BS as well...

Why aren't you using the original one?

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You don't have to backup all of your files, just the ones you want to keep.

Because it doesn't work anymore. When I disconnected it from the programmer I must have touched the wire I glued with the conductive material, and it obviously lost contact with the traces...

Thank God I had time to save the contents of it... But now I need to write it to another chip...

So anyone willing to give me some useful information instead of criticizing?

I need a compatible (and available) ROM chip recommendation. Is it so hard for you gurus?

Ah, so two are dead and one is lost?

Well, if you can't find a new eeprom on digikey then you can always buy another pcb

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You don't have to backup all of your files, just the ones you want to keep.

I thought my English was sufficient to communicate with people. Obviously I'm wrong.

Let me repeat it... I need an alternative chip for my Spansion S25FL040A, or MX 254005 (Macronix), or ST 25P40V6
Those where the three chips on the three disks (mine, 1st donor, 2nd donor respectively).

I can't find any of the three... Only some sites that ask me to send inquiries to China, Hong Kong, etc...

Well hey buddy, you have fun with that.

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You don't have to backup all of your files, just the ones you want to keep.

I don't sell the chips. But if you send the 'inquiries' probably you'll get a quote. Not for one or two pcs. probably but you can try. I just wanted to say that all this hassle and stuff you bought is going to cost like pro recovery if done at the beginning. Of course now it's another story. About your chip, you can buy another pcb or drive or Internet will be your 'unique' option. I would have sold but need every piece of hw for my repair- a chip is few Euro but it can bring a lot more. There are people who sell pcbs or drives right here, ask them. P.s. As you have seen, having datasheet and seeing that someone has the part you need on the website but you can't add to cart and buy, explain why pro help is expensive : inventory COST.

I didn't ask from you my dear ST to sell me the chips. I only asked for a recommendation of a compatible, alternative chip. I mean, you pros must have seen many similar disks, so you must know of other alternative chips that are used as the ROM on that drive and can be easier found in stock...

Also, I'm sorry if I took you the wrong way, but I doubt any of your posts were made in good will... You criticized me in every single post, and tried in your way to "stop" me from trying it myself, but I didn't see you applaud the fact I was able to read my destroyed chip, isn't this strange? I can understand that you are trying to protect your business, inventory, investment, knowledge, etc, but who told you I'd assign it to you anyway? (Actually, I admit that IF I was to give it to a pro, you'd be the first person to talk to, as you obviously have the knowledge). But, I'm not out for a professional help (in action), I just asked for recommendations/ideas, etc...

I know it's two months already that I'm dealing with this, and a pro would definitely be able to do it faster, but buying a programmer that cost me 100USD and a couple of donor disks is not a comparable cost to a full pro assistance. Plus, I will still have the programmer after this ends, and I'll be proud that I did it myself (because I will in the end). I'm not a guy who can't tighten a screw, this is obvious from what I've managed so far, isn't it? I've taken the chip to two professional electronics guys and both told me it's unfixable, but I've done it (even without being a pro). Just because it's my data that relies on that chip and I care.

So, don't worry, I'll find my way to success one way or another. The easy way is some pro advice - just advice (as I thought I would get from here), but the hard way (personal research) is always an option as well, though time consuming. But afterall, I'm just 31, I have all my life in front of me!!! Hehehe

Again : THERE IS NO ALTERNATIVE. You have 3 chips from 3 manufacturers of the same memory chip. For sure there are others, but it's the same 25xxx. What do you want to hear ? Either you find it or get another PCB.

You can also buy an emulator so you won't need any chip ...

P.S. you still need confirmation that heads were moved successfully and HDA work.

"Did you miss me? "
Welcome back
I also "applaud your persistence in this endeavor" like many of the other readers of this thread

Good news about being able to read the broken chip -- very neat!

Sorry to hear youve mislaid the target chip

Please keep us updated as its very interesting

We are all also very interested to see if you head swap was really successful or not (and hope it was)

Best regards

Do you mean that ANY 25xxx chip will do my job?

I found a local shop that specializes in used laptop parts. So I went there and they have in stock the following Toshiba drives:

MK1032GAX
MK4026GAX
MK4032GAX
MK6022GAX
MK8032GAX
MK6021GAS
MK6025GAS

They are all used, IDE, and very very cheap, about 20 EUR the smallest, and 50 EUR the largest. So, I asked her if I could unscrew the PCBs and check for the existence of the chip I want. She told me she couldn't let me do that because she wouldn't know if any of the disks malfunction later. However, she had a second MK6025GAS with bad sectors and gave it to me for free. But I checked it and its chip is an Atmel 0424 (had a tiny sticker with the number 54 on it). I guess this one is not suitable for me.

So, the question is, have you ever had any of the rest of the above mentioned disks? Do you know/remember if any of those models has the chip I need?

That would be of GREAT help to me...

Thanks in advance.

So many pros, so little experience...

So, no one knows anything for any of the above disks...

Thank God I found the chip in stock on a website and ordered 5 pcs, because if I were to rely on your enlightenment...

Thank God!

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You don't have to backup all of your files, just the ones you want to keep.