So I come home one evening and my computer is off..everything else is on and nothing flashing... I think hmm what's up. I push the power button on the PC and nothing... then I move my cabinet to check the power bar and cycle it and try the power button again... boom, splat, zap, poof.. my power supply is sparking and a little smoke faster then I can reach back and unplug the power from the supply. At this point I'm thinking crap what else did I fry! So I grab a spare pc I have rip out the P/S and hook it up to my sparked PC.... nothing... sh*t!

So next day I grab a mobo and a new psu hook it up and woohoo I get a post..but uh oh only 1 out of 3 drives are detected. So much for my 'user raid type' of backups working - where I copy info from one HD to the other and then backup to dvd ever 3 months+... Both my 1TB Seagates are dead no spin nothing (I don't smell that yummy electro-burnt smell on them either and don't see any visable signs of anything that popped ... but that's before reading all day today on what to look for).

So from what I've read it seams to be the TVS, my question is; as I've read two different opinions are:

If I buy a new HD with the same model, p/n, firmware can I just swap the PCB or will this possibly cause more problems? (I looked at matching the PCB from that site on here (name misplaces me right now) but frankly a new drive cost $65 and they charge $49 for the PCB.. and I can get the drive today.)

If it will cause more damage do I get my trusty solder gun out and replace the ROM chip as well as the swap?

One drive has important data the other does not.. I can't tell which is which. Is this something that warranty usually covers? (before I go swappin')

I haven't looked at the boards again since my research, and I'm at work so I can send pics when I get home if needed to confirm.. but I'm pretty sure is the TVS.

Thanks for the past info and hopefully I can get my daughter's last 3 months of her first year photo's & videos back!

Check the TVS's with a multimeter first, before you go snipping.

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Here's a pic. Both of my PCB's are pretty much the same... my laptop sucks and problems uploading photo's today so hope this one pic works.

I removed the burnt chip closest to the power input. (I dont' think the burnt part was the TVS?)

The two smaller components are/were inductors (or low ohm resistors?).

The 5V and 12V TVS diodes are the two larger, horizontally oriented components, each with a stripe adjacent to a "V" on the PCB.

You need to remove the 12V diode, and replace the two inductors with wire links. Alternatively, you may be able to jumper pins 13, 14, and 15 of the SATA power connector to the pad at the striped end of the diode (after removing or replacing the diode). I'd like to confirm certain resistance readings before you do this, though.

If there is no other damage, the drive will work without the diode, but there will no longer be any overvoltage protection on the +12V supply. Be sure your PSU is OK.

If, for continued protection, you wish to replace the diode, you can obtain an SMBJ12A from Farnell, Mouser, Digikey.

I got one drive working!

Unfortunatly I dropped a piece of solder on the other board and now need a solder sucker so I don't make a mess.

I did get my data off the drive though so thanks for all the help!