Hello,
I'm looking for some advice on an external hard drive repair. Here's the background: I sent a failed Maxtor 2600 500gb hd to a data recovery company to retrieve data. They have told me that the problem was head failure and it needs a hda transplant, but they can't locate the parts.

Now, my understanding (limited) is that this suggests the disk itself is probably ok. Is it possible to: a) simply remove the disk, and put it in a new drive and enclosure, and have it work that way, b) remove the disk, put in in a drive and pull the data off of it and onto a new Ext HDD, or c) some other simple solution you might suggest.

Lastly, is this 1) something I can accomplish myself with only my Thinkpad, 2) a task that can be done by your local computer shop guy, or 3) a job that requires one of these data specialists?

Thanks in advance of any words of wisdom.

best,
jc

If they said it needs HDA transplant they have a good reason to say so, if they are a serious company. It seems odd that the problem is finding the parts.
Can be a problem if and only if it is a very difficult drive (some are) , but the MAIN problem is 90% of times the tight budget. If data is really needed, at every cost or so, be sure that there is NO problem in finding the parts, it's just a matter of cost.
There is no "disk" that can easily be "pulled out" like a CD from player and put into "another drive".... wish it was !
Anyway, HDA replacement and preparatory work cannot be SAFELY done by end-user despite all the bullshit you see on the internet - special tools and clean room / bench is needed, and there are many variables at play. It's NOT a "simple solution" if the problem is heads related. So , forget DIY.
You can do another thing if you don't feel comfortable with the diagnose and with uncertaincy in times for finding the parts / having data : get a 2nd and maybe a 3rd opinion from other reputable company, clearly stating that the drive was already opened by XXX for diagnose . Sometimes different companies have different stocks / different source, so what is a problem for one may be easy for another (example : here some brands are unusual while on other areas they are their market leaders, or can be a shortage of a particular model, or it may be easier to find a 20 years old 52MB drive than a recent 400 GB....).
Why clearly state that the drive was already opened ? Because it is not unusual to assume that the drive was BADLY opened by end user so decontamination and additional check is needed. Truth in this case never hurts.

Thanks for the response. I had seen info online suggesting one could do it oneself, but was skeptical about success. I have no interest in making the problem permanent. In short, I am comfortable with the diagnosis, but annoyed by the inability to find the part. It's been a couple of months and still no luck.

I see your point about telling other companies about having been opened by company A for diagnosis. I'll be sure to be clear about what has been done with whomever I contact.

best,
jc

Heads up that most reputable shops will probably charge an additional upfront fee for the drive having already been opened. Sucks, but that's how things go. Drives that have been opened before are a lot of extra work if the company/technician is being appropriately thorough. We have to make sure whoever was "working" on it before didn't do anything crazy.

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

Jason,

If you don't mind driving an hour or 90 minutes, maybe even less, you can bring it to me for second opinion diagnosis.
We are located in Providence Rhode Island, 40 miles South of Boston.

Alex.

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www.datarecoveryne.com