last monday I came back from a small wekend trip, I turned my pc on from stand by and found out windows it was not working as it should so i restarted and the pc won't start.
I found out the drive is not recognized in the bios.
So i started looking on the internet and found this great website with a lot of info.
I took out my HD, a WD1001FALS-00E3A0, and attached it to a sata --> usb kit to power it on.
when I turn it on i hear 6 really soft clicks (it is coming from the pcb not the drive itself, can only hear it with my ears really close), it sounds to me like the electricty won't get through.
In the past I've also experienced another problem with another drive which had another problem, the power was still working but the drive itself was clicking, so I know the difference between clicking from the drive or from the pcb itself

So I took out the pcb and checked the D3 and D4 with a multimeter.
D4 is dead.
I also found the U12 chip on the pcb (this is a good thing I understand from other posts?)
So I called WD and they send me a replacement drive because 'm still in the waranty period, the replacement drive is a WD1001FALS-00E8B, so this is a different pcb am I right?

Should I just remove the D4 diode and start the HD up?
Or is it better to swap the U12 from the dead pcb to the donor pcb (even while this is a different type of pcb), Anyone?

please see the attached image for detailed info

What do you mean by "dead"?

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

its giving the result 0hm , o i guessed that means dead...
do you need more info?

Just checking.

Best case would be to swap U12 onto matching PCB and use that. In a pinch you can try removing the shorted TVS and reusing this PCB, but that has the possibility of causing further internal damage.

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

and with the shorted tvs you mean the "D4"?
and with "possibility" you mean that if it's getting to much power It'll die...?

As told I don't have a unique matching pcb...
The broken pcb is WD1001FALS-00E3A0 and the new pc is WD1001FALS-00E8B0 .
Should that work? can I give it a try or should I use the exact same pcb?

the poblem is I can't find one anywhere...

A simple exchange won't work, as you're told already.
You have to move U12 (ROM chip).

I understand but can I simply use the U12 from the "WD1001FALS-00E3A0" pcb and put it on the "WD1001FALS-00E8B0" pcb?

Or won't this work beacause of the different model?
the problem is that i really can't find the exact same pcb version anywhere on the internet.

It won't work in this case. And it could not work even if you have the same model PCB, as there is a version of the ROM information, and you need to match that version.

So best way is to move the chip.

I'm sorry I don't mean to be rude but I don't understand what you mean. (My main language is Dutch not english)
first you tell me to move the u12 to the other pcb.
then i ask you a question about moving the U12 to another pcb with a different version.
then you tell me again that it probably won't work.
and after this last advice again you advice me to move the U12 chip... that doesn't make sense. (first you tell me it won't work then you advise the same thing again)

Hi, you can use pcb's with the same number i.e 2060-701640-xxx and swap the U12....but beaware of some difference in those familys, (I will not tell you more of that).
Or just simply remove D4, be sure to use a GOOD Psu, or if you have a spare drive, reattach a new D4.

Regards/ Bosse

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Rescue IT Datarecovery service Sweden
Rescue IT Dataräddning Göteborg AB
http://www.rescue-it.se

hi,
these PCBs belong to diferent families:
WD1001FALS-00E3A0 should be YUCON family
WD1001FALS-00E8B0 MARS family

So i agree with Mr_Spokk:


Or you can contact a PRO in your country
Bye
Luca

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Data Recovery pro in Italy
www.ultrarecovery.com

What I told you is that moving U12 chip will probably solve your problem basically.

Does this mean the "mars family" pcb won't read the "yucon family" U12 chip?

also earlier drc told me :



is this true?
can I just take the D4 out and turn the device on or do I have to do more than just removing th D4, apart from the fact that I can replace it with the D4 from the new pcb.


thnx guys for all the answers!

Mars family is not compatible with Yucon family.

You can remove the TVS and try. No one will guarantee you if it will work or not.

so swapping the U12 chip won't work anyway?

th problem with contacting a pro is that it'll cost m around 500 euro's...thats a lot of money

All the info is here, you just need to read properly what has been written.

As stated above by other posters:

1) You can remove D4 and the drive might work, but you risk further damage to the drive if there are other problems and if your power supply isn't safe then you will definitely cause more damage. You can replace D4 with the same if you have a spare one so that you retain the protection feature, or else you can remove it and try without protection. If the shorted D4 was the only problem and your power supply is good then the drive should work - without protection. Note the warnings by other posters.

2) No you cannot use the spare PCB even with a U12 swap as they are different family drives.

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Death is nothing, but to live defeated and inglorious is to die daily.
Data Recovery Cape Town

OK, so you have a handfull of choices. OK, almost a handfull.

a) Take the risk and remove the TVS. This can result in either lucky outcome or (very) unlucky outcome. This means that it could work and your disk would give you access to user data (at least for some period of time) or it could not work and further damage to disk could be caused. Or none of these two. If you ask me, I would go ahead and remove the TVS and replace it with another from a good PCB and give it a try.

b) Move the U12 chip from patient PCB to donor and try. The chances of doing further damage are slim. But chances for bad outcome are also there. If you are experienced in using a hot-air gun, you could give it a try. If you're not, DON'T DO IT.

c) Give it to a pro. If the problem on your disk is only its PCB, then it won't cost you 500 euros. There are PRO's in this forum who can do it for you for $200-or less (that's 1/3 of the price you mentioned).

In any case, good luck !!

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http://www.northwind.gr
SandForce SSD Recovery
Ransomware Reverse Engineering - NoMoreRansom! partners

Agree with Northwind that a PCB "only" recovery should be around $200, not much more.

Of course, it's your data, so your choice

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PC Image Data Recovery
http://www.pcimage.co.uk

New!! HDD-PCB.COM for all your PCB and donor HDD requirements!

Hi there, thnk you for your detailed explanation.
A friend of mine works in a electronic shop doing a lot of solder work, so he should be able to pull out the D4 and/or replace it with another one.
Moving the U12 chip sounds like a a risky job, if the D4 pulling doesn't work I'll probably go for the pro.

Is there sombody on this board from the Netherlands that could do that job?
Or is there a place where I can ask ?

kind regards

hi there,

My new WD1001FALS has arrived yesterday.
Today I want to remove/replace the D4 from the broken pcb.

Can I just take a D4 from any other type of drive from WD?

I work as a network administrator for a company and I've found some (unused) WD drives, for example a:

WD1600AAJS-00PSA0

Can I just take the D4 diode from this pcb and use it on the broken one?
kind regards