Hey Guys,

Got a WD2.0TB WD20EARS with no power. I tried swapping the board out with an exact same WD20EARS PCB and there is still no power.

I checked the voltages out using a multi-meter and the board reads proper voltages. I swapped out the drive with another recertified WD 1.5TB WD15EARS and it spins, but obviously doesn't read the data. I have attached the PCB board too.

Advise needed please.

Thanks.

Have you measured the motor windings?

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Hey Nick,

Thanks for the reply. I'm sorry but I do not know how to measure the "motor windings".

Can you put me in the right direction to know how to measure that? I have tried swapping out another similar WD20EARS PCB, but it also doesn't spin up.

So it only span using the 1.5TB pcb?
And it doesn't spin with three 2.0TB pcbs?

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I tried another working WD20EARS PCB and it didn't spin too.

It did spin however on a WD 1.5TB PCB, but didn't read anything.

Does the 1.5TB PCB have the same number printed on it as the 2TB ie 2060-771698-002 REV A
If so then swapping over the U12 rom from the 2TB to the 1.5TB could possibly fix your issue as long as there are not any other issues with the 2TB drive.

Loki

It is a 2060-771698-002 REV A PCB for the 1.5TB.

I also have another 2TB (working) that is 2060-771698-002 REV P1.

Which one is a better option? And did you mean the U2 ROM IC? I can't quite find a U12 ROM IC.

The 2TB is not compatible as it is REV P1 not REV A so thats probably why that pcb didnt work.
Getting the U12 swapped from the 2TB to the 1.5TB drive should be cheap.

Loki

U12 chip is located near power connector and has 8 legs.

Have to disagree with Loki, those 2 PCB should be compatible.

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Sorry, I didn't read the part that says it spins with WD15EARS PCB, so ignore my earlier motor comment.

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

Hi there,

If that's the case, why then did it not spin up with the other WD 2TB drive? Should I still attempt to change the U12 IC over then?

Thanks,
Alex

IIUC, you swapped the PCB on your patient WD20EARS drive with an identical good PCB, but the drive still wouldn't spin. You then installed your patient PCB on a WD15EARS drive and got it to spin up.

If the above is correct, then I would check the motor windings as Nick suggested. To do this, measure the resistances between each pair of motor contacts. There should be 4 contacts in all — common plus three phases.

See the middle section of the following tutorial:
http://www.users.on.net/~fzabkar/HDD/Tu ... 0411N.html

My only other concern would be a shorted preamp. However, you say that "the board reads proper voltages". Are you referring to the +12V and +5V supplies, or have you measured the onboard DC-DC converters?

To test whether the preamp is preventing spin-up, place a business card between the 20-pin preamp connection points and the HDA, and then try spinning up the drive.

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Right on fzabkar! I taped up the preamp connections and the patient drive spins up with the patient PCB.

So now:

2TB Patient WD20EARS Patient PCB = 2060-771698-002 REV A
1.5TB Donor WD15EARS Donor HDD, PCB = 2060-771698-002 REV A
2TB Donor WD15EARS Donor HDD, PCB = 2060-771698-002 REV P1

I used 1.5TB Donor and 2TB Donor's PCB on 2TB Patient HDD, 1.5TB's Donor's PCB powers it up, but 2TB Donor PCB doesn't power it up either.

I used 2TB's patient PCB on 1.5TB Donor's drive and it powers up.

I measured the 12V and 5V supplies and they seem fine, however I am not sure how do I measure the onboard DC-DC converters? But if there is an issue with them, why then did my patient PCB manage to spin up the 1.5TB Donor Drive?

Doesn't this mean to say that there isn't a problem with my PCB? If so then what should I be checking on next?

If the 1.5TB's donor's PCB spins up the 2TB patient, then there can't be a short circuit in the preamp. However, the fact that the patient board doesn't spin it up, but spins up the donor, would suggest that the preamp is possibly sending a signal of some kind to the MCU, and that this signal is interpreted differently by the firmware on the respective boards. It could be that this signal, if it exists, is reporting an internal fault. However, this begs the question, if the MCU doesn't see the preamp at all, such as when you tape up the connections, then why doesn't it register this as a fault condition and then refuse to spin up the motor?

I'm not a data recovery professional, so I'm only speculating. FWIW, I believe that the 2TB drive would have 2 platters and 4 heads, whereas the 1.5TB drive would have two platters and 3 heads. I'm wondering, if the preamp sensed a head fault, would it report this condition, and would the MCU then refuse to spin up the drive? If so, then perhaps there is a problem with the 4th head ???

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A backup a day keeps DR away.