Hello all,

A friend has given me their Apple PowerBook G4 to fix, and most importantly to recover the data from their hard drive.

I have fixed the rest of the laptop, but am having problems fixing the hard drive (2.5" PATA Fujitsu MHT2060AT). When connected to any computer (not just to old laptop, but also using a USB connector to other computers), the drive does not power (nothing happens at all, no noise, no spin-up and no recognition by the operating system). To me (as a layman), the most likely suspect would appear to be the logic board on the drive. Is this a correct assumption?

I have done lots of internet searching for the logic board part number, but it seems to always be linked to the MHT2040AT (not the MHT2060AT). Any information I can find for the MHT2060AT always gives a couple of other different logic board part numbers.

So.... this leaves me a little confused. Do I get a replacement logic board based upon the part number of the logic board, or the model number of the drive?

Also, I would likely need to import the logic board which has the identical part number from the USA, but I can get a replacement MHT2060AT from ebay for a lot less (although the logic board part number may not match). Is buying another drive and cannibalising the logic board likely to result in success (if the part numbers of the "old" and "new" logic boards don't match), or may it cause damage to the drive (assuming it is the logic board that is actually the cause of the problem of course)?

Details of the drive are as follows:

Other identifiers on the logic board (from top to bottom are as follows):

Thanks in advance for your help.

Robbo100

Just to add to my last post. I have read that the last four numbers in the ROM version must be the same between the old and the donor logic board. However I don't know which of the numbers is actually the ROM number.

Is it this number: CA2132 5 - B 13 X

Or might it be one of the numbers on the front of the drive casing: 07D5-8122

Can someone help?

Thanks again.

Robbo100

That one should do it...

Bosse

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Your PCB may have a small fuse near the end of the IDE connector. Often this fuse fails for no apparent reason. If this is the case, then all you need to do is to replace it with a wire link, or flow a blob of solder over it. If you have a multimeter, and if you can upload a detailed photo or scan, one of us will help you test your board.

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Just understand that this might fry preamp, so think twice

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Excellent - thanks. I have found a drive with a number that matches that (and has the identical logic board part number too), so I will buy that drive (fingers crossed).



I had seen this tip (regarding shorting out the fuse) on another thread and have already tried it, but there was no improvement.

I am going to buy this other drive to get the working logic board, but depending upon how that works out, I may come back for more advice. Unless you think there is benefit in trying to diagnose the fault?

Thanks all

Robbo100

It would be easier just to replace the board. Good luck.

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OK,

I have now got the donor hard drive, and before I started taking it apart I plugged the donor drive into my 2.5" PATA USB adaptor and it was detected by OS-X immediately (good start). I then took the logic board off the donor drive and attached it to the failed drive and then connected it as above.

Immediately the drive span-up (it wouldn't do this before) and I heard a second or two of disc head movement (normal sound - no horrible noises - I was feeling confident), but then it was not detected by OS-X, it just sat their spinning, but nothing else. I tried the disc in an XP PC (using the same USB adaptor), and the results were the same, it wouldn't detect!

Where should I go from here?

Could it be that the drive is OK, but doesn't like the donor logic board?

Is it worth trying to fault find the old logic board to see if we can get any further?

@fzabkar, you mentioned the fuse located near the ATA connector, can you identify where the fuse is on this photo (to confirm that I was shorting the right part when I tried it before).

Thanks in advance

Robbo100

Just to add to the above information.

When I insert the working donor drive into a windows PC, it detects it as a "MHT2060AT PL", which is the same as is shown on the front sticker on the donor drive. However, the broken drive is listed as a "MHT2060AT" on the front of the drive. Could this be the problem, even thought the Logic Board Part number and ROM number match on the two logic boards?

Comparitive details as below:

The Drive

The Logic Board

The fuse is located in the bottom right corner of you photo.

Here is the fuse on a similar board:
http://www.users.on.net/~fzabkar/HDD/MHV2100AT_fuse.jpg

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Thanks fzabkar,

That is the item I shorted, and it didn't work.

I have been told via PM that I need to also swap the ROM, so I am looking into that (I have a friend at work who has done this before).

Can anyone tell me what item the ROM is on the photo. I think it is the item in the red circle, am I right.

Thanks

Rob

The chip in the top left corner, with a part number of M29F102BB ("HTA"), is a parallel flash memory. It is the so-called "ROM".

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A backup a day keeps DR away.

Correct.

Fun to transfer!

If you're interested then we can probably repair this drive for less than you think.

Pm me if interested.

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I have successfully transferred the ROM (well, I say "I", but what I mean is that I got someone with more skill than me to transfer it).

The drive is now correctly recognised by the operating system (but showing no active partitions).

Now to recover the data (hopefully).

Can anyone recommend the best programme to attempt this (freeware if possible). The drive was from a Mac Powerbook, so it will need to be compatible with that file system.

Thanks all

Robbo100

It is quite strange that all seem to went well, but you don't see any partitions or data.
Are you trying to connect this drive to a windows pc or notebook?

To answer your question, IMHO the best s/w out there for this type of recovery is R-Studio. But UFS can handle HFS partitions.

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What OS are you connecting it through?

OK, I didn't realise the Windows XP would not even show an active partition on an OS-X formatted hard drive.

When I got home from work (10 mins ago), I plugged the hard drive into my MacBook (using a USB connector) and all the data showed up instantly!

Brilliant result.

Thanks you all for your help in sorting this out.

Much appreciated

Robbo100

Nice result.

Well done!!!

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