Hi,
I think I damaged the PCB of an old HDD containing important data.
I disconnected it from power supply (removable tray), while I was restoring system image to another external HDD thr SATA connection (why on earth did I do this?).
Logically, it should not be in use - I used Roxio BackOnTrack bootable CD. The process had already started, and only the disk in which the image was written, seemed to be in use. The disk was not the main system's primary-active disk. After the end of the restore process, the HDD was not working. I connected it to another power supply to a different PC, but it seems not working at all (not a sound - nothing).

Any suggestions?
Should I search for PCB available? Is any such PCB available?

Western Digital
WD Caviar SE
WD3200JS
MDL: WD3200JS-00PDB0
DATE: 20 SEP 2006
DCM: HHBHCA2CHN

LABEL: 2061-701393-400AD XC 2Y11 641L 7 0005100 7105
BOARD: 2060-701393-002 REV B

Any suggestions are welcomed.

Thank you

Αν ο δίσκος δε στροφάρει τότε σίγουρα υπάρχει πρόβλημα με το pcb. Απο κει και πέρα απαιτούνται διαγνωστικά για να διαπιστωθεί αν υπάρχει και άλλο πρόβλημα στο δίσκο.
Για να αντικατασταθεί το pcb θα πρέπει να βρεθεί κάποιο συμβατό και να μεταφερθούν σε αυτό τα μοναδικά δεδομένα του.

if disk is not spinning up, then there is definitely a problem with the pcb. But proper diagnostics are needed in order to determine if there are other problems besides the pcb.
In order to replace pcb, a compatible one has to be found and adaptive data should be transferred.

_________________
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Ransomware Reverse Engineering - NoMoreRansom! partners

If there is an 8-pin serial flash memory IC at location U12, then this chip, or its contents, will need to be transferred to your replacement board.

Some board suppliers include a firmware transfer service for US$10 - $20.

http://www.hdd-parts.com/11062701.html

_________________
A backup a day keeps DR away.

Thanks for your comment and the link fzabkar!
I couldn't wait though, because my wife's work data were in it (dear god - thought I had backuped all data - not true after all), so we should decide either to retrieve or recreate them asap. I sent it to a DR company in Greece. Most data (if not all) are retrievable at a somewhat fair price. I think I'll go for it and be more careful next time.


I'll keep in mind!!!

Thanks,
I finally sent it to a DR company, which reported pcb problem and a minor scratch (due to power failure).

And that other company recovers data at a "fair price" from a disk with scratch?

I'd love to outsource some of our disks with scratches...

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

somewhat fair price
minor scratch
...

Sure...

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

The additional work and maintenance required to 'nurse' a problem like this cannot be justified by low costs. After change of heads, if heads try to read scratched surface, minor or otherwise, probably there will be more problems. Heads can be 'cut' to avoid damage to surface, sometimes to avoid vibrations the head should be completely removed. Other times measures must be taken to ensure contact between head and scratched media is limited. 100% recovery is extremely unlikely. Usually some form of partial data recovery is made, which often may not be acceptable for a client - maybe important database is written to scratched surface.

So much work for low or 'fair' price is not realistic.

Also in my opinion it is un-likely that HDD can cause scratch with PCB failing to power. Unless was caused prior to PCB damage, which means HDD was mechanically failed before it failed electrically.

You have had your data back yet?

We only have the "word" from the DR company chosen by the OP, that there is any scratch at all!

I'm not making judgements on whichever company is involved, but less-than-reputable companies could say that they had to do mechanical / cleanroom work, to justify an increased cost / delay / only partial recovery / etc., when in fact only PCB repair / replacement was needed.

As hddguy says, why would two totally different faults occur on the same drive? Either they occurred at the same time (but how is the scratch being explained exactly?) or one of the faults was not bad enough to affect drive operation (and hence does not need to be repaired!). Personally, I'm sceptical here...

That exactly was my own opinion when reported the failure - which is a logical thought.
The DR technician though assured me that a sudden power failure can definitely cause scratches due to "incorrect" orders sent to heads.
HDD was ok as far as I know (haven't made a surface test recently - also I don't know if scratches can be verified except by visual inspection - of course a large number of bad sectors could indicate sth like that).
Also, I am assured that the disk is being opened and checked visually. I do not have yet details about the scratch. In fact I was told that "it appears to have a minor scratch". That could mean that there was no scratch at all?! I do not know yet for sure.


I didn't get the data yet, but a list of all retrievable files - I couldn't find any file missing in a non-thorough check.
In addition, the total size of retrievable files is about 150GB in a total of 320GB (HDD was not full - can't remember exactly how much full, but as far as I can recall, it was about so much). I could be lucky!?

???!

I am not implying anything here, but someone recovered for you 150GB of data in one day, from a disk with a MINOR scratch.

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

Thanks northwind - got the point (these are mine thoughts also, but cannot express them clearly).

Just for your information...
Soon after my previous post, I received the data in a new disk (which I had sent to DR). It seems that all data are ok.
The final "verdict" by DR is PCB and head failure (no scratch). So, I believe that all comments match with the result.
Thank you all.