The objective is NOT to touch the platter. So...........don't touch the platter.

If there is stiction, don't do a platter swap. It's absolutely not required and you are risking your data. Would you chop your head off if you had a headache?

If there is stiction, you may have a damaged headstack so you need to consider this.

Even if you are successful, you need to plug your drive into a device that can handle bad sectors. It's likely that Windows will not be sufficient.

_________________
Data Recovery Ireland

Thankss CK

I will open it in a cleanroom to check what's wrong. If it's a stiction then is only a head swap required? (My HDD only has one platter) x

Okay guyss I just opened the HDD to see what was wrong. It appears to be a stiction. The head is stuck inbetween the edge and centre of the platter. I tried turning the motor manually but it won't even budge. This IS a stiction right? But in this case what is better. Replacing the head or transferring the platter into a donor drive? Swapping platter seems faster, but does it carry more risks than head replacement? thankuu x

Ergh can't edit my previous post. I'm actually unsure whether this is a stiction or a spindle problem. What are the signs of a stiction? If it's a stiction will I not be able to move the head at all?

You may like to watch some videos by Scott Moulton (a data recovery professional):
http://www.youtube.com/user/SuperFlyFlippingA

From what people have said in other threads, one approach for a stiction fault is to use a non-magnetic screwdriver to turn the motor in its normal direction of motion while pushing the headstack toward its landing area in a smooth, continuous motion. Others appear to assist the process with a head removal tool. If the stiction is serious, then there is some risk of head damage. I have only seen one DR pro say that he routinely swaps the headstack in stiction cases. The others seem to inspect the heads and then fire up the drive.

Here are photos of what can go wrong:
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=15911#p105001

_________________
A backup a day keeps DR away.

Ah yep I just watched some of his videos earlier today actually... I've learnt quite a lot from it. One more question before I try the fix myself. This isn't related to my problem but I heard swapping a PCB board from a donor drive is useless on modern drives (such as SATA) because even though they are from the same model each board is actually unique and will not work? Is this true? Thanks x

Yes, that's generally the case.

Good luck.

_________________
A backup a day keeps DR away.