I know this is a common post, but I have read through most of them and still would greatly appreciate any assistance from an experienced person out there:)

I am trying to help out my father who's hard drive went bad and of course he did not have a back up. It contains everything from pictures of my late grandparents (my dad's parents), my late aunt (my dad's sister), and most of my childhood, not to mention all of his tax/financial data.

I know I will probably need to swap out the PWB with one that has identical firmware, but I have not found one yet. I am not sure if that will do it as the heads might be broken (i hear a little clicking)

PROBLEM:
- Drive does not register in bios
- Drive will not boot
- I can here the drive spinning, but I do here a little bit of clicking

DRIVE INFO:
Western Digital (of course)
MDL: WD5000AAKS - 65YGA0
DATE: 06 DEC 2007
DCM: HARNHT2MAB

WWN: 50014EE200CFF302
GPN: XXXXXX - PX2
P/N: 5188 - 2517
CT: 2815001VZVFEMV
WD P/N: WD5000AAKS-65YGA0

PWB INFO:
Label: 2061-701444-700 AD XT4Z08CNGS A 0005220 8 225
Board: PWB 2060-701444-004 REV A

PICS




Thanks for any help,
Dorsia

Sounds like the information stored on this disk is important..
Probably the best course of action here is to use a professional service.
A pro will have the expertise, tools & equipment, and knowledge; necessary for a good outcome.

The internet is great for inspiring confidence in Do-It-Yourself projects of all kinds. In this situation that confidence is mis-placed.

_________________
On a clear disk you can seek forever.

Also, you're going to want to find a reputable operation that has been around for some time. Be aware there are numerous fly-by-night operations and "computer repair" businesses that do "data recovery" on the side. You need to avoid this type of outfit; and go with a company that does but one thing, data recovery.

This means not relying Google as your primary means of selecting a service. There's all sorts of tricks to get your listing to #1 on a Google search, and you can bet that the small and shady operations are doing that!

_________________
On a clear disk you can seek forever.

Dorsia, your drive may be affected by a common "head mimic" fault. This is caused by a bad Marvell 88i6745-TFJ1 chip on the PCB.

The easiest thing you could try is to gently clean any oxidisation from the preamp contacts (J1 on component side) using a soft white pencil eraser. If this doesn't work, then contact the following PCB supplier (member15871.html):
http://www.donordrives.com/

porthas is a valued member of this forum. He offers a free "PCB adaptation" service. This is required because each PCB contains unique, drive specific information. This information must be transferred to your donor PCB.

_________________
A backup a day keeps DR away.

Dorsia, it most likely be not true in this case. The problem is elsewhere. DON'T WASTE MONEY on a PCB swap that won't solve the problem UNLESS YOU ARE 10000000% SURE and DON'T EXPOSE THE DRIVE to other risks i.e. sending it back and forth as the risk is total loss of your data.
Get the drive analyzed by a pro with pro tools, it takes little time and it is perfectly safe AT THE MOMENT. If you really want 100000% professional referrals in your area just ask.

You are in Chicago. I know of somene out of Georgia that is a reputable operation that has been around for some time and someone out of Florida. It depends on where you would like to send your HDD. I have to agree with BlackST that this is not the issue on this one a PCB will not fix this for you. You should really have this looked at if you want back your data. I would not go with anything else if data is important to you. Sorry but do not think it is the fault that is stated here. Do not believe it is a comman "head mimic" fault sorry.

_________________
Iorana Haraharaini

Also, avoid people who believe that PCB replacements are a 100% fix. I suspect they get a kick back for every one they help to sell.

_________________
Buy your friends Toshiba\Hitachi and your enemies Seagate.

I'm in Chicago, not the OP.

_________________
On a clear disk you can seek forever.

Dorsia, see this thread:
wd5000aaks-00tma0-damaged-t19077.html

Otherwise, if the problem does indeed turn out to be a head fault, then the following company offers fixed price data recovery for US$800 plus parts:
http://myharddrivedied.com/

The proprietor, Scott Moulton, is a valued member of this forum.

_________________
A backup a day keeps DR away.

This thing has to end, once for all.

Actually I was thinking more of Jono out of Georgia and quasimoto out of Florida. They have been here a very long time and proved themselves as top quality DR Techs. You can check their names and others who have used them and see what they say. They are top in the field and would be the best choice for you with no hidden cost of + parts. Check them out.

_________________
Iorana Haraharaini

So highly valued he managed to make nine posts in three years...

Simply amazing!

member12169.html

_________________
Buy your friends Toshiba\Hitachi and your enemies Seagate.

This is all very amusing.

How can anyone begin to offer suggestions without having diagnosed and determined the mode of failure of the drive in question? Without knowing what's going on internally mechanically or electronically, might not further damage be done?

_________________
On a clear disk you can seek forever.

Perhaps it's the negative comments that keep him from posting more often. I certainly know how that feels:
what-wrong-with-fzabkar-t15008.html

Maybe his skin isn't as thick as mine.

Anyway, he has trained many of the forum members, so there's value in that. And he has a large public body of work, probably too large to be accommodated in the HDD Guru Files area. I certainly am not aware of any DR professional who is more visible. I would also recommend raptor_pa (also a HDD Guru forum member), but I haven't seen him for quite some time. He has a large body of work at a different forum. And believe it or not, I have recommended some of your own colleagues in recent times, particularly the newer members (even though I have had public disagreements with most of them).

_________________
A backup a day keeps DR away.

The best advice as always is to get the drive examined by a pro. Anything else would have an element of risk either higher or lower.

As for other elements in this and many other threads is that sometimes people just won't accept the truth. Just like a teenager or adolecent who has quarrel with their parents. It becomes one big battle with no valid points or reasoning. In the end the main topic of discussion becomes forgotten and normal reasoning goes out the window as the adolecent always wants the last word no matter what.

@Dick:
Pray tell what other than a pro has a lesser risk?

@Dorsia:
Now, once a thread starts filling with discussion like this it is time to go elsewhere. Get your data recovered by clearheaded individuals. While the bickering is going on here you you could be getting your drive repaired safely. Additionally, if you're non-technical the advice you're going to get here isn't going to be of much use.

_________________
On a clear disk you can seek forever.

Keatah, wait and see

Aside from TROLLING, I agree this needs pro diagnostics. OP's description does not fit the mimics fault.

I suggest jono-ats or thatdellguy.

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

Fzabkar,

FYI, our price is lower, and we include parts. We're also WD authorized, i.e, we won't void your WD warranty, and we provide a warranty replacement at no additional cost.

Whether or not I'm a "valued" member of this forum is certainly debatable . . .

Jono

_________________
http://www.datasaversllc.com

But isn't bickering the main reason why people even go to tech forums?

_________________
Nationwide data recovery services for RAID servers and laptops - http://www.harddriverecovery.org/