Hi guys.

Yesterday my oldie Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 9 just died without any seen reason.
1. It was ON and working (along with 3 other HDDs within the same computer), and accidentally Windows shows BSOD in atapi.sys
No power jumps, no smoke/fire show, no shakes etc - just BSOD in the middle of my daily work.
2. Restarted by RESET button. 2 HDDs gone from BIOS (both on the same IDE channel), 2 others OK.
3. Checked/switched cables etc, found the reason: one Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 9 120Gb is in coma. Unplugged it from the IDE cable -the other one started to be detectable by BIOS, works OK.

Next:
4. Checked the visual conditions on the drive&pcb: nothing strange found, everything looks OK. No burning smell, no fireholes, nothing wrong at all.
5. Checked connectors (IDE+MOLEX). Nothing wrong.
6. Plugged this failed Maxtor to other machine (provided only POWER, no IDE bus): nothing at all. The drive not even spin on. Seems completely dead, no any detectable sound.
7. Turn off+connect IDE bus+turn on: no spins, no sounds. BIOS also sees nothing. MHDD\Victoria also sees no drive on the bus.
8. Left it for 10min while on power: all the HDD + PCB + chips are completely cold, only SMOOTH chip is a liiiiitle warmer than my finger. Not hot noroverheated - just warm a bit.
9. Checked the incoming power from MOLEX: +5\+12 are OK and coming to the PCB as normal, then coming to the depths of the PCB (didnt trace that deep).

Next: removed PCB, clean it all in ethanole, also brushed the contacts on the back side of the PCB (COMM + DRV pins). Dried PCB slowly under fan. Screwed everything back, test by plugging the power in: no changes at all. No spin, no clicks, nothing.

Guys, what does this all means? I assume the PCB is dead, am I right? Any chances to revive the PCB for at least an hour and get my data back? I don't care the drive itself - but I need the data...

Anyone have any schematic for this PCB (see below)? Any testpoints to check the voltage, or something... I can do a few things with this dead oldie while looking for another PCB.....who knows, perhaps I am lucky and God loves me, and the problem is somewhere in burned 0Ohm fuse or something similar (please, God, please)..

Here is the bloody thing:
--------------------------
Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 9
120Gb, ATA/133 HDD
Code: YAR41BW0
S/N: Y473BKE
6Y120L0032011

Main chip: 040110200
There IS a small 8-pin ROM chip (labelled 25P10V6) near motor connector.
--------------------------
Mfg date: 2002... it served me 24\7 since then. A good one, but please only give my data back now....

You have the same problem I had, I'm stil looking for a PCB Samsung have less parts

But with Maxtor you have more sollutions, check here
http://www.hddzone.com/index.php?main_p ... &x=25&y=21

It seems the PCB is dead. locate a DONOR PCB, it should work fine including ROB swap.

_________________
__________
There is no substitute for education and experience
THANK YOU
SHAHI
shahi.mahbub@gmail.com

I also think so.

More details after an hour with volt-meter:

- GND control points - all are wired to case and to GNDs on MOLEX.
- +3.3v control point - nothing. Zero.
- -5v control point - nothing. Zero.
- +5v - present in few places on the PCB (didn't traced the wirings - just checked voltage on the capacitors)
- +12v - present in few places on the PCB (didn't traced the wirings - just checked voltage on the capacitors)

No VCC on the CPU and RAM as well (thus they are cold, as I said in the 1st post). SPIN_MOTOR connector is also down (no any measurable voltage on any pin), no surprise there is no spin...
But have +5vcc on SMOOTH.

Seems SMOOTH chip (which tunes the voltage for CPU&the rest) is gone. Perhaps the rest of PCB will be fine once I'll replace SMOOTH....any ideas?

Yes. Get another pcb and test. You have 50/50 probability it works / will kill the new pcb/drive won't work. No need for measurement.
I use another procedure but I am not an hobbyist and have at hand everything it takes.
P.s. @shahij, where this 'rom transfer' idea comes from ?

Look at this
http://forum.hddguru.com/howto-how-replace-maxtor-calypso-iii-board-t5977.html
and good luck

It's never too much for extra measurement.

Giys, the HDD is revived from it's IT hell. "Extra measures" and overnight zen revealed that there was no +5V on the main power transistor Q500, where it has to be by any mean. +5V is coming to PCB, coming to SMOOTH (for -3.3 + -5v generators) AND to main current "switch" Q500 (being driven by SMOOTH). But +5v was not present on Q500, while SMOOTH tries to open the transistor to power on the rest of the PCB. It just opens for nothing, as there was no VCC on the other leg of Q500.

A 5mm-long airwire from the MOLEX +5v to the middle leg of Q500 was fixed the problem (see attached). +3.3v\-5v popped up immediately, PCB boots successfully, and the whole HDD is back to me as before. Now I can see the data, and startedthe backup process. Voila!

I bet that the copper wire is degraded somewhere in the layers of the PCB due to its age (once again, the HDD is over 11years old and used 24/7). Who knows...and who cares, once the data is accessible and being copied to the safer location now.

No, it failed for a reason - quite sure another - . Backup and replace.
For DR purpose I test - not with multimeter ! - motor and HSA then put a working PCB. Never fails.

Age and entropy is the reason. IMO.


The problem is that here is NO working PCB by me - but I need my data back ASAP (right now, to be correct). Of course I may order the PCB - but this will take it's time to arrive... As far as I repaired it and got my data - I do not care this PCB and a whole HDD anymore.
Of course it will fail again, very soon.... I revived that just to get my data back. Yet it is OK, and if\when it fail again - I will throw the whole thing to the bin.

Just took apart a DiamondMax Plus 8 drive,. I usually disassembled my old drives for destroying of platters. Anybody know what the plastic container with about 300 micro ball bearings in it is for? Its under the pcb board (peel up the sticker that's under that). The spinning platter is exact opposite of the plastic container. Its a mystery to me, as I have searched Google pretty hard already.
Do you think my pcb board will help you? All of the above -and - 40GB ATA/133 +12V 790mA, +5V 647mA 6E040l0510614 26JUN2003
The drive would not format in Windows environment anymore, I read that the firmware for the drive is kept on the platter somewhere (service area). Not on a chip as most others.
The big chip on the board is ARDENT C9-C1

Ohh my bad, you fixed your drive already
I missed that post.....