But shouldn't the drive still spin then?


I will order the PCB and let you know how it went next week.

I am aware that there may be some other problems, but at least I tried.... The PCB ain't that expensive anyway.

What happen if when I do NOT move the 25FU6 IC? Will it still spin up? If it should, and doesn't then I don't have to bother to change that IC.

It will spin up but you wont have access to data. You need to swap the IC.

_________________
Murphy was an optimist

Datarecovery in Belgium, Holland, France and Germany
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I have an update...:

Got the new PCB
Changed the ROM

• PC will not boot with the HDD connected (as 2nd HDD)
• HDD will spin, but makes a beep about every second

Since the PCB has no beeper/buzzer the sound will probably come from somewhere inside, maybe oscillating headstack.

Is there anything I can do or does it mean the death is confirmed?

PS: I connected the new PCB briefly before the ROM change and the 'beep' sound was already there.

Ended up being in the wrong 50% as I was afraid of.

50% is good enough to give it a try. Not much to loose.



I work in electronics assembly. I moved QFP144 before, a SO8 IC is no challenge.



On board failures are eliminated by changing the PCB. Off board failures, well, obviously are still there. I wonder what the PC won't boot. Can't even reach the BIOS (defect HDD is 2ndary).

I made a little sound recording (80Kb) if that help:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/25666483/Memo.m4a

I think you have misunderstood BlackST - he was referring to moving / replacing the motor control chip, which is not as normal as it looks from the top. In your case, perhaps you do have the equipment for successfully replacing that chip (remember - we don't know you or your skills/experience, and most people who ask for help on the forum are not working in electronics assembly!). However it is possible that further components were also damaged on the original PCB, which is why replacing that chip was unlikely to be the best option, if you were continuing to try (and accept all the risks of) DIY.


That was hopefully true after you fitted the new PCB, but you cannot say that for sure now, because...


That is why you were warned about this possibility earlier - and this additional (likely preamp) problem might have now damaged your new PCB (it happens sometimes), so you may now have 2 faults again.


That is normal for some drive faults (with poor PC BIOS error handling / timeout code).

FYI I can't play that sound recording successfully - perhaps other people can. Dropbox tries to force a Flash player instead of allowing the file to be downloaded, and that Flash player doesn't load any file from the server - shows 0:00 time always (but the problem could be caused by my company firewall etc.)

@Vulcan
The control IC under the PCB I am not going to touch. There is for sure the risk that the new PCB got damaged again by something wrong inside the drive. That was risk.

I converted the soundclip to mp3 - but I can't upload mp3 here. Size is small, 70Kb or so. I think with a mouse right click it may work.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/25666483/Memo.mp3

My PCB source told me just now it's a head crash. Seems it's the end of what I can do....

I didn't see you give reply to my previous request for a photo of the "control IC under the PCB" you mentioned then, and again now. I have no idea what you mean by "under the PCB". All ICs are on the same side of that PCB, aren't they? So what is "under the PCB"?


Thanks - I could download and hear that one.


I don't see how they can be that specific without the drive in their hands, and how they know it is not a failed preamp, for example. Remember, the original problem was electrical, so the likely damage to the HDA is electrical (e.g. damaged preamp), not mechanical (e.g. head crash). FYI some members of this forum have seen PCB companies giving misleading diagnostic suggestions in the past, due to being very general replies which are sent out by them (i.e. not specific to each case).

So I agree that I don't see any more you can do (unless one of the professionals has a different view), but the data might still be recoverable by a DR pro.

Actually there are some boards, notably Hitachi/IBM, where some of the components are on the other side. In fact ISTR one PCB where the SDRAM was on the underside.

That said, the subject PCB seems to be missing no obvious components.

_________________
A backup a day keeps DR away.

Thanks, yes, I've seen them but as you see I was asking about that PCB. And as you said...

... hence my question to the OP. Unfortunately without the photo I requested, I don't know what the OP means. I also don't understand why the OP says "The control IC under the PCB I am not going to touch" but I don't see where anyone has actually asked him to touch it (whatever it is)?!

@Vulcan
I attached a picture of what looks like an IC fixed to the HDD housing (but now I think it's just a connector), and one picture of the landing pattern. The IC/connector is not soldered to the PCB, just pressed onto it.


BTW, I will add some pictures of the damaged/blown IC with that hole when I get access to a microscope and a X-Ray device. Next time when I go to an assembly factory.

You may find the following article useful:
http://hddscan.com/doc/HDD_from_inside.html

Here are several preamp block diagrams:
http://malthus.zapto.org/viewtopic.php?f=59&t=229&p=582

_________________
A backup a day keeps DR away.

Thanks, that explains the confusion - you should not have called it an IC/chip.


Correct.


That will be interesting, but of course it won't change or help to diagnose your problem any further. Read those useful links from fzabkar to help you to get a better understanding. Please be careful not to cause more problems (e.g. do not open the HDA), if you may want to recover the data in future.

I wonder what "head crash" means in this case. Anyway, it's pointless - have my thought at 1st glance when seeing the PCB, there was a 50% probability given "by default" despite my stats on CLAs.

Still, no DIY and also a little bit complicated even for use in this case. If pro intervention is not an option , bin the drive and carry on. The "spare" pcb may still be OK, though if no "fireworks" happened at power on.

Does the sound give any hints what the error could be?

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/25666483/Memo.mp3

I connect the drive just for a short moment.

Beside that sound, this happens:

• HDD is spinning
• When connected to a PC as 2nd HDD, PC will not boot
• When connected to a live PC as 2nd HDD, HDD will not show up
• The driver IC (the smaller square one) is getting slightly warm

I wonder if the problem is the electronics, or something inside the drive.

I have same drive with similar issue....I use mostly Hitachi HDDs, 3.5 and 2.5" in my PCs and laps, as I foind them most reliable. The partial failure in this HDD may've been partially my fault...

It was a "C" drive and about 10mos old when it failed. It failed upon PC power-up (the PC was off for about 5 hrs). I almost never pwr down or even hibernate my PCs -- something I learned in the manuf. industry where consumer-grade PCs and notebooks were always on ... 24/7 for years. IAC, I use extremely clean PSUs, and cascaded DIY line filters and UPS's. Indeed, most of my PCs are always on and even the screen saver is disabled. I have two Dell Inspirion laps, now running for 10+ years, almost always on (I had to manually tweak the OS and AntiVirus so that HDD would spin w/o hardly any arm/head activity -- something not native Dell settings...you can hear a Dell lap's HDD clicking away, every minute or so, from the date you first turn it on!!)

Anyway...the 1Tb 3.5" HDD in question spins up, but the head/actuator arm do no move. Hence the drive is never recognized in the PC's OS or BIOS. I've mounted it internally in the PC, and in a USB external 3.5" HDD case. No change i.e., same issue! I looked at the PCB carefully under a magnifier, and took some basic measurements. All looks and measures "normal".
At first, the drive would not even spin up. I removed the PCB and powered just it up w/o the drive, checking for heat and audible noise...no warm spots but I could detect a faint whistle sound near the main pwr input diodes/inductors area. I took a few DMM measurements and finger pressed the components and PCB area in question. Again all seems normal (no heat spots or visible/measurable component damage). And I re-attached the drive to the PCB as normal. Strangely, the HDD spun up again. Alas, the head/arm do not want to actuate, so the drive may be useless.

BTW: I do have experience with several other HDD and driver-board repairs. But this one has me stumped. Any help is appreciated.

THX!!

pictures of pcb (component side)

Any takers on the above HDD? I did test the TVS diodes and they are fine. How likely are the opamps to fail?

Your TVS diode protection regime seems more robust than the two most recent Hitachi models I have seen. Therefore I doubt that your drive has sustained an overvoltage.

Your initial statement that the drive didn't spin suggests that the PCB had a problem, yet subsequently you have managed to get it to spin. However, it is not clear whether the drive was able to reach full speed.

I can't really help with any internal problems, if that is indeed the issue, but FWIW I can show you some voltage test points. If you can show me the other side of the PCB, I should be able to help you confirm whether there is continuity in the voice coil circuit.

The following photo clips represent my guesses as to the relevant voltages.

Measure the Vcore and Vio.

Measure Vio2 and Vneg.

Tell us the markings on the ROM and NVRAM chips. You will need to transfer the NVRAM if you decide to replace your PCB.

Measure the voltages at the 0.47R resistor and the A and B components (probably capacitors).

When removing the PCB, take note of the locking tabs.

It may help to know how the drive behaves when the HDA is disconnected from the PCB. To this end, slightly loosen the two preamp screws and slide a business card between the PCB and the HDA. Then power up the drive. AIUI, some drives won't spin up if they cannot detect the preamp, whereas others will spin up regardless.

Do not slip with your multimeter probes, as catastrophic damage may result.

_________________
A backup a day keeps DR away.

Thx for your detailed reply. I'll reply back in more depth shortly (I won't have a chance to work on this unit for a day or two). In the meantime, I can recall the following from memory:
I had the cover off when the HDD reached full speed. At the time (before drive was powered on), I had the head assembly in the MIDDLE of the parking unit. When (I assume) the HDD reached full speed, the head assembly effectively snapped to back of parking unit. This may indicate full speed reached???
As far as the back of the PCB ... I did go over it very carefully under a magnifier. Not damaged whatsoever as far as my eyes can be trusted. IAC, I'll try to post a pic of that soon.