I have a Samsung SP1203N IDE hard drive that won't spin up. What I tried so far is the freezer method where I left the drive there for four or five days to no avail; and putting a multimeter on diode mode and testing what I think are TVS diodes on the PCB (model BF41-00076A, the same board as this one) to get the following results:
(Hard to read) AE O436, right beside the 4-pin power connector reads .457 in one direction and 1. (no zero next to that) in the other.
428 LEM, center right one in the picture reads .544 and "1."
(Also hard to read) 420 1BL3, center left one reads .109 and "1."
Does this mean that these diodes, if they are in fact diodes, are not the problem? If so, what could the problem be?

The drive WAS recoverable, but since you put it into the freezer for five days you have now killed it permently. The only good news is that since the drive has not been powered up you might be able to get your data back if you take your hard drive to a data recovery center, There is nothing you can do now.

Shane

I got a similar response in another forum where they also added "technology + water = death", so to be clear I wrapped it inside two plastic zipper bags-- is the possibility of the drive getting water in it what you mean by "you killed it" or are you referring to the condensation related issue? Cause I don't think the drive got any water in it.

The diodes are OK. Could we see a detailed photo of the PCB?

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A backup a day keeps DR away.

Sure, here.

I would measure the voltages at the points identified in the attached photo clips. Be very careful not to short adjacent pins with your probes, as catastrophic damage will result.

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A backup a day keeps DR away.

Do I measure those with the same multimeter settings, ie, diode mode with black in COM and red in the VΩmA?

Spildit: How would I get a terminal output?

Select the 10VDC voltage range, not the diode range.

The probes are correct, though. Measure with the red probe, and touch the black probe to a ground point, eg a screw hole.

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A backup a day keeps DR away.

I only have 200m, 2V, 20V etc. in the DC range. Should I go with 2V or 20V?

Sorry, I meant 20V. If the range is too low, the reading will merely overrange on that scale, in which case you would switch to a higher range.

Maybe you should spend some time reading the destructions ...

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A backup a day keeps DR away.

They all read 000 in the 20V and 200V ranges-- ie, nothing changes on the screen.

Sorry if this sounds obvious, but have you applied power to the drive?

If so, then measure the voltages at the 4-pin Molex connector:
http://pinouts.ru/Power/BigPower_pinout.shtml

To make sure that you are performing your measurements correctly, you could measure the voltages of a 9V or 1.5V alkaline battery.

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A backup a day keeps DR away.

Okay, assuming the same settings applied here I tried each pin with the red with the black in a screw hole and nothing changed on the screen on the 2, 20 and 200 VDC ranges.

Edit: a 1,5V battery reads 1.41 when I touch black to the negative and red to the positive side on the 20VDC range.

If you're getting nothing at the Molex connector, then there is no power getting to the drive. Check your power source.

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A backup a day keeps DR away.

Sorry I thought you meant "have you previously applied power" so I did that test without the power on. I tried with the power on now and the results are 12.06, 0.00, 0.00 and 5.06 respectively.

And I just measured the spots you pointed out in the pictures in the 20VDC range:

First picture, from top to bottom: 0.00, 2.05, 2.05, 2.05
Second picture:

Top one, from left: 4.03, 5.06, 3.32
Bottom one, from top: 2.04, 2.05, 1.34

Even if you solve to PCB issue, I wouldn't power it up. Even if you wrapped it in plastic bags, there's no way you can get rid of the air inside the drive itself, which surely is damp enough to condense water in it. You tried to power it up still being -18ºC? Bad news for heads preamp... you just took the wrong pills for this sick drive.

On the other hand, if you tested TVS's and they are OK, which is a good DIY exercise, don't mess up the PCB anymore, or you may end up damaging critical parts, like ROM chip - then data cannot be recovered anymore.

Thanks for the advice.

I confess that I don't know what the onboard voltages should be, but your measurements don't look implausible to me. That said, I think a PCB swap would be more expedient than trying to repair it.

As for condensation, there have many discussions on this subject, and AFAICS the real facts are that condensation only occurs when a surface and the surrounding air are at different temperatures. AISI, as long as you don't snap freeze your HDD, or stick it in the oven after removing it from the fridge, then condensation shouldn't be an issue. In fact regular HDDs are specified to withstand non-operating temperatures as low as -40C. Moreover, Seagate and Hitachi both have drives (eg Endurastar) which are specified to operate at -30C. These are used in automotive applications and the like.

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A backup a day keeps DR away.

Maybe the problem is elsewhere : if you don't have a spare pcb close to the original as possible, you cannot try.

Measuring and speculating won't revive the board, especially if the rom, mcu or CIC are dead (discover that yes, the Ram is powered but everything else is flatlined is not exactly useful).

Why waste time (assuming the thread is real and nothing is missing...) ?