hi guys,

as the subject states i have a ST3500630AS. blown smooth chip,

found replacement via drivestar.biz

replaced pcb and transferred rom chip. still wont spin up.

any suggestions. i thought maybe tvs diodes but this is with the replacement pcb. drivestar state they send out pcbs that have been tested etc.

any suggestions??

many thanks

Pre-amp might be blown. If the PCB can't communicate with the chip inside the head stack then the drive probably won't bother spinning.

Shane

Happy new year!

Maybe faulty pre amp or possibly there is sticktion?

Well you need to hold the drive to your ear when strarting up a pc with the power and data cables connected. Listen for any sound being produced from inside the drive. A bleep or slight thud or anything. Maybe you could isolate the head assembley connection from the pcb with a bit of thin card or plastic and try the same.

Also you probably need to check some voltages on the pcb. Another member might guide you through this.

Finally you might also want to connect the drive in terminal via a special adapter to carry out diagnostics.

I would advise at this moment you might want to consider approaching an experienced data recovery expert especially if the data has real value.

Good luck!

Dead preamp, dead motor or the pcb is a lemon...

Dead preamp and dead motor require cleanroom work, just in case.

And if the ROM is gone...

@Spitfire2678, if you could upload photos of your two PCBs, I could show you the voltage test points. It might also help to see which corner of the SMOOTH was damaged.

_________________
A backup a day keeps DR away.

first up happy new year to all hddguru posters.

thanks to all that has responded. fantastic response again. much appreciated. dick & Spildit i actually do own hd doctor for seagate. i bought it mainly for bsy and lba 0 issues. so still learning etc with that tool.

i will try mentioned options to see what i can discover. drivestar has responded to me and they are sending out another pcb. as i discovered even though pcb no matched my original pcb was slightly different as you will see in my attached pics. whether it makes a difference or not, not sure. but drivestar still sending replacement.

the hot air rework station i have seems to do a pretty good job. removing in one go and replacing. do you guys recommend cleaning rom chip pads before adding back the rom chip?

fzabkar, my pics attached. you should be able to see the smooth chip pin/s that are damaged.

the red circle was simply to illustrate to drivestar the part that was missing from drivestar pcb when compared to the original pcb

The MCU and motor controller chips are from different IC manufacturers, so I don't know if they are completely compatible. Hopefully they're just functionally identical second sources.

That said, the SMOOTH appears to be damaged on the side that controls the onboard voltage regulators rather than the spindle motor and voice coil, so one would have to wonder about the state of the preamp.

I would remove the PCB from the drive and measure the voltages at each of the 3R3 coils, and the voltage at pin #1 of the 8-pin chip adjacent to the 1R2 coil. Use a screw hole as your ground reference.

_________________
A backup a day keeps DR away.

fzabkar, i am hoping so regarding mcu and motor chip. i thought when matching pcb's it was mainly the pcb no that had to be matched with seagates.

with your background and knowledge in the hdd recovery industry are there any pcb suppliers that you recommend or use yourself? my first time dealing with drivestar.

I don't have any experience in the data recovery industry, or any special knowledge. Any PCB supplier should be able to supply a matching PCB. The only time I have a preference for particular suppliers is when a firmware transfer is required, and then I recommend the following:

http://www.onepcbsolution.com/
http://www.hdd-parts.com/

Both suppliers will transfer your firmware at no additional cost.

_________________
A backup a day keeps DR away.

Spildit, yes i did test the donor pcb on drive before swapping rom out. and no it did not spin. which was a worry to me. since drivestar say they test the pcbs before dispatch i am concerned that the drive has internal damage.

since i have heard contradicting comments regarding testing a donor pcb on a drive without a rom transfer can that comprimise the data on it. or is it ok to do that.

Hi Spildit,

drivestar sent replacement pcb via fast courier. it has arrived. vcm chip is same, pcb no is same. only difference is the mcu numbers. but i didnt think this mattered when matching pcb's. simply put donor on hdd. no spin. put ear to it. no sound at all. hd doctor for seagate by salvation data simply reports drive busy, cannot get terminal response, isolated head stack contacts.

do you think that when the smooth chip went it has taken out the preamp or motor. if it was the preamp by isolating the head contacts wouldnt that bypass the preamp and at least spin the drive, if the motor was ok?

I'm assuming that this is a client drive. If so, it might be wiser to outsource it to a lab who can see it to completion and play with a drive that doesn't contain valuable data.

_________________
Luke
Recovery Force Data Recovery

I'm afraid that despite the sd tool, that cannot do miracles by itself, the entire diagnose is wrong due to lack of experience.

1) check compatibility of the pcb.
2) if pcb is suitable, check functionality of motor and headstack first.
3) see what happens at startup.

lcoughey, BlackST, Spildit,

thx for the comments. as i am learning still from playing with these drives and from the hddguru members comments and actions to take. the drives i do work on are only with the clients consent. they do not wish to escalate to pro data recovery due to costs etc. the data isnt a concern to them and they were happy for me to use there drives as learning opportunities. of course though if i was able to get the data back they would see it as a bonus aswell.

Spildit,

very strange indeed. i tried isolating the spindle and head contacts separately and nothing. no terminal etc. just incase my hd tool for seagate was to blame i plugged in a working seagate hdd. it identified it correctly and everything work accordingly.

my last chance is that for whatever reason the boards are incompatible. so for a small price for learning i am ordering a pcb from onepcbsolution who i have spoken with and matched a pcb with the same firmware, model, p/n, mcu chip etc. if somehow it turns out to be a board which i am doubting. since it is a 7200.10 i wont need to rom transfer

will let u know how i go. cheers.

Might be ROM chip is damaged You have to read the ROM from same head-map donor drive and write it to tested PCB somehow this case is difficult and may be impossible if try more experiments!

Hi Spildit,

i havent had a chance to get the matched pcb nor find a 7200.10 drive to do tests. but it looks like you have.

so basically since i have had two boards that had the same pcb no with no luck and from your findings you feel that the preamp is gone. which i guess also backs up what fzabkar, said on page 1. he mentioned one must have to wonder about the state of the preamp based on the burnt pins from the pics i uploaded.

do you think i am wasting my time ordering in that other pcb that i know has come from a matched hdd?

Not true. You can almost always get F> !!

There are MANY 7200.10, even ROMless ...