Hello everyone

i'm sorry to bother you with this, as maybe this may appear as a dumb question but..

I'm dealing with a seagate barracuda 7200 11 1.5TB, with a "burned" electronic.

When the accident happened the drive didn't even had the time to power on or start spinning.

I have gathered a replacement external PCB as an attempt to have the drive to power on again and recover my lost data.
the part number printed on the PCB is the same, it powers on the drive, but the drive "clicks".

I tried to gather some informations and i've read that in most of the cases it's a mechanical issue, but there are slight chances that it can be a firmware problem and that a fix can be attempted as a last resort.

I've read that if you have the original board, you can swap the bios chip between the circuit boards and see if it solves the problem, but i'm not sure that the original bios chip is still in working condition.

so i was wondering: in case i don't have the original bios chip to swap, is there any sort of thing i can try to do on the working electronic board to adapt it to the drive?

i'm doing this as a hobbyist, so i don't have expansive hardware like a PC3000 and the content of the drive is not worth the cost of a professional recovery service.. let's say i'm doing this as a learning experience.

all my hardware arsenal is
- screwdrivers
- heatgun
- soldering iron
- serial adapters and JTAG stuff

thanks in advance for your kind support.

Post a good picture of the component side of the board so we can see what was burned.

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

i'm not home as of now, off for a job.

will post a picture as soon as i get my hands on the burned board.

As thatdellguy, sais.

You can upload here a pic from your PCB (both sides) and maybe any body here can explain you about "original bios chip to swap", but remember that you need skills with iron and other tools. If you have no experiende with Iron better contact with a local pro.
In Italy you can contact with PowerMax, memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=5285

will upload a pic.

As said in the opening post, data stored on the drive is not worth the money of engaging a pro.
I have some skill with soldering and other tools, and i'm doing it for learning purposes.

Thanks for the suggestions on how i could get in touch with for professional services tho, i'm taking note just in case i'll need it in the future

Do not worry, upload pics, and sure anybody here can help you.
good look

Was the drive inside a computer or in an external enclosure?

If internal, did the damaged drive shut down the computer's PSU?

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A backup a day keeps DR away.

Hello, the drive was in an external USB case, but after the accident, if i plugged it in directly on the SATA interface, the computer PSU would shut down.

Here is a pic of the damaged PCB

hope the resolution is detailed enaugh as it's all i can get with my phone's camera

Thanks very much again for the help

TVS is shorted. Replace it.

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

which one is the TVS?

The one with burn marks and deformed/overheated legs.

Hint: Top right.

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

See http://www.users.on.net/~fzabkar/HDD/TVS_diode_FAQ.html

Also see http://hddrepairing.com/downloads_n_vid ... airing.pdf

You don't need to replace the shorted diode. Simply remove it. However, be aware that the drive will no longer be protected, so don't overvolt it again.

BTW, the usual culprit in an external enclosure is the 12V TVS diode, especially if you have used a 19V laptop adapter.

_________________
A backup a day keeps DR away.

Personally, I would not run a customers drive without a 10cent TVS. But that's just me.

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

i think i can simply replace the diode.. it's the 12V one i guess..

i can find it in any electronic store

My FAQ tells you where to buy a diode, and which parts are suitable substitutes. I doubt whether a regular electronics store would carry them. At least that's the case here in Australia.

_________________
A backup a day keeps DR away.

it's worth a try, there is a local store here in town where they sell all sort of electronic components for assembling custom circuit boards, from basic resistors to exotic smd components and chips (pics, eeproms and so on).

thanks very much for the help.. i'll keep you updated on the success/failure of the task

If you feel confident with soldering, use the TVS from your donor PCB. Just make sure you get the direction correct on the TVS.

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

considering the cost of a replacement TVS, i think i'm going to keep the donor PCB intact just in case i'll need it in the future

removing TVs is enogth to get data, but if you want you can replace it, this is securelly option.

report us.

Thanks

I'm already stuck lol, the plus in the TVS is the one indicated by the up pointing arrow on the PCB?i mean looking at the pic, the top one