Scrath on surface and head swap

[maxisvk]

hello
i have this WD20SMZW with head click and not recognized from rapidspar, this is a screenshot of scratch of
outer top disk plate. the rest of surface, at least for the top plate is clean, also all four head seem not damaged

i have a perfect donor but it may be worth making an attempt with this conditions ?
thanks

[pepe]

it depends on what tools you have. You MUST back up firmware and probably need to build head map for cloning, plus some kind of write blocking is also needed. I don't recommend messing with it without such options at hand. We see enough chargers screwed up by inappropriate attempts...

pepe

[maxisvk]

ok, thanks.
I have full version of WD Marvell and some experience of changing heads and firmware repair ( yes little, about 40/50 works ) but... I don't have compatible sata pcb in house so i need to buy it, and only one donor same model and I don't want to waste it

regardless of the tools,practice and experience, in general, this surface defect only on the outermost part of the disc is a fair chance of success with a head swap or is normally a waste of time and resource ?

thanks

[pepe]

that trace will not be your most wicked enemy in this drive.
I don't recommend replacing heads if you only have WDmarvel, and no unlocked pcb, you will screw it up most likely. These are not a walk in the park, at least not for the less experienced people, and it is easy to screw it up to a level from where it really sucks. And the one who is most affected is the client at the end of the day...

pepe

[maxisvk]

thanks, in fact this WD model is out of my skills now ( first time i see it ) i pass it to data recovery partner.

[pepe]

wise decision
(if they can handle it with confidence)

pepe