Hi all, it seems to me that someone out there can perhaps point me in the right direction. My Maxtor external recently gave up for no reason. The disk itself is a seagate barracuda 500GB and i tried converting this into an internal drive, but when i connect it to the mobo, the PC will not start. I remove the offending HD and hey presto, the PC starts up again. This leads me to believe that there is a short somewhere and was wondering if a repacement pcb will do the trick. There are some valuable pics / videos which i would really love getting back. I know that any replacement board must be identical to the one already on the HD. Current details are as follows:

Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 500Gb
S/N: 5QM1DT83
P/N: 9BX134-568
Model: ST3500820AS
Firmware: SD81
Date code:08382

Would anyone be able to give me some guidance as to 1) whether a replacement board or a full HDD would help and 2) where could i get these? I am currently residing in Gibraltar, Europe

Many thanks,
Ptah_Gib

Check the TVS.

Search this forum for further info.

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Many thanks. When I finally was able to remove the PCB (the chips and other components were on the other side of the board and were not visible at the outset) I came up with this. Obviously something is fried, as you can see at the top let of the image, which is circled in yellow further down. As a newbie, I have no idea what this is, or how it could be fixed. Any suggestions anyone?

Test it and the one below it for continuity.

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i tested the diodes using a fluke meter set on diode test mode. This is what i got:

On the 'burnt' diode (top one) i get:
0.001 with a continous beep one way
0.001 with a continous beep the other way

On the lower diode (unburnt) i get:
0.454 with a single beep one way
1.392 with no beep the other way


Does this help?

AT YOUR RISK...

Remove the top TVS (ideally desolder, but if not you can carefully snip if off) and fire the drive up, if it doesn't spin up right away then turn it off and seek pro advice.

Bear in mind that if you remove the TVS, the drive is unprotected so make sure your PSU is up to scratch.

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If I do this, and the drive does power up, will it be enough to grab the files I need from it? I don't really mind that I won't be able to use the drive longer term, I just want the data in it.

Yes, you will have access to your files, unless there is more damage to your drive.

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harddrivespecialist is correct, assuming no further problems the drive should work long enough for you to copy off your data.

Good luck

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Sorry guys, unfortunately I removed the burnt diode but the drive won't start up. What are my options? Can i get the board replaced or have the drive taken in to a specialist? Who can i take it to, considering that where I live (Gibraltar) there are no such people / firms?

try Jose who is part of the forum, he is in Portugal http://www.datarecoverylab.jacf.pt/en/ or ship to the UK to PcImage. both will do you a good price and get the job done.

Unfortunately this case now requires pro help, either myself or Jose should be able to sort it out for you for a reasonable price.

PM me for details.

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PC Image Data Recovery
http://www.pcimage.co.uk

New!! HDD-PCB.COM for all your PCB and donor HDD requirements!