Model : WD5000AACS-00ZUB0 (WD Green)
PCB : 2060-7014444-004 REV A

Drive just KO-ed suddenly as I was transferring files to it. Windows reported that it was not able to find the destination. There are no weird clicking sounds prior to this.

Upon further inspection noticed the drive is no longer spinning.

Further observations :
The drive does not spin when powered up (most of the time). If it does, it will stop after about 10-15s as though no power is being supplied to it. It will spin longer in early hours of morning when the temperature is much cooler, but still spins down soon later.

However, the logic board is still warm. Also, BIOS does not detect it.

I have tried :-

i) Swapping SATA/power cables
ii) Plugging it into different PCs

The results are same.

What could possibly be the cause of the problem?

sata drives fails more then ide version

your be looking at a faulty pcb board.
more likely got damaged with a power shock on the pc.

Did you or some one else knocked over that drive?

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www.datarecoveryne.com

@harddrivespecialist

Nop. The drive has been in my casing ever since i bought it. The last thing I did was booting up the PC after two weeks as I was on vacation.

@craig6928
Faulty PCB board?

I need more opinions on this. Previously I consulted a DR company. They did mention (based on my description of the HDD) that my problem is either due to damaged electronic components or stuck heads. I did not send the drive in for recovery to confirm it though.

Could be heads trying to initialise but failing and spindle stops. Sounds to me like head damage

It could be heads, but because it is from the WD ROYL family, I'm more inclined to start with the PCB. Unfortunately, this is still not a DIY process and you will need to seek the assistance of a data recovery professional. One thing that you can check is the PCB itself. Take it off and look very closely at the pins on all the chips...if you see black marks (which is very common), it is likely the problem. If the foam is not black, you might find it easier to see signs of blown chips on it.

Good luck.
Luke

_________________
Luke
Recovery Force Data Recovery

i have voted
1.pcp failure
2.head failure

_________________
NS DATA RECOVERY
www.nsrecovery.ir

@All

Thanks for the inputs so far. I'm currently looking for Torx screwdrivers. It's a bit difficult to find them unless I travel to town so I'll update once I got them.

Just curious, if the PCB shows no burnt mark(s), would that mean that something inside the assembly is damaged instead?

Is it advisable to try to do a PCB swap then?Also, assuming I wanted to, the donor PCB should have identical HD-Model, DCM, uC unit, and PCB serial (imprinted on the board itself) right? After that I would need to transfer the ROM?

Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Reference thread : western-digital-pcb-swap-rule-t8951.html

WD = ROYL pain in the butt.

Whether Heads or PCB, professionl assistance is sill required...

-------- repost since my previous post was not validated ---------

@All

Thanks for the inputs so far.

It's pretty hard to find a Torx screwdriver around so I will update with pictures of the PCB when I do get them.

Most replies so far advised that I consult professional DR companies regardless of the failure reason. Assuming in the case of faulty PCB, may I know the reason? Does it have to do with reprogramming certain chips on the PCB (for this specific model)? Searching around, I came across threads that talked about PCB board replacement with ROM swap. For my HDD model, I guess it will not work? (considering the replies so far)

Yes, you need to rebuild embedded rom. you won't be able to do this. You could buy software/hardware to do this but it would be more expensive than using a data recovery service so therefore pointless. Seek the help of a pro, this is the only and best advice you need.

Ace hardware, Home Depot or any local hardware store should have the tool you need to unscrew the PCB!