Hello everybody, this my first post in this forum. I would like in advance all of you will give me some hints.

After powering a WD5000KS enclosed in a USB external case with the power supply of a different USB case (having as I discovered later a different arranging of the 12v and 5v), the Western Digital 500Gb SATA HDD was burnt. I can clearly see (apart of some cracked components) even a PCB trace which is blown. Oboviously the disk is not even recognized by BIOS, does not spins when connected to power (and so on) but still full of my data...

I waited one year to find a donor HDD at an affordable price on ebay (10$).
Donor is
WD500ks-00MNB0
13-APR-2006
HBACAJAA
WMANU1148800
pcb (WHITE LABEL) 2061-701383-E00 AB XW3H11 2Y66 1 0007380 6387
pcb label on the side without components is 2060-701383-001 REV A and 04V-0

Receiver is
WD500ks-00MNB0
06-MAR-2006
HBACAJAA
WMANU1093539
pcb (WHITE LABEL) 2061-701383-E00 AC XW3H11 12RZ 1 0001350 6351
pcb label on the side without components is 2060-701383-001 REV A and 04V-0

As you see the receiver has a pcb white label with has an AC instead of AB and with 0001350 instead of 0007380, but the other labels are identical.

The ebay seller told me that the receiver HDD was dead but: 1) this disk is still detected by BIOS (so PCB is working, I suppose), 2) Partition Magic recognizes 4 partitions but any trial to delete them and reformat resulted in error #111117, so as the seller told, the disk is non working

I swapped the PCB and the receiver HDD now spins and I heard the heads moving a couple of times but is not even recognized by BIOS (the BIOS shows it with a empty label during startup and crashes when I try to manually detecting the disk entering in the BIOS). In other words, when I put the donor PCB on the donor disk, at least BIOS detect it and show a label (lot of numbers...) but when the same PCB is applied on the receiver, not even recognized (and also partion magic does not show it).

So my question is: the donor PCB+Receiver HDD could be not working due to a incompatible firmware issue or maybe the 12v-5v swap has blown even the receiver heads / preamp? In the first case maybe I can go on an try a ROM swap (I have some knowledge on electronics even if surface mount wothout the proper tools are a nightmare), in second case I have just to trow both HDD by the window.

Any suggestions are welcome. Clearly, the data inside the blown HDD are not worth the cost of a professional data resue.

Thanks.
Ettore

Ettore, PM me with contact details. I am in Italy too and at least I can do a professional diagnose / recover at reasonable fee and quick response.

@BlackST
Thanks for your interest, but I don't need a professional repair. I'm just doing it for fun.
Ettore

you can transport your question, to the Fun Staff session.
enough is enough.









Xronis

_________________
T3 Professional Data Recovery
http://www.t3-recovery.com

Allora se vuoi solo divertirti trova la soluzione da solo, non produciamo divertimento gratis. E' pieno di altri forum piu' adatti.

Then if you want to have fun, find yourself the solution. We don't make fun for free. There's plenty of more suitable forums.

You won't be able to solve your issue/s on your own.

If your data is not important to you, leave it and move on.

I guess if you waited for a year for a replacement drive, data is worth something to you.

Make up your mind!

_________________
www.datarecoveryne.com

@BlackST
I'm new of this forum but I know the forum rules better than you.

HDDGURU FORUM RULES
Do not post messages like "I can help you just PM me"-->just lok at "ettore, PM me with contact details"
Using any other language besides English-->look at "Allora se vuoi solo divertirti trova la soluzione da solo..."

Beside that, your response is unmotivated and aggressive. You should be really desperate, what's going on, poor little man, not too much broken HDD here in Italy? Or just too few clients? Not surprising... after seeing how you can exstabilish an emphatic communication so easily.

If I will ever need a professional, you will be surely the one I will avoid.

It's you that said "I'm just doing it for fun.". This is insulting the professionality of the pros who helped here a lot of people in many ways. You had two other clear answer from other VALUABLE members of the forum. So long and good luck. Obviously if I will ever need a customer....

P.S. about being desperate, it's not me. A year without data means two things : 1) data not important (surely) 2) can't afford a pro consult = DIY = possibility of destroying data. Your stuff, your choice. People should never be helped on these things. Period.

This is unbelievable BlackST, asking some help for repairing a HDD in a DIY fashion (for me is equal to "for fun") is an insult to a professonal? Really? Top level professionals are often top level human beings (no, I'm not talking about you) and such people does never feel insulted from any help request, even those coming from a non professional like me. Other members of the forum have already demonstrated a wider mind than you.

Sorry for boring readers other than this black guy (a really appropriate nickname, however). From now to ethernity, I will ignore him.

Anybody can suggest some more specific hints, however?

Assuming you haven't baked the original ROM, swap it to the donor PCB. If you still get clicking, the preamp is probably blown, and you might as well toss the drive out.

Preamp / head service for this series is difficult and expensive, even for seasoned pros. There are compatibility and alignment issues even if you don't ruin the platters by yourself.

_________________
http://www.datasaversllc.com

You are a newb looking for a solution to a problem. What kind of help do you really think you will get with your arrogant and ungrateful attitude towards other members? Assuming you wanted a professional recovery, do you know the average cost of recovery on these drives? Do you know the average cost when customer has attempted work themselves?

I do not think the disk you have has external ROM on PCB, so no matter how much 'fun' you are having, if PCB is fried you will need professional help for any hope of repairing.

If data is not important, simply replace your disk and forget about it.

@hddguy

First of all I wish to apologize for my crude tone, even if I was definitively not the first, in this post. Second, I would like to thanks everybody (you included) who suggested something constructive. Third, the scope of my post was just to collect some help and suggestions, since I'm not an expert in the HDD field and I wanted to try some DIY with my disk, at my own risk. This definitively means that I don't need a professional service, othervise I'm fully capable to find it by myself.

Simply, I wish to learn something which seems very interesting. Sorry if this makes somebody angry but it's not a problem of mine.

BTW, seems that the PCB has a ROM (U12) and seems that is not fried.

Thanks again.

If there is ROM at U12, then match a replacement PCB from same family disk, preferably exact model (including the 6 digits after the WD5000KS) and swap ROM to donor PCB.

I have a same hard drive as the one you guys are talking about with the clicking problem.
The "professional" help that I was looking for was kind of expensive so I figured there will be some DIY's on this forum.
I don't care if any of you take this the wrong way or not, but you got to be kidding me with your discussions. (not just this thread but the so called pros in other threads too. Sure you probably might have some expensive equipment in your shops, but it sure seems like all you do is to source the right part for the job and take your chances if some parts from a similar hard drive will fix your problems or not.

Benassi, i dislike the way some of the data rec specs on this forum use it as a private fishing pond to get an extra job or 2 a month with 80 percent post consisting of smth like " No DIY send to pro " Or "PM me ill do it" . But what u are saying is waaaaay off. Sourcing a part and just taking a chance with repair u say ? U might as well say - oh damn , all u did was fix the god damned space shutle, whats hard in that.

Go for it and let us know how that works out for you

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You don't have to backup all of your files, just the ones you want to keep.

I will. I have a feeling that my chances of sourcing the exact part might be less than yours, but my chances of that part fixing the hard drive, is about as much of a luck as yours.

You reckon?

What a clown, it ain't gonna happen!

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

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

Actualy , ur chance of sourcing exact part is the same as ours. A lot of big boy hdd resellers advertise on the net. But without tools and knowlege that part in ur hands is just so much dead metal and plastic.

Exactly Alexii, you are spot on!

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

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