Hello all,

I have a WD5000AAKS-00TMA0 WD Caviar SE 16 that came out of an External Enclosure (I believe a WD MyBook Essentials). It hasn't been dropped and had been maintained/cared fore well.

It no longer is recognized in the BIOS or anywhere. When connected to power, it beeps 5 times (I believe from the circuit on it), pauses, then beeps 5 more times. I imagine this is some kind of diagnostic code, but WD Tech Support (phone/mail/email/chat) all have dodged around telling me what this is, insisting I need to send it into one of their partner companies for data recovery.

Any ideas what could be wrong?

I've built a few machines, worked on laptops, done a few reflows, and the like.

I was thinking, since there is no clicking, the head is probably OK. The PCB may be bad -- you can replace these with a similar model, right? I pulled apart an old 20GB drive to look at it, and it seems that the PCB is only screwed on and connects via surface-point contacts; so it wouldn't be as messy as opening the drive and not require a clean room. Not sure if this is the case, and this was an IDE drive.

Any help is appreciated! Thank you!

It doesn't have a speaker, so if it is making beeping noises something is wrong. You would not be able to exchange the PCB as it contains unique data.

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

It's a very low frequency. The sound is more obvious when the drive is against a metal casing of some type.

The drive doesn't spin up at all -- which makes me think that it has to do with the PCB.

Do you think it could be a TVS problem (been reading in the forums here about it)?

I'll post photos later if you guys would be willing to look!

Thanks!

If it is not spinning up and making repeated low buzz sounds then something is preventing the platters from turning

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

Usually a motor fault. 9/10 I find when the drive has been dropped or suffered impact.

If you can feel no vibration of the drive spinning and power is getting to the motor there's not really any DIY solution

If it was a Diode out the motor would not be trying to start.

Leigh

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DataWreck Data Recovery Services
www.DataWreck.co.uk

I am voting that the sound that u hear is a spindle trying to rotate but failing due to stuck heads or to stuck spindle itself. Motor is buzzing. I would advise strongly against keeping that pupy on. In the case of dead TVS there wont be any action inside the hdd. The circuit will be broken = no flow. And u say u hear smth... Unfortunate piece of news is that stuck spindle and stuck heads will require u to open the HDD up to diagnose...

So, the drive has never been dropped, etc. I think a few people misread what I wrote.

The sound is not coming from the innards of the drive itself, if that makes any sense. I'm fairly certain that it's coming from the actual PCB. It's not a mechanical sound either -- it's more like a frequency that one would hear coming from an early video game console when they had sound cards with set sounds.

If the motor, etc, was trying to spin up, wouldn't I at least feel a little fibration/sound from inside the actual casing, and beyond the PCB?

In the event this is beyond DIY methods -- are there any HDD Recovery Pro's in Houston, TX that lurk these forums?

Thanks!

It could be circuit board. I have seen older WD's with faulty pcb appear to have faulty motor by the sounds it makes. Either way you still need pro help.

If it's the PCB, then isn't it possible to just swap them with a comparable model? If so, what's the criteria for this? I thought the PCB's are more or less exchangeable? I've read that a few people swapped them on SATA drives and could at least see if something started spinning up, etc... So it doesn't sound like rocket science, other than making sure the models are similar, etc.

Slightly outside of your area in England.

The PCB won't be making any noises. If you've got your ear to the underside of the drive the noise is coming from the spindle.

Sadly in this case it doesn't matter if it is sticktion (heads stuck on platters) or Bearing/Spindle failure it will need internal work.

Check some of the forum members locations and give them a PM

Leigh

_________________
DataWreck Data Recovery Services
www.DataWreck.co.uk

Flashback is located in Austin, I believe. As far as I am aware they do not have a presence on the forum here.

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

Attaching a picture of the PCB. There looks like there is rust or something on the other side of the pad that was insulating the board and the chip... It looks like some stuff may have gotten really hot with it there...

Any chances it's more of a PCB issue from the pic?

And also -- where is the TVS on this? Sorry for the blurry picture... iPhone is all I have.

EDIT: Added TWO MORE PHOTOS. It looks like there's some corrosion or burning... This makes me more certain that this could be the PCB's problem. How do I get a compatible PCB?

Thanks!

You can remove the oxide from the 20-pin preamp/voice coil connector in your first photo by scrubbing it gently with a soft white pencil eraser.

The TVS diodes are probably OK. You can see them in your third photo directly underneath the SATA power connector. The 12V diode is in the top RH corner, while the 5V diode is just below the midpoint of the power connector.

The following article should help you identify the components:

http://hddscan.com/doc/HDD_from_inside.html

Images are blurred from model this is tornado family. Test the PCB but it doesn't look like there's any external ROM on this board so sadly a PCB swap even if the motor is OK is a no-go.

Leigh

_________________
DataWreck Data Recovery Services
www.DataWreck.co.uk

I'm really not just making things up here

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

wd5000aaks-00tma0-failure-t9420-20.html#p60945

drc,

Understood. What about this other topic -- what are your thoughts on this? Then in this instance, does it not matter? It just needs another PCB to get it started? Any thoughts on how this would work? I'm pretty certain the board is the problem...

How does one recover this drive if the PCB is the problem, since the board is specifically tied to the actual platter?

Thanks.

hi,
i have this PCB for sell and can help you program data into PCB if you know the firmware version. please contact me by email if still need help. thanks.

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data recovery service[/b]

I have to agree with most of the answers that are being said here.

If you put your ear up to it when you power it on does it sound like it is trying to spin? If so, and then it starts beeping then most likely it is a motor failure and will need professional help.

If it is 100% completely dead no sounds at all from the drive. Then it is possible it is just electrical and a board swap from a different drive of the same model would be highly unlikely since exact drives on the outside can have a plethora of different firmwares associated to them and there is no chip you can just swap on these. With special equipment (which is more expensive then a full data recovery on the job) you may be able to rebuild firmware to match the one needed.

If the data is important to you I would not recommend the DIY method. A lot of places will give you a free diagnosis of the drive and tell you what is wrong with it.

I think that it had less to do with the other pcb and more to do with the drive just working sometimes and not others.

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

By the syntoms sounds like is more that a PCB, you should STOP trying to do a DIY and send it to a pro..


diy-what-the-big-deal-t12671.html#p83355