WD5000AAKS-00TMA0 PCB needs changing???

[hddguy]

i do have a sence of humor. Didnt find anything funny in this topic however. Carry on gents.

Which part has upset you? The part where professional advice was ignored? Or where user was advised to work on PCB without being told of any potential risks? The part where user still failed to get data, and has possibly damaged further and more delicate mechanics?

I am sure if you search through other topics, any topics relating to logical recovery, or software, is full of helpful suggestions from member here. Just maybe we are reluctant to offer advice where there is more chance of further damage and failure than of success. Is this really so bad that we do not want people to lose precious data, or incur thousands of dollars worth of costs from a botched attempt?

Sometimes, advice is not given for peoples own good. And sometimes, advice is given by people who have no clue about DR and the delicate working of a HDD.

Im sure you will agree with me when I say it is not much fun spending hours on a case damaged by a home users attempt to save money, and even less fun charging this same customer for all these hours which could have been avoided if good advice was followed?

I am not trolling, or quoting biblical references, or laughing at the expense of someones lost data. I give my opinion, offer advise where I can, but I dont agree with encouraging DIY because in my experience DIY = Data Loss.

Simple.

[jono-ats]

I thought my Biblical reference injected a bit of humor (albeit a bit sarcastic) into the debate . . . What's wrong with citing the Bible -- or any other major reference -- if the quote is apropos?

[Alexii]

Hddm8 , when it comes to logical recovery the list of DIY helpfull suggestions is pretty much limited to R-Studio or Hex. The rest will still need expensive equipment. Now about the reluctance - i can understand. But u need to give ppl some credit. If the person is smart enough to google his problem and get to the site - he is smart enough to understand the dangers of DIY recovery. If they are still wiling to take that step - why would we deny? I meen , u are fully in ur right to not share the information. For any reason. But why would u try to stomp down a person who IS sharing it? Mostly the line i see here is : The guy comes with an electorincal problem wich is relativly easy to fix in best case scenario and NON DIY in worst case scenario. Trying DIY carries the risk of pushing the case into NON DIY bracket. But there is a chance that 10 min with soldering iron will solve it. Suggestions and some info is given by a part of the forum urging the guy to seek DIY help. The guy decided to push on and try the DIY solution. Wich is given in detail by Frank. At this point all partys said what they wanted to say and outa be able to part in peace. EVEN in the event of the DIY gone horribly wrong and the data lost forever - its always a client call to make. And Frank is not in any way responsible for the failure.

At this point since ur advice to seek pro help was not taken - just let it go. Whats the point of sticking around to poke fun?

[mattbrad2]

Hddm8 , when it comes to logical recovery the list of DIY helpfull suggestions is pretty much limited to R-Studio or Hex. The rest will still need expensive equipment. Now about the reluctance - i can understand. But u need to give ppl some credit. If the person is smart enough to google his problem and get to the site - he is smart enough to understand the dangers of DIY recovery. If they are still wiling to take that step - why would we deny? I meen , u are fully in ur right to not share the information. For any reason. But why would u try to stomp down a person who IS sharing it? Mostly the line i see here is : The guy comes with an electorincal problem wich is relativly easy to fix in best case scenario and NON DIY in worst case scenario. Trying DIY carries the risk of pushing the case into NON DIY bracket. But there is a chance that 10 min with soldering iron will solve it. Suggestions and some info is given by a part of the forum urging the guy to seek DIY help. The guy decided to push on and try the DIY solution. Wich is given in detail by Frank. At this point all partys said what they wanted to say and outa be able to part in peace. EVEN in the event of the DIY gone horribly wrong and the data lost forever - its always a client call to make. And Frank is not in any way responsible for the failure.

At this point since ur advice to seek pro help was not taken - just let it go. Whats the point of sticking around to poke fun?

For the record, Alexii, I completely agree with you. However, I can see how some of the guys here can get frustrated.
That being said, "hanging around" as you say, just to poke fun of people is extremely immature. The old adage of "if you don't have anything good to say..." rings true here.

[pepe]

The problem is that there are more and more guys doing DIY on customers' drives. Then we face the results...

pepe

[Chazin]

It is too bad that I didn't catch this thread earlier. If you would have simply placed your hard drive in a freezer for a couple of hours, then take it out to watch an episode of Seinfeld, it likely would have fixed the drive.

On a more serious note. It is situations like these that most of the "true" data recovery gurus on this forum don't provide such advice for this very reason. If it was just a problem with the TVS, you were likely to pay less than $500 for the recovery. Now, you are looking at a damaged PCB that requires greater knowledge and tools, bringing the price up between $500 and $1000...assuming that there is no internal head or surface damage.

I believe it is always wiser to get a free (or low cost) professional assessment done first. If the price is too high, then take the risks.

Lol really. You talk with the air of authority of a HDD guru, but if you were a 'noob', people here would have taken an immediate bashing at you for suggesting the freezer method. So how come when a 'pro' suggests it, it works, when a DIYer suggests it (the freezer method), then it'll absolutely destroy your drive?

[BlackST]

Because Luke was ironic, not suggesting the freezer bullshit.

(I would have suggested something better and more professional instead : liquid nitrogen )

[Chazin]

He doesn't sound ironic or sarcastic at all. And tbh, I bet alot of people would try that method after reading his post.

[Schipper V]

I have a problem with my harddisk MDL: WD5000AAKS-00TMA0 DCM:dhnchv2chb
The PCB must be OK. I am in need of the heads of this disk.
Maybe we can work something out. I am in contact with a data recovery company that might help me whenever I have the correct spare heads.
The PCB of the drive might be of help for you.

[Alexii]

He doesn't sound ironic or sarcastic at all. And tbh, I bet alot of people would try that method after reading his post.

Read closer. On a more serious note ETC. He was sarcastic.

@ Schipper Exact model, date as close as possible DCM as close as possible. This will give u a chance that heads inside are compatible.

[pepe]

Hi Schipper,

We do have the correct parts and the technology to recover that drive. Alexii is right, without correct technology u've got only a chance for the head swap to be working.

pepe

[user_2020]

I've followed the steps, and it didn't work.

I've emailed the wonderful fzabkar but I'm still waiting on a reply.

Anyway, I did the job, but quite messily as these pictures will show:

http://img402.imageshack.us/gal.php?g=p1010687w.jpg

I fear my lack of a steady hand may have destroyed part of the board.
Or maybe it's the wire.
Or, hopefully, there's just something else I need to change/replace.
Or maybe my PSU just isn't powerful enough. fzabkar said that I would need a reliable power source. Reliable or not though, 400W should've done the trick.

According to your wiring pictures, the problem either may be a damaged PCB board (get as close enough possible model, and swap the 8 wire eeprom chip - if any), or the main problem may be that your wiring is a little too much.

What I mean is: by using such a big wire, and long lenth of it, if there was energy passed through the wire, it would probably be lost. Therefore, if you were to use a replacement 12V TVS capacitor, and very carefully wire them, the drive might even work. If not, then replace all the large big capacitors (usually about 2-3) that are close to the connectors, if else fails, then you may have damaged the circuit board - sometimes the circuit board from the same exact hard drive model with same firmware version might do the trick.

Therefore, get the 12V TVS from Digikey, Farnell, or Mouser, and replace the TVS capacitors using a butane soldering iron (you can buy them from The Home Depot, or other similar hardware stores - you do not need a large version of the butane torch - just get the small hand size, or the one you can hold with your fingers carefully). Get the version that gives you lots of different end tips you can use to correctly solder the capacitors - or buy more end soldering tips seperatelly. Also relax before, and while you are wiring, and very carefully with patience do the wiring.

Capacitors part #'s: SMBJ13A, SMBJ12A, SMAJ5.0A

I would not recommend using a wire to replace the broken 12V TVS capacitors, because if something else worse happens, you will probably do more damage to the circuit board - where if you were to replace the fried 12V TVS capacitors, there would be voltage protection on the circuit board.

Hope this helps.

Thank you very much.

[fzabkar]

I've been meaning to respond to this thread for a long time now, but every time I read it, I am disgusted by the sight of the worst elements of humanity revelling in an unfortunate person's misery. As someone who, for two years, has been tormented by a scumbag neighbour while other people laughed or turned away, I feel the pain and anger of the OP.

To suggest that I am in some way responsible for the OP's lack of soldering skills is both ridiculous and obscene. In fact, after a lengthy exchange of emails, it was evident that hedgehog's soldering was electrically sound, if not pretty. He had done nothing to exacerbate the actual fault.

The problem was that the Vcore supply had a short on the load side. All other supplies appeared to be OK, so there was no reason to suspect a preamp failure. Unfortunately, it appears that the initial overvoltage had not been contained by the 5V TVS diode, and had damage the core of the MCU. This is not an uncommon occurrence, as numerous posts in this, and other forums, will show.

Therefore, to suggest that the cost of data recovery has been multiplied by hedgehog's lack of DIY success (the word "failure" is inappropriate in this instance) is pure opportunism, intended to intimidate others who would wish to attempt this relatively easy, and usually successful, procedure.

In fact, data recovery in this case does not require access to the HDA. Although the ROM contents are unavailable, alternative ROM data can be used as "seeds" until the actual data can be retrieved from the SA. Then these data can be reprogrammed into the donor ROM.

I am sorry that I was unable to help hedgehog, as I am sorry that I am unable to help most people who come to HDD Guru, desperately hoping to avoid the high cost of professional recovery.

[Guy W HuggenBerg]

I've been meaning to respond to this thread for a long time now, but every time I read it, I am disgusted by the sight of the worst elements of humanity revelling in an unfortunate person's misery.

Fzabkar dont worry about those two sexually frustrated lowlifes:----> HDD Spaz and hddguy.

you are hero.

You clearly have saved a lot of drives and dollars with your unconditional replies, and clear information.

It is quite obvious that dogs will bark when someone touches their food

You are bringing the light to desperate people that are easy targets of the data recovery ripoff, when sometimes it is just a matter of changing some minor electronic components.

And it is a universal rule that FUD will get you in the hands of scum that want to take advantage from you.

Thx a lot for all your helpful support
Fzabkar

I made this account just to thank you, since you saved my data and 700 USD.