Hard drive circuit board - Sata II

Ok, I have a major dilemma here. My seagate SATA hard drive's circuit
board is toast. There is a black burn mark on it.
So, I did what anyone would do when they panic, I called DATA RECOVERY
and of course, it is going to be $450.00+ to recover, plus the cost of
a hard drive.
So, now being a person that doesn't have that kind of money lying
around and very much needing the data on the drive, I unscrewed the
circuit board and found that it is only burned on the top part - not
underneath and it looks like it is ok on the actual hard drive part -
no burn or blemishes. So, would I be right in assuming that if I got
an identical hard drive and switched circuit boards, I might be able
to recover this data?
The hard drive is not even recognized by the computer, so I know it is
not just a surface blemish, but I am unaware of the technical part of
the drive except to say that it is something that I would be able to
do with a screwdriver - just replacing one with the other. Now, it
sucks because I will be out $100.00, but not out $450.00+.
Has anyone attempted this? Any success stories or caveats?

"David D" <netrate (AT) yahoo (DOT) com> wrote

Ok, I have a major dilemma here. My seagate SATA hard drive's circuit
board is toast. There is a black burn mark on it.
So, I did what anyone would do when they panic, I called DATA RECOVERY
and of course, it is going to be $450.00+ to recover, plus the cost of
a hard drive.
So, now being a person that doesn't have that kind of money lying
around and very much needing the data on the drive, I unscrewed the
circuit board and found that it is only burned on the top part - not
underneath and it looks like it is ok on the actual hard drive part -
no burn or blemishes. So, would I be right in assuming that if I got
an identical hard drive and switched circuit boards, I might be able
to recover this data?
The hard drive is not even recognized by the computer, so I know it is
not just a surface blemish, but I am unaware of the technical part of
the drive except to say that it is something that I would be able to
do with a screwdriver - just replacing one with the other. Now, it
sucks because I will be out $100.00, but not out $450.00+.
Has anyone attempted this? Any success stories or caveats?

I've done it with IDE and it worked fine. I obtained an identical drive to
the old one.

Not sure on SATA but its gotta be worth a try + you still have a useable
piece of hardware if it does not..............though I suspect it will.

dj

David D <netrate (AT) yahoo (DOT) com> wrote in news:1179681498.184615.279090
@x18g2000prd.googlegroups.com:

Ok, I have a major dilemma here. My seagate SATA hard drive's circuit
board is toast. There is a black burn mark on it.
So, I did what anyone would do when they panic, I called DATA RECOVERY
and of course, it is going to be $450.00+ to recover, plus the cost of
a hard drive.
So, now being a person that doesn't have that kind of money lying
around and very much needing the data on the drive, I unscrewed the
circuit board and found that it is only burned on the top part - not
underneath and it looks like it is ok on the actual hard drive part -
no burn or blemishes. So, would I be right in assuming that if I got
an identical hard drive and switched circuit boards, I might be able
to recover this data?
The hard drive is not even recognized by the computer, so I know it is
not just a surface blemish, but I am unaware of the technical part of
the drive except to say that it is something that I would be able to
do with a screwdriver - just replacing one with the other. Now, it
sucks because I will be out $100.00, but not out $450.00+.
Has anyone attempted this? Any success stories or caveats?

Hi David.

There are a number of stories at the website below of people trying exactly
what you are proposing, with mixed reaults. Search for 'circuit' (without
the single quotes of course).

There are some other tips on the site to recover data from a dead drive,
but likely not very helpful for your situation.

http://www.handcraftedwebsites.com/n.../20040314.html

--
Alan Norton
Reviews: ABIT AN8 SLI, ECS P965T-A & Foxconn 975X7AB-8EKRS2H Mb's
Arizona Pics and Cute Animal Pics
http://www.mindspring.com/~anorton1/

I just need to find the same firmware right? I am going to the exact
same place to where I bought it originally - hopefully, they will have
some left over - if not, I saw some on ebay, but the firmware from
Ebay was 3.AAk (mine is 3.AAC).
I guess I am out nothing if it doesn;t work. I have read some people
had great results and others tried it and it didn't work.
Pecos, did you buy the new drive at the same time? Was all the
information on the drive sleeve the same from one drive to another?

Hi David.

There are a number of stories at the website below of people trying exactly
what you are proposing, with mixed reaults. Search for 'circuit' (without
the single quotes of course).

There are some other tips on the site to recover data from a deaddrive,
but likely not very helpful for your situation.

http://www.handcraftedwebsites.com/n.../20040314.html

--
Alan Norton
Reviews: ABIT AN8 SLI, ECS P965T-A & Foxconn 975X7AB-8EKRS2H Mb's
Arizona Pics and Cute Animal Picshttp://www.mindspring.com/~anorton1/

David D wrote:

I just need to find the same firmware right? I am going to the exact
same place to where I bought it originally - hopefully, they will have
some left over - if not, I saw some on ebay, but the firmware from
Ebay was 3.AAk (mine is 3.AAC).
I guess I am out nothing if it doesn;t work. I have read some people
had great results and others tried it and it didn't work.
Pecos, did you buy the new drive at the same time? Was all the
information on the drive sleeve the same from one drive to another?

Of course, you would not be sweating this if you had made regular
backups, including disk images, of the hard drive. All you would
have to do is to return the HD to Seagate for a warranty replacement
and you would eventually have 2 HD's.

Absolutely, but I am past that point and there is no sense in worrying
about what I could have done. In the future I will do that, of course
- lesson learned. But for now, I need to try and repair this drive.

Of course, you would not be sweating this if you had made regular
backups, including disk images, of the hard drive. All you would
have to do is to return the HD to Seagate for a warranty replacement
and you would eventually have 2 HD's.

David D <netrate (AT) yahoo (DOT) com> wrote in
news:1179685366.013194.271060 (AT) u36g2000prd (DOT) googlegroups.com:

I just need to find the same firmware right? I am going to the exact
same place to where I bought it originally - hopefully, they will have
some left over - if not, I saw some on ebay, but the firmware from
Ebay was 3.AAk (mine is 3.AAC).
I guess I am out nothing if it doesn;t work. I have read some people
had great results and others tried it and it didn't work.
Pecos, did you buy the new drive at the same time? Was all the
information on the drive sleeve the same from one drive to another?

<snip>

I don't have experience with this myself. I just remember reading about
it the other day when I was researching 'stiction' (I called it striction
incorrectly in alt.comp.hardware). :-(

According to Mike at this website (fourth story down),he says that even
with the same model and firmware, you would be lucky to get the swap to
work.

http://www.deadharddrive.com/stories.html

You can read the details, but he used to work for Western Digital and
seems credible.

There is a Seagate drive story in there too you might want to take a peek
at (Title is 'Blew two drives.....').

More info (Title is 'Older boards/drives more interchangeable') that this
will be almost impossible with a newer drive.

How old is the drive? From what I have read, any success you might have
by trying to swap the controller card would be higher with an older
drive, but even that could still be a big gamble.

--
Alan Norton
Reviews: ABIT AN8 SLI, ECS P965T-A & Foxconn 975X7AB-8EKRS2H Mb's
Arizona Pics and Cute Animal Pics
http://www.mindspring.com/~anorton1/

In alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt David D <netrate (AT) yahoo (DOT) com> wrote:

I just need to find the same firmware right? I am going to the exact
same place to where I bought it originally - hopefully, they will have
some left over - if not, I saw some on ebay, but the firmware from
Ebay was 3.AAk (mine is 3.AAC).
I guess I am out nothing if it doesn;t work. I have read some people
had great results and others tried it and it didn't work.
Pecos, did you buy the new drive at the same time? Was all the
information on the drive sleeve the same from one drive to another?

Actually not necessarily the same firmware.
What's important is that it's the same *drive*.
The firmware could be older or newer for the same drive, and still work.
Newer firmware would probably be better.

--
_____
/ ' / ™
,-/-, __ __. ____ /_
(_/ / (_(_/|_/ / <_/ <_

Frank,
Oh man, that is what I wanted to here. I will be buying the drive at
the same place, same serial number and everything. The P/N is the
problem now, it is 9BJ14G-300 and the newest drives are 9BJ14G-308. I
am hoping this won't make a difference either - but I really need to
save the data on the drive, witout spending the $450.00 on a
recovery...sucks to be me, everything is closed this weekend and
holiday monday...won't know until Tuesday!!
Have you tried it Frank and found it worked? Experience or just
educated guess?

On May 20, 4:19 pm, Frank McCoy <mcc... (AT) millcomm (DOT) com> wrote:

In alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt David D <netr... (AT) yahoo (DOT) com> wrote:

I just need to find the same firmware right? I am going to the exact
same place to where I bought it originally - hopefully, they will have
some left over - if not, I saw some on ebay, but the firmware from
Ebay was 3.AAk (mine is 3.AAC).
I guess I am out nothing if it doesn;t work. I have read some people
had great results and others tried it and it didn't work.
Pecos, did you buy the new drive at the same time? Was all the
information on the drive sleeve the same from one drive to another?

Actually not necessarily the same firmware.
What's important is that it's the same *drive*.
The firmware could be older or newer for the same drive, and still work.
Newer firmware would probably be better.

--
_____
/ ' / ™
,-/-, __ __. ____ /_
(_/ / (_(_/|_/ / <_/ <_

In alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt David D <netrate (AT) yahoo (DOT) com> wrote:

Frank,
Oh man, that is what I wanted to here. I will be buying the drive at
the same place, same serial number and everything. The P/N is the
problem now, it is 9BJ14G-300 and the newest drives are 9BJ14G-308. I

Um ... the serial numbers are *never* the same.
That's how the company tells *which* drive of millions of identical
drives *you* have. Serial-numbers are issued ... serially.
Starting with S/N 000001, the next 000002, etc., or something similar.
You preferably want one with the same *part number*.
Are you sure you didn't get the two mixed up?

The "300", versus "308" sounds like it might be a very minor model
change; but likely will still work. OTOH, if it actually *is* the
serial-number, then that means they were only 7 units apart on the
assembly-line.

am hoping this won't make a difference either - but I really need to
save the data on the drive, witout spending the $450.00 on a
recovery...sucks to be me, everything is closed this weekend and
holiday monday...won't know until Tuesday!!
Have you tried it Frank and found it worked? Experience or just
educated guess?

I used to work for Seagate in the Product Assurance Department.

I wrote the software to test disk-drives to see if they would meet the
desired specifications *before* they ever got put on the market.
Been a technician for longer than most people have been alive.
It's a *very* educated guess.

Ideally, you'd get another drive with the same part-number.
Failing that, a drive later in the same series; but with the same
internal works: Platters, heads, mechanism, and hardware.

Look both over before buying to make sure they have the same form-factor
for the board ... plugs, mounting, cables, connectors, and jumpers. If
the two PC boards *look* the same, the number of
heads/cylinders/sectors/overall-size is the same, and the model-numbers
are close, then it will probably work. If any don't match; then your
chances go WAY down in a gosh-awful rush.

*ASK* the people you're buying it from if you can look at the two drives
side-by-side; explaining exactly *what* you're going to do; and that you
don't expect to be able to return the drive afterwards. But, because of
that (not returning a drive you've mucked-with) you need to be as
certain as possible that you're getting the right one.

Most people, if you *explain* that to them, will understand the
situation. I've done similar things with other devices.

Just remember: Once you start pulling that board off the new drive,
*IT'S YOURS*. No refunds, no warranty. Let the people you're buying it
from know you realize this; and that's why you want to see the two
side-by-side first.

On May 20, 4:19 pm, Frank McCoy <mcc... (AT) millcomm (DOT) com> wrote:
In alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt David D <netr... (AT) yahoo (DOT) com> wrote:

I just need to find the same firmware right? I am going to the exact
same place to where I bought it originally - hopefully, they will have
some left over - if not, I saw some on ebay, but the firmware from
Ebay was 3.AAk (mine is 3.AAC).
I guess I am out nothing if it doesn;t work. I have read some people
had great results and others tried it and it didn't work.
Pecos, did you buy the new drive at the same time? Was all the
information on the drive sleeve the same from one drive to another?

Actually not necessarily the same firmware.
What's important is that it's the same *drive*.
The firmware could be older or newer for the same drive, and still work.
Newer firmware would probably be better.

--
_____
/ ' / ™
,-/-, __ __. ____ /_
(_/ / (_(_/|_/ / <_/ <_

--
_____
/ ' / ™
,-/-, __ __. ____ /_
(_/ / (_(_/|_/ / <_/ <_