# Would PCB swap for my dead Seagate 1tb 7200.11 (ST31000340as) would work?



## royair

Hi all 

i have the following hard drive:

- Seagate barracuda 7200.11 1tb
- *ST31000340AS*
- Firmware: *sd15*
- Series: *7200.11*
- P/N: *9bx158-303*
- Site code: *wuxisg*

i'm quite sure i had a short circuit on the PCB after (in my stupidity) i plugged in the hard drive to the computer while it was on!

i then heard some noise and smelled some burned smell.

after that - the computer refused to boot at all while the Hard rive was plugged in.
i then plugged out the hard drive and it boooted succesfuly

i guess the motherboard or the power supply do not respond when the PCB on the hard drive is short circuited

i took the hard drive to a DR company - and they gave me an extremely high quote which i cannot pay 

i'm trying to deal with it on the old way - maybe swapping the PCB would fix this issue.

i have tried to search google about swapping PCB's - but there are so many opninions so i need to know for sure some things:

1. would swaping the PCB in my case might solve this issue - and saving my data?
2. if so - what exactly should i be looking for when searching for a matched PCB?
for example: should i be looking for a matched *site code*, *P/N* firmware? are they important for the match to be successfull?
3. can you point me to a decent place where i can buy these spare parts?

thanks in advance

roy


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## raptor_pa

PCB swap on newer drives often fails since some of the drive adaptives, parameters specific to on drive, are stored inNVRam on the board. If you look at the burned area, this is a TVS transient Voltag surpressor diode, that is burned. You can simply unslder one side of it and lift that side off the board and the drive should spin up so you can rescue your data. Do not use the drive is this state for any more than recovery. Hopefully the TVS didn't cause any damage to other traces when it blew. And yes, you hot plugging drives is a very common cause of of overvotage, which is what these devices are designed to prevent. 
If that doesn't work, then you can always try a board swap. Most places we get parts only sell full drives, which is what you want anyway. There is no such thing as spare parts in terms of new parts, they are all used, and you want the ful drive so you can test the donor drive before you swap the board so you know the replacement board is good. Matching on Seagates..
Model Number
Firmware 
Site code
Date code close ( there are several on-line apps that translate the seagate date code to a real date - should be within a couple of months either way - boards change all the time )
Config level and config code should match if the drive has them. 

Again, even with all those matches, the board may not work based on the ROM. It's kind of a shot in the dark. 
To find vendors, google used hard drives and start calling. The price will be higher than you expect whenever you start matching all thsoe parameters, those drive usually go for 250 - 300 cheaper on Ebay, but I prefer to buy from vendors so I know it matches correctly and the drive is less likely to be DOA.


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## royair

Dear Raptor

i gotta tell you somthing - you are the best!

i have been posting to several forums - everyone gave me non-related expensive advices

you are the only one who really nailed it

i did exactly as you said - taking the TVS out, and boom!, HDD works just great.


no need to swap CHIP ROM, or PCB - just taking the TVS out - and problem is solved

you have just saved me 500$

thanks again


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## raptor_pa

We do that all the time in the clean room for customers. Remember the warning tho, the drive is running without protection.. get your data off to another drive and replace the drive, any over voltage, brown out etc could cause damage to the more sensitive components that the TVS is designed to protect. The drive is living on borrowed time basically. The TVS handles very minor voltage spikes - it clamps then returns to an open condition after the voltage drops off, those voltage surges are enough to take out the MCU, preamp, or motor controller. Those aren't quite as easy to fix - and a LOT more expensive LOL.


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## achitnis

Hey,

I have the same drive (firmware SD81, Date Code 09084, Site Code WUXISG), originally in a USB2 attached Maxtor Basics external package. Looks like a surge took it out, because even though it has been on my table, attached to a Mac Mini, for a long time (i.e. not thrown around  ), it worked fine till I shut down one night - next morning the machine refused to recognize the drive.

Took it to Seagate, who said it's in warranty, signed off on allowing me to get data recovery done before Warranty Replacement. The DR guys I went to claimed the media was damaged and that there was a "clicking sound" - which (as it turned out) was untrue: no clicking sound. I figured out that they had basically read some web page that described such a problem, and were trying to make more money than I can pay.

They *claim* to have tried another logic board on the drive, but I seriously doubt that, and in any case (as seen on this page) swapping PCBs isn't the answer. IAC, I took the drive back - it now sits on my desk pending a decision. The drive is a backup drive (with Time Machine), but there is some data on this drive that is irreplacable.

I haven't taken off the logic board yet, but am tempted to do so now. Before I do - is there anything else anyone can think of? A test to verify that the logic board is dead, or that there is media damage?

The drive spins up clean, there are NO clicking sounds, just a nice healthy whine of a the drive spinning. There is no sign of external damage, though if there are smoked parts, they'd show only if I unscrew the PCB.

From what I have read around the net, this is a VERY common fault with this drive, so I am quite hopeful about recovering data, but if there is any advice here for me - I'd love to hear it.

p.s. I live in Bangalore, India, so my options are fairly limited.

Thanks in advance!


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## raptor_pa

Did you chack the serial number online at Seagate support to see if it needs the firmware update? sounds like a bricked drive, but I would expect if you talked to Seagate they would have determined it was the firmware bug, don't think your version of firmware was affected, but still wouldn't hurt to run the serial to make sure. If the drive spins up, not likely to be the TVS issue, they usually result in a no-spin condition. Did you try running Seatools diagnostics against the drive? No biggie to pull the board for inspection, all the connections with the HD assembly are pressure contacts. Also try r-studio demo to see if it can see any data n the drive. Does it show in BIOS?


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## achitnis

Hi, thanks for the quick reply.

No, doesn't show in the BIOS, and yeah, the symptoms are clearly that of a bricked drive, thanks to the issue mentioned here:

http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/1050374/seagate-barracudas-7200-11-failing

Question now is: if data cannot be recovered in a traditional way, can Seagate reset the drive and make it functional long enough to pull the data off? They have offered me a replacement drive under warranty, but obviously my data is more precious.


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## raptor_pa

If the drive is listed as affected and the failure is the firmware then they will reset, update and return the drive operational. Any other failure they will charge for the recovery. Not sure about their pricing, but a 1 TB drive for us for a physical recovery starts at about $1900 US. They may be cheaper since it is their drive .


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## zdrad

Hi Raptor_pa

I've got a ST31500341AS which appears to have the TVS blown... it's close to the same place as the one Royair posted the pic of.

I will unsolder that chip and see if the drive spins up. IF that doesn't work I understand I can try ROM swap to the donor board I have. But, I'm still stuck as to which chip is the ROM. There are 3 chips each with 4x4 connectors that I'm guessing could be the ROM. Can you give me an idea of how to identify the Rom on a pcb? 

THanks - btw, i'm new to the 'hardware' repair part of failed drives.


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## raptor_pa

Can you post a clear closeup pic of the PCB component side so I can get a look at the chips? Any chip numbers associated with each one will help too if it's not too clear in the pic.


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## zdrad

Thanks... here are images of the board with the chips numbered and below are the numbers/symbols on the chips. I cannot post all of the individual pics of the chips in one post, but I can do 2 more posts and show them if that is best.
Dean

btw, I did remove the 'blown' chip, but still cannot boot or get power to the drive. 

Chip 1
25FW408A(or4)
04
8S614

Chip2
FHJHAX
FDFS
2P75(6?)3Z

Chip3
4620
SAO(delta symbol)
the 'S' is sort of an S symbol amd the 
w86k

chip4
FVJDBR
4274


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## raptor_pa

Best guess at this point will be chip 3 but I'm not returning google results on any of the numbers rom above. #3 is where I would start though. Make sure the Smooth chip matches donor and patient both also. Before doing that tho, check the other diode, beside the one you removed, with a VOM on diode check, it should be open in one driection, short in teh other. Short both ways will be bad. There are two TVS diodes on the board, one 12VDC one 5VDC, since one was blown apart, the other may well be blown but just not showing the same extreme physical damage. This makes more sense since you aren't getting any spin up withthe one removed.


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## rkoutnik

Hi Raptor_pa,

You just saved my a hole lot of time and $$$. had an ST38011A with a burnt TVS adn was thinkinh about trying to swap the PCB, but after reading your replay I removed the TVS adn was able to recover ALL my data.

THANKS!!!!ray:


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## zdrad

Thanks from me too Raptor_pa.

I was able to swap the ROM... it was chip 1, and have been able to recover the data! Thanks tons!


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## mattcool

This is my first post here.I have a seagate barracuda 160 gig hd which was fried as a result of my fault (tried to plug it in while power up).2 months passed and i did everything what i could to recover the data (board swapping etc)
but nothing worked till I found this forum I removed the tvm diode and BANG!!!! it worked
THANKS A TONN to raptor_pa.


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## thumperstrauss

My Seagate hard drive stopped being detected in the BIOS. I'm not sure if it also stopped spinning up at that point or if it was the result of the problem with the firmware which lots of other Seagate users have experienced (BSY error).

But now the hard drive no longer spins up. No sounds with sata power attached. This might have been caused by me plugging in the hard drive power with the computer turned on.

See the attached pics. There doesn't appear to be any physical damage like in the photos from the original poster. Can you confirm?

I was also thinking of getting a new PCB. But I read your comments and am willing to try other things first. Any suggestions you have for greatly appreciated. I thankful for your post.

*Here are my specs:*
Seagate 7200.11 750GB
ST31000340AS
P/N: 9BX156-303
Firmware: SD15
Date code: 09102
Site code: KRATSG
WWN: 5000C5000DC6BD95


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## raptor_pa

Check the two diodes above the power connector ( black 'chips' with just one solder pad on each end ) with a multimeter set on diode check. They should both be shorted ( beep ) in one direction adn open ( no beep ) in the other, if either is shorted in both directions, unsolder one sie from teh board and the drive should spin up again. This is very common when plugging in hot. These are TVS diodes, designed to protect the rest of the board from voltage spikes. Also check your drives serial number on Seagate's support site. Some 7200.11 drives with SD15 firmware had an issue with 'bricking' which could be your original problem. Seagate is fixing disks with the BSY error that were affected, but with the blown TVS now, they may balk at that, but at least it will tell you if there is a potential for it to be the firmware issue.


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## thumperstrauss

Thanks for this quick reply. I've never used a multimeter and did some research. Would a generic one like this do the job?

Re the other bricking problem, I am aware and in fact got all the tools to do the fix as YouTube - Seagate 1TB BSY error fix 7200.11 Firmware SD15 ST31000340AS Once I get power back to the drive, I'll do the fix. I would have sent it to Seagate to fix (for free) but I bought an OEM version of the hard drive (at Best Buy) and Seagate won't fix those.


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## raptor_pa

Yes it will, also for checking diodes, if you are in the U.S. and have a Harbor Freight nearby, they have one for about $7.00. When doing the reset using the terminal commands, I'll reiterate as every other source doeas, the commands are case sensitive, wrong case can cause additional damage.


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## thumperstrauss

1. Do I have to remove the diode from the board before doing the test?
2. Which side of the diode is positive and which is negative?
3. I got the multimeter shown here. What setting should I put it on?


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## raptor_pa

1)No test the diode in the circuit
2) For this test, the polarity is irrelevant - you will test it both directions. Looking for short in one direction, open in the other ( good indication ) if it reads short in both directions then it is bad.
3) That one has no dedicated diode test position I can see - I would test it at 200ohm and 2000ohm - unless the docs with it have some specific recomendation for testing diodes. It's a little tougher, since the diode test position in most meters has a beep for short - no beep for open, and diodes by there nature have a little leakage back - that's why you want to test on both ranges.


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## thumperstrauss

Just to be clear, is the 200ohm and 2000ohm setting at approximately 1 o'clock and 2 o'clock on the dial? See image here.

That's what I tried but the meter shows a reading of "1" before during and after touching the diode (from both sides).


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## raptor_pa

Short the leads together and se what the dead short indicator is, also check the docs for the meter and see if '1' indicates dead short ( should be 0.0 or close ) or if 1 is the OL Over limit. 
As far as location that is correct. Did you check the docs for ideas on Diode checking?


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## FunkyAardvark

raptor_pa thank you - have just removed my own burnt out chip - new access to dead HDD is most welcome

Oh well, new HDD to copy to soon 

1.3TB of data = slllllllllllllllllllllllllooooooooooooooooooooooow


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## thumperstrauss

I bought another multimeter that had the diode check function. 

Diode #1 (the black rectangular one on top of its pair) 
- Gives a reading of 604 with black lead on left and red lead on right.
- Gives a reading of 1 with red lead on left and and black lead on right--however, it flashes once 604 for a half second.

Diode #2 (the black rectangular one on the bottom of its pair)
- Gives a reading of 430 with black lead on left and red lead on right.
- Gives a reading of 1 with red lead on left and and black lead on right.

Can you help me interpret these results?


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## raptor_pa

Those look about right for functional diodes.


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## jrkernel

Hi Raptor_pa,

I have a problem similar to the original posting. As in the attached pictures it is severely burned (over the night) and the power connector is also partially melted down, so it seems hard to power this board on.

Fortunately I have another drive working ordered together. I wonder whether there could be a good chance to make it work if I change the PCBs of these drives and whether there are things that I'd better to know before to swap them.

I read that some data are stored on the board and others mentioned HDA, so I may not be successful even though I have the right PCB..

Are such on-board data specific to each hard disk? 
I hope the case that the disks from the same factory have the same data so that these PCBs can be swapped.

Barracuda 7200.11 1000Gbytes
S/N 6QJ01R4N
ST31000340AS
P/N 9BX158 – 303
Firmware: SD15
Data Code: 09106 
Site Code: SUZHSG
WWN : 5000C5000E1C37E8

Best regards


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## thumperstrauss

raptor_pa said:


> Those look about right for functional diodes.


So, just to be clear, does that mean my diodes are fine and is likely not the source of the symptom of a non-spinning hard drive?


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## raptor_pa

@jrkernel, please start a new thread, this is getting too busy to keep users and responses separate, support is provided on a per user basis not an issue basis. Your issue may be slightly different and we don't want people getting confused and trying wrong solutions  Thanks!
For the donor to have any chance, you need to match model number (ST31000340AS ) Site code, Date code must be close ( you can google 'seagate date code' for online apps that will translate the code to the readable date ) The firmware must be SD15 and matching the first three of the SN would be best, but often not possible.
With the damage to the board, I have a fear that the overvoltage may have gotten to teh preamp or other components on the board. That is ione of the nastier burns we've seen. Can you get a pic of the other side of the PCB? That is about the right location for a TVS, but may be something else, and it will give us a chance to look at the other chips. 
The drive specific information is exactly that specific to the individual drive. Items included will be the bias voltage of the heads, P-List defect list, if the Service Area of the drive is not able to be located at the 'normal' area of the disk due to bad sectors, then the starting location of that will be written to the chip also. Without being able to read the firmware stored in the SA the drive will not be able to init. 
If the bias voltages are similar between the two drives, and the SA is located in the same spot, then it may be readable. The question becomes what took the drive out? Also, if the preamp is damaged, or possibly the preamp is what failed and caused the damage, then you could also damage the new board. Generally some type of overvoltage/overcurent issue is needed to burn that badly.


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## raptor_pa

@thumperstrauss
It doesn't look like the Diodes are the issue. 
You can remove the PCB and connect with the serial connection as spcified for the fix and then post a capture of the terminal log. You should come up to a prompt showing the init level ( >F >T etc )
To test you could try a donor board and see if it can spin up the drive. This will show if the motor and control circuits are OK. Right now all you want to see id if the new board will spin up the drive so use a piece of business card type paper between teh head stack contacts and the PCB. These are not the four contacts in the ceter near the hub, these are the motor contacts. The head stack contacts are two rows of pins coming through the had case under the pcb, they will contact two rows of solder pads on the underside of the PCB. This will prevent a bad preamp from damaging the heads, or a mismatch on the PCB from damaging the heads.


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## svallarian

Thanks for your help raptor_pa. I tested the diodes on my dead 1tb, and they both tested good.

Is there anything else to try? (beside a board swap, which i'm wary of now that you mention that they are storing parameters on the board itself)

If anyone else is confused as I was about testing with a meter check out this site on Circuits


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## jrkernel

Thank you, raptor_pa! I will start a new thread one when I get the picture of the other side and a donor drive. I need to get a permission from my boss.


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## Mongorat427

achitnis said:


> Hey,
> 
> I have the same drive (firmware SD81, Date Code 09084, Site Code WUXISG), originally in a USB2 attached Maxtor Basics external package. Looks like a surge took it out, because even though it has been on my table, attached to a Mac Mini, for a long time (i.e. not thrown around  ), it worked fine till I shut down one night - next morning the machine refused to recognize the drive.
> 
> Took it to Seagate, who said it's in warranty, signed off on allowing me to get data recovery done before Warranty Replacement. The DR guys I went to claimed the media was damaged and that there was a "clicking sound" - which (as it turned out) was untrue: no clicking sound. I figured out that they had basically read some web page that described such a problem, and were trying to make more money than I can pay.
> 
> They *claim* to have tried another logic board on the drive, but I seriously doubt that, and in any case (as seen on this page) swapping PCBs isn't the answer. IAC, I took the drive back - it now sits on my desk pending a decision. The drive is a backup drive (with Time Machine), but there is some data on this drive that is irreplacable.
> 
> I haven't taken off the logic board yet, but am tempted to do so now. Before I do - is there anything else anyone can think of? A test to verify that the logic board is dead, or that there is media damage?
> 
> The drive spins up clean, there are NO clicking sounds, just a nice healthy whine of a the drive spinning. There is no sign of external damage, though if there are smoked parts, they'd show only if I unscrew the PCB.
> 
> From what I have read around the net, this is a VERY common fault with this drive, so I am quite hopeful about recovering data, but if there is any advice here for me - I'd love to hear it.
> 
> p.s. I live in Bangalore, India, so my options are fairly limited.
> 
> Thanks in advance!


Exactly what does the clicking sound mean. My drive made that sound several times before it died. It took me awhile to figure out what was wrong because the computer would not boot with the drive plugged in. Luckily I have a dual boot on 2 seperate HDs and found the bad one by the process of elimination. If I can do the diode mod I may be able to recover my info. Same 1tb 7200.11 drive. Thanks J.R.


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## raptor_pa

Clicking has three general causes. head failure, preamp failure, platter damage. When you say the computer won't boot, can you describe how far into the boot process it gets? If it fails to power on, then it could be the diode. If the drive spins up, it is likely NOT a diode issue. The blown diode is caused by an overvoltage condition - a power supply issue, voltage spike, or internal short in the drive. Make sure before you try anything you verify the diodes with a meter as above in the thread. My only concern on your drive if it is a blown diode would be the possibility of a shorted preamp. Removing the diode will remove any protection and will likely smoke the preamp completely and that could cause severe platter damage. Your call to check and try the diode if it is blown, but you could render the drive unrecoverable even by a pro.


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## Mongorat427

raptor_pa said:


> Clicking has three general causes. head failure, preamp failure, platter damage. When you say the computer won't boot, can you describe how far into the boot process it gets? If it fails to power on, then it could be the diode. If the drive spins up, it is likely NOT a diode issue. The blown diode is caused by an overvoltage condition - a power supply issue, voltage spike, or internal short in the drive. Make sure before you try anything you verify the diodes with a meter as above in the thread. My only concern on your drive if it is a blown diode would be the possibility of a shorted preamp. Removing the diode will remove any protection and will likely smoke the preamp completely and that could cause severe platter damage. Your call to check and try the diode if it is blown, but you could render the drive unrecoverable even by a pro.


With the drive pluged in it makes it to the first screen with the drives being recognized and never makes it to the OS choice screen. This is when the clicking can be heard. Unplugged the computer boots right up. Im pretty sure it dosnt spin but is getting power.


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## raptor_pa

Verify the spin and see if the drive is identified in BIOS


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## Mongorat427

Yes the drive is identified in BIOS. I think it is spinning but not sure. With it plugged in it still wont boot up. I even went into setup and made sure my other boot drive was listed as first boot device.


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## Warnhols

Like many people out there, I also had a crashed Seagate St31000340AS drive. It happened when a series of short power outages blew out my computer's power supply and other components. 

Putting the drive in another computer, or just a power supply, would immediately cause the power supply to shut down.

I spent about a year looking (not too thoroughly) for answers that would help me...short of a $550 quote to get the data back from this drive...family pictures that I was too much of a bonehead to back up.

I finally came across this thread the other day. My circuit board shows no physical signs of the damage that some here have posted, but I thought "what the heck."

Long story short...once I removed the 2 TVS diodes and I was able to hook the board to a power supply without tripping it. I put the logic board back on the drive and I could now hear a good sounding spin up. I currently have it connected to my laptop through a SATA-USB cable and I am copying the data to a "safe" place!

The details you posted and clear descriptions were simply excellent. Thanks so much for the assistance!


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## puckman

Really informative thread. It's been really helpful in eliminating possible causes on my ST3750330AS (9BX156-303) which is dead ( no spin-up). raptor_pa thanks for your replies to the other posters here. I can see they're appreciative of your patient and knowledgable replies. The thread here has been helpful and hopefully will lead me onward in my journey to a successful solution .


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## SlyBrood7

So I have the dreaded Seagate st31000340as. One day I turned my on desktop computer, and the drive was not there. I took the drive out of my case and observed that it was still getting power, and I could feel the drive spinning nicely. Did some research, is a common firmware brick. Not wanting to void any sort of warranty by preforming this update myself(which i am fully capable of doing) I called up seagate and they told me to go through their I386 corporation. I paid ups to package and ship the drive. When I386 received my hard-drive, they said there was a mechanical faliure (stuck heads), this must have happened during shipping. Gave me a quote of 1900$!!!! So I asked them to send the drive back b/c I cannot afford that. I observed that the drive while powered up makes a strong vibrating noise every 2-3 seconds. Common symptoms of stuck read/write heads?? I removed the PCB board to inspect if any of the diodes visually looked fried, seemed fine.

I've read online that i can try to freeze the hard-drive for about 2 hours and try to get the heads to un-seize. typical expansion and contraction of metal under extreme temperature change. Other suggestions include slapping the drive while its on and running with your hand, just strong enough to break and egg. At that point if I heard the drive spinning up nicely, I would preform my own Pcb Bios update using the method show above on youtube.

Does anyone have any suggestions? If the freezer does not work, should I send my drive into a data recovery center? Which recovery center is recommended? Should I try opening up the drive myself within the confines of a makeshift box clean room, to try and un-stick whatever is stuck?

The data on the drive is priceless and I must recover it!


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## raptor_pa

If it is priceless, then send it out, freezing can cause more damage. Freeing heads that have seized from 'stiction' even for pros often causes the stuck head to be ripped from the armature and it remains on the platter. $1900 for a 1 TB drive is about right cost wise, You might get it for something closer to $1200 - $1500 by a few recovery shops, but it's not cheap. If the drive needs parts, a donor will probably cost somewhere in the $300 range, and it's not unusual with heads to need two donors to complete the recovery. If you must do it yourself, then don't freeze or smack the drive. General routine in a pro shop is to open the drive in a clean room, then rotate the platter in the direction of the sweep of the head stack arm until the head comes loose. The problem will be if the head that is stuck is on one of the middle platter surfaces, it is all but impossible to see if the head comes free or is torn from it's mount and still sticking to the platter. And you can't remove individual platters to inspect it or you lose the alignment of the platters and have a permanent brick...


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## SlyBrood7

thanks raptor_pa your truly an knowledgeable guy with hard-drive problems. I found a great cite that specifically deals with these drives, they quoted me at 950$!!! http://www.datacent.com/datarecovery/hdd/seagate/ST31000340AS. I will post again after I get my drive back, they are allowing me to send an empty drive so that they can back my data up on that one.


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## raptor_pa

Very good price. Let us know how it works out.


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## Pao88

@ Master Raptor... glad that I have found you... lol...

anyhow... i'm completely noob about soldering and stuff... can you please post a procedures on how to remove the burned diode??

I have 1TB ST31000528as (firmware CC37)

I wanted to try to attemp a PCB replacement but still you need to swap the ROM chips right??? And doing so may require you to reformat the drive AFAIK...  and what's worst than what I have anticipated is that I can't find a CC37 firmware anymore... it's all CC38. So I think my last resort is to remove the diode. Can I still RMA (its a 3 months old hard drive on enclosure, along with 30,000+ photo with it which I would like to save) it if I removed the burned diode?? Thanks


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## raptor_pa

Probably won't be able to RMA the drive. PCB swap will need the ROM chip moved, and will need the firmware to match. Have you tested the diode with a multimeter, or is it showing physically obvious damage? What are the symptoms your drive is exhibiting


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## Pao88

raptor_pa said:


> Probably won't be able to RMA the drive. PCB swap will need the ROM chip moved, and will need the firmware to match. Have you tested the diode with a multimeter, or is it showing physically obvious damage? What are the symptoms your drive is exhibiting



It's just I left it overnight without a voltage regulator so literally, I just plug my external drive directly to an outlet... when I woke up... hard disk wont turn on and when I plugged it into my pc, the part of the diode lit a lil... then when I came to see the PCB... the only burned material there is diode... too bad I dont have a meter here to check... As far as im concerned... the one with the smelly and has only burns are the 2 diodes... 

How do i remove it master raptor?? TIA


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## raptor_pa

Use a slodering iron to desolder one side of the diode and lift it gently to open the connection to the board. You only need to lift one side.


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## Pao88

Kindly look closely to the burned diodes near the power connector.. what can you comment about it master raptor??

so I think i'll be needing a 30w soldering iron?? So the way to remove it is to desoldner one side of it and lift gently right? After I lift it gently, uhh, should i remove it?? as in like pull it of the pcb?? 

TIA ray:


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## raptor_pa

Those are not the TVS diodes, the diodes are the two larger rectangular devices between the burn mark and the hynix chip.Those are likely to be 0 ohm resistors acting as fuses or fuses. Are ther any markings on those devices you can see? ( normally a '0' ( zero) or 'Z' )


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## Pao88

raptor_pa said:


> Those are not the TVS diodes, the diodes are the two larger rectangular devices between the burn mark and the hynix chip.Those are likely to be 0 ohm resistors acting as fuses or fuses. Are ther any markings on those devices you can see? ( normally a '0' ( zero) or 'Z' )


that's a bad news indeed... :sigh:

There's no marking.. aside from the p1 and label of the TVS diode... and I think does burned resistors are what they call the (BLACK FUSE) right???

How do I start the hard drive if the fuse are burned?? Any quick fix master raptor... 

here's the closer pic:


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## raptor_pa

First question is if you have any idea why they went. Connecting or disconnecting while the system was powered on? Voltage spike etc? You can jumper them out with a couplw of 2 picoAmp fuses, but if something else on the board caused the problem, then you would just blow them, or something else on the board. Fuses only go like that on an overvoltage or short circuit condition.


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## Pao88

raptor_pa said:


> First question is if you have any idea why they went.


I'm just using it as an external drive, plug with my friends laptop and the external drive is plug directly on the outlet, I slept at my friends place... I'm just the only one left in the room-locked... and when I woke up... it's dead... I suspect a voltage spike nor a power surges... 

"You can jumper them out with a couplw of 2 picoAmp fuses, but if something else on the board caused the problem, then you would just blow them, or something else on the board."

^what do you mean by that sir? Sorry for being noob, i'm not into electronics and pcb component stuff sir..


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## raptor_pa

If you want to recover data, you can get a couple small fuses at an electronics store in the 2 - 5 pico amp range and solder the fuses across the terminals of the blown resistors. If data is not what want, but rather want to repair the disk to continue to use it, then you would need to match the resistors value, tho in that case you would be better off to return the disk for replacement if it is still under warranty. You could replace the board, but would need to move the ROM ( one of the 8 legged chips - you would have to google the numbers of the chips to determine which was a flash ROM ) Let us know if you want to do that so we can let you know what needs to be matched to find a suitable donor board. There are PSB vendors who will do the ROM swap for you for an additional charge.


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## Pao88

LOL, the worst than I thought...  



There are two totally burned fuses and the other one is affected, so total of three? Therefore i'll buy 3, remove those 3 fuses and then resolder the things that i'm going to buy, the 2-5 pico amp range small fuses (wait, what exactly are the fuses I needed??).

It's seven months old so it still has warranty?? Does the procedure (of tampering the fuses, changing them) would void the warranty?? 


And there are two 8-legged chips... the one on the 12'clock and on the 9'clock... which is which??

Thanks for the support sir raptor sir.  Much appreciated. Looking forward to your reply


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## raptor_pa

Yes replacing the components will void the warranty. The fuses are for recovery only, you would need to match the resistors for long term repair. As far as the chips, if you google the numbers on the chips, the search results will indicate which of the two chips id a flash rom, this is the one to move.


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## Pao88

Big thanks raptor, i'll let you know guys if I was able to recover my data, i'll ask a friend whos indeed good at this electronic stuff. be back on june master raptor. thanks again  LONG live to this thread


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## raptor_pa

Good luck and let us know how it works out!


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## garypd

Thanks very much Raptor. You've saved me heaps!

I have a Seagate 1.5TB hard drive 7200.11 model that wouldn't spin. Before coming across your post, I was planning on buying another new drive of the same spec and replacing the PCB.

After reading your post, I found the faulty diode, got it removed and it now works like a charm. I live in India and the electronics store I went to didn't have the correct size Torx screwdriver, so I bought myself a screwdriver kit for Rs.250 (~$5). Took the PCB off myself and since I don't have a soldering iron, took the PCB back for checking which diode was faulty and having the faulty diode removed. That cost me a further Rs.100 ($2). So for $7 my drive is operating again and I've scored a Torx screwdriver set for my troubles!

I'm now on the hunt for a diode to replace the one that has been removed so I can use the drive as normal without worrying about it not being protected.


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## raptor_pa

Glad it helped! Replacement is critical before you use the drive, another spike will now hit the devices the diode protected and cause damage that is much tougher and more expensive to recover.


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## Joanne38

Hi raptor_pa, 

Just a quick question, if burnt out TVS diode is totally removed, can I then put it all back in the casing, plug in, switch on then try and retrieve all of my data?? Or should I buy a SATA USB cable? Sorry I too have been looking for nearly over 6mths for a cheaper rescue of my data and yes I am not that brilliant when dealing with pc components ..


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## raptor_pa

So long as you are confident that the power supply is stable you can. Once you remove the TVS diode, then you remove any overvoltage protection. You just have to be sure that the issue is the TVS diode with the above tests.


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## Joanne38

Hi raptor_pa "overvoltage protection" please could you tell me what, where and how do I remove this :4-dontkno. I appreciate your help, once I have done all this what signs or sounds from the drive should I be wary off when it is up and running such as clicking etc? Thanks


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## raptor_pa

First of all, post a clear closeup picture of the component side of the circuit board, as well as model number of the the drive and we'll go from there.


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## Joanne38

Here is a photo of the pbs as you can see one of the burnt diodes was taken out.


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## Joanne38

Oh sorry I forgot to give you the specs and info of the drive too  Here they are Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 750Gb STX - ST31000340AS (B) Thanks 
Jo


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## raptor_pa

Yes it looks like a pretty good blowout. If the diode is removed then you should be good to test the drive and see if it is initialized. If the preamp is damaged, you will likely hear a soft clicking. Also keep aware for 'burning electronics' smells.


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## Joanne38

Hi raptor_pa,

Its spinning up, no burning smells but a soft clicking can be heard anything else I can do ( Is recognised on computer all data is there I copied one file and it took over 40 mins to copy onto my new external harddrive and the size was only 1gb 

Jo


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## raptor_pa

Not much else, take the time and copy off the most critical data. I have done recoveries that took a whole lot longer to run, like a 13 GB drive that took 4.5 days. if you are reading data you never asttempt anything else


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## Joanne38

Cool! Anything to save my data, Thank you for all your time raptor_pa, you have been a great help, and saved me hundreds of pounds too, I'd kiss ya if I could :grin:

Take care


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## kuolas

I've read all there is on this forum and other sites about PCB swap and TVS Diodes, very interesting indeed, especially *raptor_pa* comments.

My own experience is with a Maxtor ST3160215AS Firmware 3.AAD. The power source had a faulty capacitor in the 5V rail (3300uF blown out), that killed the HDD. Worth noting is that the drive PCB started to make noise when on, I first thought that was the MOBO buzzer POST codes, but no it was the drive's PCB. Maybe the coils in the PCB started to make noise because of the ripple in the 5V rail, don't know for sure.

Now I'm looking for a replacement board for this HDD

But... This ripple could cause more damage than a simple overvolt?


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## raptor_pa

I have seen seagates with the coils blown out, The ripple might, since it is actually AC getting onto the DC line, you could probably have ripple without exceeding the clamping voltage of the TVS. Wouldn't hurt though to check the TVS diodes with a multi-meter just to be sure.


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## bain64

Love you raptor! You saved all of my personal financial spreadsheets! I started with a dead drive and an angry wife. Once I finally found your post it took 10 seconds with a multimeter, and 10 more with a soldering iron to bring my seagate back to life by removing the TVS diode. 

I'm tempted to send it in for warranty, but they probably wouldn't like that. 

You rock raptor_pa.


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## raptor_pa

Probably not with the missing diode LOL...


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## opsknight

I have a Seagate ST3750330AS 750G Barracuda, that I pulled out of my Free Agent Pro..thinking the board or connections on the Free Agent Pro had gone bad.

I can see it through my USB/SATA adapter, in Disk Management, but the drive can't be brought online or be seen in the Bios. I did hook up another board form another Barracuda I have and the Bios did see it, but as the roms etc..were not compatible, I couldn't access the drive. The thing spins up and sounds okay.

I don't see any damage to the board or diodes. I am not sure what to do with it. I would like the data, but as a certified desktop tech, I refuse to pay 100's to 1000's of dollars for this. I just don't have alot of HDD experience. 

I believe its just a bad logic board on this thing, but not sure how to get one that will work. The board it came with looks pretty clean to me.

Any Advise?


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## raptor_pa

That's why recovery is so ex[pensive, it's a long learning curve  If the drive spins with the original board it is not the diodes. What is the firmware version? This is a 7200.11 drive some of them have a known firmware issue. This sounds like the BSY error. You can fix it yourself, but do it wrong and you can brick the drive for good. A PCB swap will NOT fix this issue. While adaptives are stored on the PCB, the part of the firmware causing this issue is on the platters in the SA area. Go to support.seagate.com and go to the firmware update checker, enter your serial number and if it says a firmware update is needed, download, but don't try to install it. The update won't take until the BSY error is fixed. Let us know how this turns out and I'll point you to the DIY fix if appropriate. We fix three or four of these a week in the lab. It's not hard, but tou need to be able to follow instructions precisely, or you will have a 500GB doorstop  Are you seeing the correct capacity in Disk Management thru USB? I would guess it is just being seen as a USB mass storage device if BIOS can't ID the drive, there is no way it will be ID'd thru a USB bridge since USB doesn't pass the full ATA command set.


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## opsknight

lol. Yep Learning curve and having the right equipment. I have never had one just croak on me. The fact it still powers and spins is also interesting to me. I'm on more of a mission just to see if I can fix it at this point. 

To my knowledge it still has the original firmware which is listed on the drive as SD35 (I have never upgraded, as it has never skipped a beat since I have owned it (2 or 3 years). You are also correct, the OS just reads it as unknown and is unable to decipher the size of the device. I have also tried connecting it straight into the mobo and used Spinrite 6.0 and it could not see it either.

A Quick check at Seagate shows no downloads available for my drive.


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## raptor_pa

Spinrite... that is another story LOL, that and HDDRegen will kill an ailing drive. Check the serial number at Seagate, if it is listed as having an upgrade available then we can look at the BSY fix. I haven't seen any SD35's usually SD15 or SD16 that are affected, but 35 could be also. And yeah, gear for drives and the copst of a cleanroom kind of put a dent in the capital LOL...


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## opsknight

There isn't an upgrade. So sounds like a very expensive adventure at this point.


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## raptor_pa

Not if you want to try it yourself. No guarantee this is the only issue but here is the fix. I'll repeat their caution - Commands are case sensitive!  http://www.msfn.org/board/topic/128807-the-solution-for-seagate-720011-hdds/


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## opsknight

Im going to give it a shot at this point. I'll let you know how it goes.


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## raptor_pa

Keep us posted, if that is the only problem should be a relatively easy fix.


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## opsknight

It will probably take me a bit to get all these parts. But I will report back.


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## raptor_pa

The Nokia cable is about the easiest way to do it then you don't need the TTL converter, that is built in.


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## opsknight

Alright..I can actually start working on this now..busy week.

That nokia cable, do you just splice it apart?

I found a couple of forums that have suggestions for this. Trying to figure out which method is best.


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## raptor_pa

This is considered pretty much the definitive DIY link http://www.msfn.org/board/topic/1288...e-720011-hdds/


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## opsknight

You think something like this may work. Seems cleaner.

http://cgi.ebay.com/2-x-PL2303-USB-TTL-RS232-Serial-Port-Converter-Module-/220645339022?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item335f7caf8e


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## raptor_pa

Sounds like it should work, but I tend to go with what is proven.


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## opsknight

lol. Yep I started thinking the exact same thing.


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## Pao88

@raptor, thanks, MY 1GB is up and running... 

replace the burned fuses/resistor first => nothing happens...then we re-check the board, the board seems to be shorted... we replaced every resistor/diodes that we found seems defective/shorted... when we were about to give it up, my tech friend saw a tiny resistor... found out that it was the last defective piece... my drive's up and running for the past 2 months


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## nethergate

Hey guys, 
i have a dreaded seagate. ive sent it back to seagate to get the firmware updated after she died, they just emailed saying its not a firmware related issue, i plugged it in before i sent it and im pretty sure it wasnt spinning but when i played with it last time im pretty sure it was, i want to fix it as i dont have the cash for recovery and its got all my pics of my kids and well everything on it.

i cant take a pic of the pcb because its still at seagate at the moment, but its a Seagate Barracuda ST31000340AS 1tb. i wanted to do a donor board but ive read in a few places this simply wont work, because its iffy if its spinning i will remove the tvs doid to rule that out. if i post a pic of the pcb when i get it back can someone please point me to the diods to be removed.

Thanks guys


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## raptor_pa

Don't remove it just to rule it out, check it with a meter, all the info to do it is in this thread. If the drive is spinning it is likely NOT the diode. You have to diagnose before you fix. Kind of like the Dr saying we'll remove your appendix and see if that helps your headache.


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## nethergate

sorry the hard day at work must of fryed my brain, earlier today i ruled out the diode because Seagates reply to me was "As for the failure,the engineers report stated ,your drive is not ready. "which im assuming means it powered up for them. Sorry my post was all over the shop. Where from here im not too sure.


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## nethergate

i must of posted this one two forums because i thought i had included much more detail.

the drive was about 6 months old when it died, since new the computer has needed restarted to detect the drive on boot, until one day it didnt work any longer, i assumed it was the motherboard as it was second hand and the drive was new but when i put it into another computer it didnt work. it is experiancing all the same symptoms as the firmware issue but seagate say thats not the problem. i decovered that seagate were fixing them by reading through 60 pages of a thread which i thought was this one but it must not be coz its only 5 pages long. if someone could help me it would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks, James


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## nethergate

Sorry i found the post i thought i did, i would edit my last post but i dont think i can on this forum.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hey peoples. Im a victom of the dreaded barracuda 7200.11, since i bought the drive its always been a bit dicky, it used to require for me to restart the computer on boot for it to detect, i always assumed it was the motherboard as the board was secondhand and the drive was brand new, till one day restarting it wouldnt cure it, its got all the typical symptoms of the firmware problem, so i sent it back to seagate to get the firmware updated and they said that its not the problem, they have said the engineers report states that the "drive is not ready".

Can someone please tell me what this means and if my data is able to be recovered. I have told them to not replace the drive and send me back my dead drive. The drive was only a few months old when it kicked the bucket and when i learned that seagate dont fix they only replace i put it aside until i could find someone to fix it. I stumbled onto this thread and the firmware update seems to be exactly what was wrong.

Can someone please shead some light onto what may be the problem?

Thanks for your time 

ps. is pcb transplant plausable?


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## raptor_pa

It doesn't sound like something a PCB swap would fix. It is possible, but you need to move the ROM chip and it must be an exact match, not just from the same model number drive. This sounds more like a head/preamp issue, which are internal to the drive.


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## skip3

I have a Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB drive with the following specs:

S/N: 6VP0AT1V
ST31000528AS
P/N: 9SL154-515
Firmware: CC44
Date Code: 09407
Site Code: SU

The drive has been in an Iomega Prestige USB-enclosure and attached to my router (Apple Airport Extreme) through an USB-hub. I started having problems with the two drives attached to the router, so I plugged them both directly to my MacBook Pro and ran Disk Utility, which found errors on both drives. I fixed those with Disk Utility and everything seemed to be fine again. But then all of a sudden the other drive stopped working. I thought there was a problem with the enclosure as the drive kinda started spinning, but then slowed down, making some clicking sounds in the process. Switched the enclosures and the clicking and weird spinning stopped and the drive spun normally, but OS X still couldn't detect it correctly. I've attached screenshots of the error messages.
EDIT: I apparently failed attaching them, so here are the Dropbox links:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/5417088/Seagate/Screen%20shot%202010-08-19%20at%2017.53.25.png
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/5417088/Seagate/Screen%20shot%202010-08-19%20at%2017.37.12.png

The computer detects the drive as a 2,2 TB drive for some reason, but fails to mount it, so I could get my data out of there.The drive seems to spin normally. At least it doesn't make any weird noises and vibrates like a 3,5" HDD does. I've taken a look at the circuit board and there's nothing burned on it. I also tested the diodes with a multimeter. I had my multimeter on the 2k setting and to the other direction it gave the 1. (out of range) and to the other direction I got a .480 for the other diode and a .730 for the other. 

Pictures of the disk and multimeter are on my Dropbox here as you can only attach two pics:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/5417088/Seagate/IMG_0001.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/5417088/Seagate/IMG_0002.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/5417088/Seagate/IMG_0003.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/5417088/Seagate/IMG_0005.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/5417088/Seagate/IMG_0006.JPG

I'm not really sure what I should do with this drive. The data on it isn't something I definitely need to save, but there's quite some data there, I would be glad to get back. I'm also a poor student and can't afford to pay some 1000+ € for data recovery. I am willing to solder things off, get a replacement circuit board, etc. to save the data on this drive, I just don't know what exactly I should try to do. So any help is much appreciated.

Also, I hope this is posted on the right thread/section. I'm new to the forums as I only just found them thru Google. ray:


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## raptor_pa

When Identified over capacity such as yours is , this normally indicates a firmware failure. Are the drives formatted HFS or FAT32?


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## skip3

It's HFS+


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## skip3

Should I try updating the drive's firmware? Or possibly try to swap the circuit board or some components? Any suggestions? ray:


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## raptor_pa

PCB swap will also need the rom chip move. You won't be able to update FW unless the drive is functional- part of the firmware is stored on the platters in teh SA area. The 2.2TB id could be caused by firmware failure, headstack failure, or platter damage in the SA. If the drive spins it is not a TVS issue.


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## skip3

It spins, so not a TVS failure then. What exactly does the ROM chip store? Nothing of the firmware apparently? So if I found a drive with the same board as mine swapping that to this drive with the changed ROM _might_ be the best thing to try out? Thanks.


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## raptor_pa

The ROM stores some of the firmware, and some of the drive specific adaptive modules are on the chip.


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## skip3

Alright. So overall this situation is looking pretty bleak then? :sigh:

No easy "certain" fix like the diode unsoldering on some other cases.


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## raptor_pa

Nope, that is about the simplest dignosis, a quick check with a multimeter is all that's needed with the diode, after that you get into much tougher diagnoses


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## camifran

Hi raptor, could you please help me regarding my drive? It's a 500gb Seagate Barracuda 7200.12. The drive had been malfunctioning for some time, being only randomly recognized by my computer (a Mac Mini). Then, to my dismay, it suffered a fall of roughly 50cm to a carpeted floor, as I used it as an external drive. Right after that the hdd made a clicking sound somewhat like this: 

http://www.supload.com/sound_confirm.php?get=919760068.wma

And I couldn't get the Mac to recognize it anymore. Then, a friend came along, said the best would be to freeze it and he did, then he hooked the drive to his PC and it was detected, but wasn't accesible because it was HFS+ formatted. He brought it back to my house but here it wouldn't even spin, not even when we connected it to another Mac (a MacBook). We froze it again and when we tried to connect it... a burnt smell came oozing off of it so I plugged it off immediately. After that it hasn't spinned up again, and so I cannot recover my family photos accounting up to 35gb of files, but as i look in the pcb I cannot distinguish any damage at all. I attach some photos of the drive in hope that you can tell me what to do, as profesional data recovery is not an option because I, too, am still only a student.

http://drp.ly/1Ghb2n
http://drp.ly/1Ghc6p

ETA: Now that i posted the pic I see a burnt area around the 2nd diode from the upper right. Is that it?


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## raptor_pa

First of all NEVER freeze a drive. No matter how you seal it, mositure will condense on the electronics and can cause what you saw, it will also condense on the heads and platters and can freeze into little ice drops there that would have the effect of little icebergs to the heads. Please tell your friend to avoid giving this bogus old wive's tail as advice to anyone!
You are right, not seeing anything obvious. I assume that is just shadow around the top of the diode in the upper left of the picture. Here is the pinout for the SATA power connector. 
http://www.allpinouts.org/index.php/Serial_ATA_(SATA,_Serial_Advanced_Technology_Attachment)
Check the +voltages to ground on the connector with a multimeter on resistance, all should be open.


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## camifran

raptor_pa said:


> You are right, not seeing anything obvious. I assume that is just shadow around the top of the diode in the upper left of the picture.


Oh, but it isn't a shadow, it really is burnt! (I messed up right & left in my last post, fail!) I'll do as you suggested & inform you. Thanks!


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## camifran

Hi, I finally was unable to check and the 1,2 and 3 pins from the power connector didn't show any resistance. What now?


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## calviny

HI Rapta,

I am delighted to find out this forum and hopefully I can get some advice to rescure my hdd. I bought a 1.5TB seagate hdd just 2 weeks ago and happily copied some data from old hdd to the new one. and now the new one is dead, old one is formatted. 

how it happen was, I made a really stupid mistake that i connect the hdd while the pc power is on and what the worst is, i reversed the power plug and thats it. the hdd will not on anymore, if i plug in the hdd and the pc will not start at all. I plug it into a docking and smoke came out from the pcb.

i remove the pcb and find that the diode (if i am not wrong) is blown. I have attached the image and hope to get some advice from you what should i do. It has all my important data, photos since graduation... etc. I really hope i can get the data back.

do u think disconnect the diode will work?? 

thanks


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## coolmat

Wow!! 2 years later and it saved all my data!!

Thx alot!


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## goglev45

Hai raptor,


please help me
my HD :


Barracuda 7200. 12
ST 31000528AS
P/N 9SL154 - 568
Firmware CC3E
board 100536501 REV A


I seem my inducgtor 12V and TVS 12 V burn, could you guide me to repair my HD


Thanks
gogle


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## groovyhog

I know this is an old thread but I wanted to say thank you to raptor_pa for the great information. If I could donate to him I would. 

I had a fried TVS chip and the drive would not spin up. I followed his advice of removing the burned chip and I was able to recover the data. 

I had sent the drive to Outsource Data Recovery in hopes that they could just replace the PCB. The response I got back from them is that it is not fixable and it would cost $700 to be able to recover the data. I did not bite and had them send the drive back. Luckily I found this thread and was able to do it myself. 

HDD Specs:

Model : ST31000340AS
Part Numb: 9bx158-568
Firmware : sd81
Date Code: 09037 2008-07-21
Site Code: WUXISG


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