Question Can I replace hdd board with a similar model's one?

chris.nomidis

Prominent
Nov 23, 2018
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510
I have 2 Seagate Momentus 2.5 inch 500GB hdds and one of them stopped working, it is dead completely. Even if I add it on an external case and connect it through USB, pc do not even recognize I have external disk connected. The only sign of life is that I can hear it spinning..

Could it be the electronic board the problem? If I switch the board to the other one which is alive, could I rescue the data on the broken one?

Or could I brick my good one too?
 
Swapping Seagate PCBs (without transferring the "ROM" chip or its contents) won't work, but it won't do any damage to the drive or your data. Some Hitachi's are not so forgiving, though.

In any case, the problem sounds like an internal one, not PCB related.
 
Hi

dont try replacing a circuit board from a 5400 rpm drive with one from a 7200 rpm drive

if the hard disk is not seen by the BIOS/UEFI the fault maybe on the circuit board

sometimes the fuse/diodes blow and prevent the disk starting up
that is something you could try yourself if you know how to use a soldering iron
The fuse/diode does not have to be replaced for the drive to start working again

If you look on youtube you will probably find some videos on how to find and test then remove the fuse / diode


has a lot of useful information on hard disk circuit boards
and signs of damaged (burnt) chips which most people wont have the skills to replace so the circuit board will need replacing

Also there are companies which will provide a replacement circuit board and transfer the firmware from the old circuit board onto the new circuit board
https://www.hdd-parts.com/info.html
(located in Canada)

regards
Mike Barnes
 
I would not interchange PCBs between 5400 and 7200 RPM drives, at least not without transferring the "ROM". ISTM that a drive whose heads are aerodynamically tuned to fly at a certain height at 7200 RPM would fly at a lower height at 5400 RPM, perhaps dangerously so.
 
Seagate's drives have a diagnostic port which outputs error information. It can also be used to apply firmware fixes which may enable the drive to last long enough to recover the data.

You would need to purchase a USB-TTL serial adapter (approx. US$5 - $10). There are tutorials at hddguru.com and hddoracle.com.
 

chris.nomidis

Prominent
Nov 23, 2018
5
0
510
Thank you so much for the valuable information! I will have to study the options now, from what you gave me.. Fortunately I am not in a hurry, and also the data on the disk are not critical.