[SOLVED] Discovered a burnt spot on Seagate 2TB Barracuda.

[MakotoSGT]

Hey guys!
So sometime back my mobo died and i decided to sell off my other parts before attempting another fresh build.
After disassembling, I discovered the drive I used for storage has a burnt spot.
Image:

https://imgur.com/a/tAAJWvC

View: https://imgur.com/a/tAAJWvC


I don't know how old or how long ago this was caused but I'm afraid of losing m data in it, it has images and videos of family/stuff from the past 20 years. (Drive is about 4 years old)

I'm not sure if it works or not, since i dont have a working PC with me at the moment nor do I know if its safe enough or will stay safe until I can copy over my important data.


I need your opinions.
Will a PCB swap fix this if the drive never gets picked up?
Or will this thing get worse if I plug it in another PC?
Chances of usability?

 

[ex_bubblehead]

Drive is toast. If there is important data on it that's not backed up (and why not?) then get it to a recovery service and be prepared to pay handsomely. There's far more to it than just swapping out the the PCB.

 

[fzabkar]

It appears that the drive has sustained an overvoltage on the 5V input. This is caused by a bad PSU or incorrect wiring.

Don't do this:

Warning: do not interchange modular PSU cables:
http://www.hddoracle.com/viewtopic.php?f=56&t=2545

This is probably what happened:

TVS Diode FAQ:
http://www.hddoracle.com/viewtopic.php?f=100&t=86

A replacement PCB will require a firmware transfer (US$50):
https://www.hdd-parts.com/14012375.html

If there is no other damage, you may be able to recover your data by bridging the zero-ohm resistors and removing the 5V TVS diode. That should cost nothing.

Whatever you do, you MUST NOT damage the ROM chip. This chip contains unique "adaptive" data.

"Adaptives" -- why PCB swaps don't work in modern HDDs:
http://www.hddoracle.com/viewtopic.php?f=56&t=2600&p=19090#p19090

 

[MakotoSGT]

Drive is toast. If there is important data on it that's not backed up (and why not?) then get it to a recovery service and be prepared to pay handsomely. There's far more to it than just swapping out the the PCB.

What do you think is burnt out from this picture?

 

[MakotoSGT]

It appears that the drive has sustained an overvoltage on the 5V input. This is caused by a bad PSU or incorrect wiring.

Don't do this:

Warning: do not interchange modular PSU cables:
http://www.hddoracle.com/viewtopic.php?f=56&t=2545

This is probably what happened:

TVS Diode FAQ:
http://www.hddoracle.com/viewtopic.php?f=100&t=86

A replacement PCB will require a firmware transfer (US$50):
https://www.hdd-parts.com/14012375.html

If there is no other damage, you may be able to recover your data by bridging the zero-ohm resistors and removing the 5V TVS diode. That should cost nothing.

Whatever you do, you MUST NOT damage the ROM chip. This chip contains unique "adaptive" data.

"Adaptives" -- why PCB swaps don't work in modern HDDs:
http://www.hddoracle.com/viewtopic.php?f=56&t=2600&p=19090#p19090

So there is hope.
I'm ready to shell out enough money for 2 drives worth if it means I can clone the entire drive onto another one, if that is possible.

However, I'll be happy enough to just recover personal data and thrash the rest.

PS: This reminds me, my MB went overvoltage on the 12v uptil 15v when it died within a few hours. PSU was thrashed after.

SO i'm guessing, that's what happened here.

 

[fzabkar]

Send your PCB to hdd-parts.com. They will transfer the ROM to a replacement PCB. The whole lot should cost US$50. No need to pay handsomely … unless the overvoltage got past the protection diode and clobbered the preamp inside the drive.