HDD Platter Swap question

[driftingcris]

Hello.
So i have an old seagate drive that died years ago. The thing is, i had some very old photos in there that i would like to save. All these years i didn't do anything, with the intension that i will take it to a professional when i get the money. Well, i dont see myself having enough money for it in the near future, and i thought i could give it a shot myself(i do realize that i could lose all the data by doing a single mistake). The drive has a seized bearing(caused by a drop), so the motor wont spin. My question is:
Does firmware matter? I found some drives with the same model number on ebay, but i cant seem to find one with identical firmware. Could i just swap both the platters and the board?

Thanks!

 

[asoroka]

Your big problem will be environmental dust. Any particle larger than 10 nano meters will turn your heads into sandpaper and trash your platter.

This needs to be done in an industrial positive pressure dust free environment. The platter will need to be properly balanced.
If your photos are important then get it done professionally.

The firmware should not matter, however any bit of dust will kill your platter.

 

[ex_bubblehead]

1. Yes, the firmware must match. In fact the board itself must be the same revision.
2. Do you have a class 100 or better clean room available?
3. Do you have the proper tools for removing/reinstalling/realigning platters?
4. How many of these have you done previously?

This is not something you do on a whim. Do it wrong and you can kiss all of the data goodbye.

If the data is at all important enough to recover then your only option is to pay a professional to do it.

 

[seagate_surfer]

driftingcris, we offer a recovery service based on what we can retrieve. If we cant retrieve it, there is no fee. This could be an option. Check out the information here. Best of luck.

 

[fzabkar]

A platter swap requires special care. Among other things, the relative alignment of the platters must be maintained. I don't think that a DIY repair would be an economic proposition.

http://hddsurgery.com/spindle-replacement-tools
http://hddsurgery.com/motor-unstuck-tools
https://www.dolphindatalab.com/product/head-and-platter-swap-pro/

 

[USAFRet]

Could i just swap both the platters and the board?

Thanks!

And end up with not 1, but 2 dead drives.
This is not something you do on your kitchen table.