is a media controller board and a PCB board the same thing?

[mizzpenny]

I had a local shop provide diagnostics for my ST31000524AS (P/N:9YP154-304, Firmware: JC4B) Seagate drive. He said the media controller board needs to be replaced since there is a Controller Failure on my drive and wanted $900 for it. Is that the same thing as replacing a PCB board? I found a few vendors online that would replace a PCB board with rom reprogramming (PCB Sticker: 6222 M, PCB Number: 100574451 REV B) for a lot cheaper...

I think there is only one board on this drive... so thus I want to confirm the media controller board is the same as the PCB board.

Also, if anyone can suggest an alternative reputable vendor in the US (I'm in Boston), that would be great.

 

[madmatt30]

$900 ?!?!?!

Is there some real sensitive information on this drive or something ??

 

[13thmonkey]

yes it is probably the same thing, but is what's on the drive worth it?

 

[mizzpenny]

Yeah the drive isn't worth it.. just a few vacation photos throughout the years... that I never look at. Would be nice to have, but not worth it.. I'm pretty sure the place is upcharging me

I Just wanted to make sure it is the same board since I found a few PCB board replacement services. Figure I want to confirm its the right before wasting money to ship it to them for replacement

 

[13thmonkey]

it is, but we're assuming that they are right about the board... might be worth trying it and then stopping and learning the backup lesson (we all learn it eventually, well for a while anyway).

 

[mizzpenny]

Yeah. I knew i blew the PCB board (plugged in wrong power source and it sparked). but just want to confirm that is the only one.

 

[madmatt30]

^ is this an internal drive or were you using it in a USB enclosure - just the wrong power source bit has thrown me - fairly impossible to put a sata power plug in wrong ??

 

[mizzpenny]

@Madmatt30 Internal drive.. I had a serial ATA to Power adapter Cable (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA0722KG3378&cm_re=6%22_Serial_ATA_%28SATA%29_II_5.25%22_Male_to_15-Pin_Serial_ATA_Female_Multi-Color_Power_Adapter_Cable-_-12-119-025-_-Product) that I used.. I plugged the 4 pong side into the power supply cord and then sata to the drive and the pcb board sparked and smell burnt.

 

[madmatt30]

So you had the molex reversed & you've fed a 12v to the 5v line of the drive??

These drives have some protection built in , its fairly likely bits just burnt a cap or resistor & is salvageable to a state where you can at least get data off the drive IMO.

Take it elsewhere mate , there must be some small electronics repair stores near you ??

They don't need to be specialized in data recovery or hard drive repair IMO.

Anyone with any kind of electronics experience can follow a trace to find the damaged area.

Shouldn't be anymore than $20 IMO to at least attempt a repair on it even if it fails.

 

[madmatt30]

Can you actually see a burnt chip on the PCB ??

 

[mizzpenny]

@Madmatt30 Sadly I don't have the screwsdriver to remove that type of screw. So I am waiting to get this back and then do a reassessment and see if there are any other electronic shop i can goto.

I found the shop that sells PCB boards and chip transfer http://www.hdd-parts.com/13092506.html.. Unsure if they are reputable or not... for $50 plus shipping won't be too bad...

 

[madmatt30]

They are absolutely reputable , you need to send your own board to them to clone the ic chip though.

Be aware it does state this is not guaranteed to work if damage has been done to the drive internals.

Damn sight cheaper than $900 though, that price is just plain nuts - would not be surprised if that shop uses the same site & pockets $800 for doing very little work themselves.!

Unfortunately when it comes to drives & data retrieval some places just charge whatever they think they can get away with if people are desperate to recover lost data.

 

[mizzpenny]

They are absolutely reputable , you need to send your own board to them to clone the ic chip though.

Be aware it does state this is not guaranteed to work if damage has been done to the drive internals.

Damn sight cheaper than $900 though, that price is just plain nuts - would not be surprised if that shop uses the same site & pockets $800 for doing very little work themselves.!

Unfortunately when it comes to drives & data retrieval some places just charge whatever they think they can get away with if people are desperate to recover lost data.

Thanks. Hopefully it will just be a PCB board. Since the quote from the diagnostic they told me they would replace and reprogramm a board and that is it. I am looking into the screwdriver to remove the board.. I did try removing it, but I don't have that type of screwdriver.. I wish hdd-parts.com would allow me to send me my drive and they can do the switch. But it doesn't look like they allow that.

 

[13thmonkey]

something like this will have it, you may need a screwdriver handle for the bit if you don't have one, others might come with it.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rolson-30629-Security-Bit-Set/dp/B00473OARU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1478249529&sr=8-1&keywords=security+screwdriver+set