[SOLVED] Replace 2TB hard drive head/actuator with 1TB? - Seagate/Samsung

[newbs202]

Hi, my hard drive has died. After opening it up it looks like the head/actuator needs replacing. I have a Seagate Backup Plus Slim Portable - 2TB (the actual drive inside is a Samsung).
I want to buy a second-hand replacement and swap the head over.

Question is, do I need to buy another 2TB drive or can I get away with buying a cheaper 1TB drive and hope the head will be the same?
Any help appreciated, lost a lot of data.

 

[Colif]

Hi, my hard drive has died. After opening it up it looks like the head/actuator needs replacing.

its dead now you opened it up. The places that repair hdd use special rooms with no dust in them, opening a hdd outside of these rooms is likely a death sentence

You can't really repair hdd, you just buy a new one or rma it if its still new.

 

[fzabkar]

A 1TB drive would normally have half as many heads as a 2TB drive in the same family.

 

[USAFRet]

Hi, my hard drive has died. After opening it up it looks like the head/actuator needs replacing. I have a Seagate Backup Plus Slim Portable - 2TB (the actual drive inside is a Samsung).

The drive was already dead. Opening it up just put the nails in the coffin.

I want to buy a second-hand replacement and swap the head over.

Then you have 2 dead drives.

Any help appreciated, lost a lot of data.

This is specifically what proactive backups are for.

 

[newbs202]

The drive was already dead. Opening it up just put the nails in the coffin.


Then you have 2 dead drives.


This is specifically what proactive backups are for.

Thanks captain hindsight

 

[USAFRet]

Thanks captain hindsight

Many people have lost data to a dead drive.

Smart people don't let it happen again.

Really smart people have been paying attention for the last 20 years, and have seen it happen to others. And vow to not let it happen to them.


I'm in the second batch.

 

[DSzymborski]

Thanks captain hindsight

Sorry, but it's true. You opened up the drive and made it far less likely that even a professional can recover it now. Legitimate recovery firms don't open drives in laboratory conditions because they have a fetish for wearing white outfits and masks.

The most likely result of what you wish to do is more destroyed hard drives. The important lesson to learn here is how to plan to protect your data for when this happens next time, so that the loss of a hard drive matters nothing more than simply the cost of a new drive.