replacing pcb controller board on hdd

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spunched

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Dec 9, 2014
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Hi ,, got a bit of a serious problem , some help would be much appreciated !!
Well, my '1 Terra usb3 HGST' stopped functioning after i plugged it in to a friends pc with a faulty usb port.
Basically the drive won't even spin up via usb3 nor directly to the pc sata..
So I went out and bought an identical new drive ..and took the pcb controller board off from the new and placed it on the old one.. it spins up okay and is seen by windows7 64bit but won't intiate it...
I just hope that the controller boards aren't married to each other and that it is something else that I can do to resolve the problem...
Please if someone could shead some light it would be much appreciated ...
 
Solution
F
The TVS diode is not shorted. The reading of 0.136 would be low if the diode were tested out of circuit, but it appears to be reflecting the resistance of all the devices that are powered from the +5V rail. In any case the reverse resistance is O/C.
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IMHO, that was a very bad idea. Put the original controller board back. Among other compatibility issues, there is a mapping chip on the controller board that is specific to the drive and initialized during the manufacturing process.

My first suggestion would be to hope that it's the external enclosure that was damaged and, if you are using a tower machine, try connecting the drive directly to the motherboard. If you are using a notebook, get a cheapo SATA to USB cable and power supply and test the drive that way.
 
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Many Thanks ... for the prompt reply..
I did what you said put it all back .. new hard drive still works...and with its usb3 connector. but not with my damaged hdd one , it just spins up but not seen by windows.
I'm preety sure it s the external enclosure thats damaged .., cause I tried directly into motherboard , and it wont even spin up...
Dont know if these 2.5 inch drives have those TVS diodes ...
Soo what's your opinion , many thanks

got a pix of the pcb though I can't see a way to pin it ...

Basically what I need is to just get my data of the damaged one if possible fixing it or using the new one's parts...
 
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Err, did you replace the PCB on the drive itself (questionable), or the one for the enclosure that connects the drive to USB 3.0? My first impression was the one on the drive.

This is just one person's experience, but I've spent a lot of time working with and recovering hard drives and I've never replaced a circuit board and recovered data. In my personal experience, this is the second-to-last thing to try, where the last requires opening up the platters in a clean room with very fancy equipment that I don't understand.

I would stick to separating the physical hard drive from the external USB unit and trying to connect the hard drive as directly as possible to a PC. Then, if it were I, I would look at the drive configuration and possibly work with non-destructive recovery tool software.
 
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many thanks again and sorry to confuse you ..
Basically the bad hdd wont even spin up when connected directly to the mother brd , hence I replaced it with the new one's pcb.. connected it back to the pc directly .. it spins up .. and windows disk manager recognizes it as there ! but won't intiate it.. therefore leading me to the conclusion that the pcb on the bad hdd is damaged, cause it spins up for windows to see it, with the new one's pcb
 
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The hdd is a usb3 1T hgst touro mobile MX3,
so are those TVS diodes to be found on the usb3 adapter or on the physical hdd pcb ,, or are on both and what do I look for to replace ...
many thanks again

 
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@spunched, is this your PCB?

http://ep.yimg.com/ay/yhst-14437584971410/0j14451-18.gif

If so, then be aware that the 8-pin "NVRAM" chip (25FU406C), or its contents, need to be transferred from patient to donor.

That said, there is a fuse near the SATA power connector. There is also a component that looks like a TVS diode. It would help if you could upload a detailed photo of this area, and if you could take some resistance measurements with a multimeter.
 
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Many thanks ,,, for the great help ..
Yes that is exactly the board no. and chip circled,,, now where do I go from here to locate the faulty components check them ...and hopefully get them from somewhere ...
much appreciated for all help ..
 
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I think I can replace the faulty components if I knew what to look for...

many thanks in advance ..;.
 
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Sorry for my ignorance ..but how do I post a pix on this page ...
I think I have sent 2 pix to forums@tomshardware.com
via my gmail account .. in reply to this post ,,
 
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http://imgur.com/XpXLHkl
http://imgur.com/cGzNRfb

cGzNRfb

XpXLHkl


tanks for your patience ...hope these help :??:
 
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The TVS diode is not shorted. The reading of 0.136 would be low if the diode were tested out of circuit, but it appears to be reflecting the resistance of all the devices that are powered from the +5V rail. In any case the reverse resistance is O/C.
 
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Solution


Many thanks to Wyomingknott ...

It's a bad thing to loose valuable things like pix.. and vids of family and friends.. but now I have a chance to fix that hard drive ...

THanks again my friends at Tomshardware...
"Someone Somewhere & Fzabkar " ... I'll get back at ya and let you know how I went ..😀

What a great help you have been ...
 
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