Question Replacing the read/write heads of a Seagate Momentus 5400.6 HDD ?

[ams7]

Hello everyone,
I have an HDD of the following type:
Seagate Momentus 5400.6
Model: ST9500325AS
Date: 10365
PN: 9HH134-142
FW: 0006SDM2

I want to replace the damaged read/write heads. Unfortunately, I couldn't find an identical donor drive. However, I came across a seller who sells individual read/write heads.

I sent him pictures of my hard drive, and he confirmed that he has the heads in stock.

After placing the order, I requested photos of the product and noticed slight differences between the original heads from my drive and the ones I purchased.

When I reached out to the seller, he assured me that the heads would work fine and that the minor differences don’t matter.

I kindly ask for clarification from those with expertise:

1. Will the heads work without requiring any software intervention or firmware modification?
2. Is there any reliable website where I can check compatibility by entering the head's code?
3. If the heads are not compatible, could they cause data loss?
4. Can the heads from all ST9500325AS models be swapped without issues?

Below are the photos for reference:

Original Magnetic Heads

Purchased Magnetic Heads:

Please, anyone with information, don’t hesitate to share your insights. Thank you!

 

[CountMike]

Hello everyone,
I have a hard drive of the following type:
Seagate Momentus 5400.6
Model: ST9500325AS
Date: 10365
PN: 9HH134-142
FW: 0006SDM2

I want to replace the damaged read/write heads. Unfortunately, I couldn't find an identical donor drive. However, I came across a seller who sells individual read/write heads.

I sent him pictures of my hard drive, and he confirmed that he has the heads in stock.

After placing the order, I requested photos of the product and noticed slight differences between the original heads from my drive and the ones I purchased.

When I reached out to the seller, he assured me that the heads would work fine and that the minor differences don’t matter.

I kindly ask for clarification from those with expertise:

Will the heads work without requiring any software intervention or firmware modification?
Is there any reliable website where I can check compatibility by entering the head's code?
If the heads are not compatible, could they cause data loss?
Can the heads from all ST9500325AS models be swapped without issues?
Below are the photos for reference:

Original Magnetic Heads

Purchased Magnetic Heads:

Please, anyone with information, don’t hesitate to share your insights. Thank you!

Why fixing it ? Even if successful you will not get your data back without proper instrumentation and tools. All has to be re-calibrated and so you loose it all.

 

[Unolocogringo]

Opening a drive outside a clean room is almost always a destroyed drive.
Changing a read/write head also requires re-calibration.
If you got one speck of dust on the platters the head will crash into it and damage the platter .
data lost.
Repairing a hard drive is not a "user" repair.

 

[JeffreyP55]

Hello everyone,
I have an HDD of the following type:
Seagate Momentus 5400.6
Model: ST9500325AS
Date: 10365
PN: 9HH134-142
FW: 0006SDM2

I want to replace the damaged read/write heads. Unfortunately, I couldn't find an identical donor drive. However, I came across a seller who sells individual read/write heads.

I sent him pictures of my hard drive, and he confirmed that he has the heads in stock.

After placing the order, I requested photos of the product and noticed slight differences between the original heads from my drive and the ones I purchased.

When I reached out to the seller, he assured me that the heads would work fine and that the minor differences don’t matter.

I kindly ask for clarification from those with expertise:

1. Will the heads work without requiring any software intervention or firmware modification?
2. Is there any reliable website where I can check compatibility by entering the head's code?
3. If the heads are not compatible, could they cause data loss?
4. Can the heads from all ST9500325AS models be swapped without issues?

Below are the photos for reference:

Original Magnetic Heads

Purchased Magnetic Heads:

Please, anyone with information, don’t hesitate to share your insights. Thank you!

First mistake was exposing the internals to unfiltered air. Do yourself a favor and just throw it away.

You really need a clean-room to perform magic like that.
https://c8.alamy.com/comp/a216wg/cleanroom-disk-hard-drive-manufacturing-a216wg.jpg
If it is a must for an old spinner 3.5" 2TB analog HDD, I have three WD blacks that are at least 10 years old but still store data like champs. I'm am willing to part with them and modernize a bit. I almost trust NvME drives for long term storage. At least for me. I don't need more than 4TB of storage space. The cloud is the cloud, I also want locally stored storage drive(s).

 

[USAFRet]

Why?

A 15 year old 500GB drive is worth about $10 in working condition.

 

[ams7]

Friends, I have successfully used a cleanroom setup to open a hard drive. My setup is essentially a glove box equipped with a filter. I also have essential tools, including anti-static gloves, head combs for read/write heads, and other necessary equipment. For recovery, I rely on Linux-based tools that are free and open-source.

As for calibration in older hard drives, to the best of my knowledge, it happens automatically if you use the correct heads.

The idea that hard drives must always be handled in professional cleanrooms is not entirely accurate. Based on my experience with several Toshiba hard drives, I have opened them in a regular home environment, ensuring the doors were closed. In cases where the heads were stuck, I was able to free them and reseal the drive. Surprisingly, the drive worked three more times before completely failing, which was enough to recover the data.

I completely agree that the hard drive itself may have little value, but the data it holds can be priceless.

 

[USAFRet]

Friends, I have successfully used a cleanroom setup to open a hard drive. My setup is essentially a glove box equipped with a filter. I also have essential tools, including anti-static gloves, head combs for read/write heads, and other necessary equipment. For recovery, I rely on Linux-based tools that are free and open-source.

As for calibration in older hard drives, to the best of my knowledge, it happens automatically if you use the correct heads.

The idea that hard drives must always be handled in professional cleanrooms is not entirely accurate. Based on my experience with several Toshiba hard drives, I have opened them in a regular home environment, ensuring the doors were closed. In cases where the heads were stuck, I was able to free them and reseal the drive. Surprisingly, the drive worked three more times before completely failing, which was enough to recover the data.

I completely agree that the hard drive itself may have little value, but the data it holds can be priceless.

Data recovery should not rely on "fixing" an old broken drive.
Rather, you simply pull it off your backup.

Does THIS drive hold critical, priceless data?