swapping pcb chips in HDD

[solidsnake1123]

is it necessary that the replacement pcb chip no, must match all the digits on the original pcb board for the hdd to work ?. i have a 500gb Western digital hdd that stopped working( didnt even spin when connected to power ) a couple of years ago. A few days ago i switched its pcb board from a 250gb WD hdd and voila , it stated spinning but only for a couple of seconds before shutting completely OFF. Both the pcb boards have different numbers on it but because they have the same shape the 500gb hdd powered up. Is the reason that it is not working and spinning continuously is because the numbers dont match up ??? ( and also when it is powered up it makes clicking sounds like 3-4 times )

 

[CountMike]

Sata drives are particular in that. On older PATA drives it could be done easily. It's not enough even to switch chips but also FW has to be changed. It's job for well equipped service.

 

[Boogieman_WD]

Hey there solidsnake and welcome to the community! (love the MGS game series 😀 )

Replacing a drive's PCB is never recommended. However, you're beyond that point now. When replacing a drive's PCB it's always advisable that you use the exact same drive model's PCB. Unfortunately even then it's not guaranteed that it will work. A couple of clicks when the drive spins up are usually OK, as this is probably the arm of the drive moving from its "parking spot". Unfortunately it sounds like there might be a mechanical fault with your HDD, which would mean that no matter which PCB you try, it might not work if this is the case 🙁.
In such situations, if you have data, which you need to retrieve, the best (and probably only) option would be a professional solution, such as a data recovery company: WD Data Recovery Partners.

Hope that helps. Please let me know how it goes.
Boogieman_WD

 

[solidsnake1123]

Thanks for the quick replies . I would be sending the drive for data recovery but before spending a lot of $, I want to try any SAFE methods through which I can recover the data. My question again - if a replacement PCB chip does not have the same no. As the original one would that replacement even power up the HDD ? And follow the same sequence as above mentioned in the question ?

 

[CountMike]

If you are going to send it for recovery, please don't try anything else, you may make it worse and more expensive.

 

[Boogieman_WD]

Thanks for the quick replies . I would be sending the drive for data recovery but before spending a lot of $, I want to try any SAFE methods through which I can recover the data. My question again - if a replacement PCB chip does not have the same no. As the original one would that replacement even power up the HDD ? And follow the same sequence as above mentioned in the question ?

I'm with @CountMike on this one. Whenever the situation is concerning physical damage, the best decision would be not to power-up the drive as spinning might further complicate things and make it more difficult for the data to be recovered.
As for your question, it depends, in most cases it would probably be able to power-up the drive, but that doesn't mean you'd be able to do anything with it.
My advice is as follows - contact the data recovery company you've decided to go with and ask for instructions on how to send them the drive. Of course, the best option would probably be, with its original PCB, but it's better for you to consult with them, just to be on the safe side.