bad hard drive - suggestions wanted

hey gents - well back in 2008 i had a hard drive go bad, see my thread about it here:
https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=205922

a little earlier today i was sifting through some components, and saw that i have another hard drive of the exact same model as the one that went bad (this other one works for sure).

on the hard drives (like most i guess) is what looks like a little motherboard, attached to the drives with what looks like tiny allen screws... i wonder, if i could find the right size tool, and unbolt the "motherboard" off the drive that does work, and attach it to the drive that went bad back in 2008, if that may possibly get the drive working again? i figure it's possible the circuit board is what could've gone bad and the drive could otherwise be ok. when attached, the bad drive just makes a repetitive faint clicking sound, it doesnt even try to spin up, so may it's the circuit board? i dunno.

advices appreciated - and if anyone thinks there might be a shot at this, i could attach a picture if needed, if someone could help me ascertain the tool i'd need to unbolt the circuit board
much obliged

 

If im not mistaken it could work. It all depends if the component that failed in the "bad hdd" was the circuit board.

 

That "motherboard" is the hard drive controller or interface board and it contains the firmware for THAT SPECIFIC DRIVE. Unless that board has the exact same model AND firmware revision number, it is most likely NOT compatible and may result in you corrupting the good drive.

Mechanical noises typically indicate mechanical problems - not circuit board problems. The motor should spin just by connecting the drive power cable - which is totally isolated from the data side of things.

 

i have decided to play it safe and be prudent, by ordering a pcb board with identical specs from hdd-parts.com. how naive i was to think i could swap the boards based only on the fact that they are the same models, without taking into account the other specifications.

i found an exact match regarding Model, p/n, firmware, date code, site code, and main controller IC (these are the criterion that hdd-parts explains to ensure matches) - the only thing is, i haven't noticed any mention of revision. should i assume that if all other specs match up that it's also from the correct revision?

thanks gents

 

I hate to assume because doing so often gets me in trouble, but I will assume this time that having identical firmware, date code and site code ensures the correct revision. But I would still keep my fingers crossed.

And do remember that a new controller card will not fix a drive that has internal platter or motor problems.

 

thanks for the thoughts Bill- well i guess i'll know in 4-10 business days. also, this seagate model doesn't require a bios transfer, so that's one other thing i don't have to worry with. i may get lucky, or as you mentioned, it could be a problem with the internals of the hard drive- either way, i'll soon know which, and will report my progress - thanks everyone

 

BIOS transfer? Sorry, but I don't understand what you mean as the BIOS is part of the motherboard/chipset. The BIOS is not stored on a drive though some motherboard makers allow you to save "a copy" of the BIOS information - but that is not the same thing.

 

no dice guys ;(

it turned out not to be the pcb board after all. hdd parts shipped the part in good wrapping, nothing bad to report on that end. i decided to open up the case of the drive and power it on - it was then that i realized that the repetitive clicking sound was being made by the hard drive head - i could see it clicking back and forth in a repetitive range of motion as though stuck or something, but it wasnt moving as to appear to be reading data etc. so it turned out to be a mechanical problem. thanks everyone for advices, it was an interesting little endeavor ;\

 

Hi chrome_sturmen,

I once had a similar situation, and when it started, I immediately took the hard drives to the pc vendor where I bought my equipment, bought some new hard drives and had them clone them while the drives could still power up and spin. Some outfits may be able to take the hard drive apart and get it to spin up out of its casing, and if you can find such an outfit that can do this kind of work, you may be able to get them to clone your problem hard drive to a new one and recover the information that way.

Good luck,

-- Tom