Swap ciruit board on HDD to get it working?

[S1nF1xx]

Ok, I've got a 20GB Deathstar HDD that has been laying around for a couple years. It died on me one day and I'd like to get some data off it. Here's the info.

It just stopped showing up on my computer one day.
It is not detected by the BIOS upon bootup.
I've tried it in many different machines, many cables, it doesn't work.
There is a chip on its board that gets hot enough to give 2nd degree burns..seriously.

I'm thinking maybe the board on it is fried. I'm thinking about buying an identical drive off ebay or something and swapping the circuit boards.

Quesion, Is there more to it than that? Will a drive work with another identical board? It's only going to cost me about $35 to try it, so I figure why the hell not.

Any suggestions/ comments?

Thanks.

[dariob]

Should work. Just make sure its the same exact model.

[insanarchist]

I can't think of a huge reason why it wouldn't, assuming your soldiering skills are up to par (as mine aren't). Take pictures along the way and post it somewhere so we can check it out! :D

[S1nF1xx]

I can't think of a huge reason why it wouldn't, assuming your soldiering skills are up to par (as mine aren't). Take pictures along the way and post it somewhere so we can check it out! :D
I'm pretty sure it's just a small ribbon cable connecting it, so I won't be able to use my mad soldering skillz. ;)

I'll take some pics and post them if they are interesting. (unplugging and plugging a cable don't sound so interesting :p)

[insanarchist]

I'm pretty sure it's just a small ribbon cable connecting it, so I won't be able to use my mad soldering skillz. ;)

I'll take some pics and post them if they are interesting. (unplugging and plugging a cable don't sound so interesting :p)

Well, on the plus side, if it doesn't work, you can always use the working drive for a l33t window m0d or something, haha

[S1nF1xx]

Well, on the plus side, if it doesn't work, you can always use the working drive for a l33t window m0d or something, haha
My luck will be that I'll fubar that drive too.

It is a deathstar after all....

[S1nF1xx]

Well, I've got a new hard drive en route. I'll let you know how it goes.

[Styk33]

I swapped circuit boards on a Maxtor drive that caught on fire. My father had the same model drive and I borrowed it from him for a day just to get my data off of my drive. Put the original fried board back on and had it warranteed.

Worked out great for me.

[Talonz]

Hmm.. I guess I'm a little late, but if it's a real deathstar, then it's probably not the circuit board. Good luck anyway.

[S1nF1xx]

Hmm.. I guess I'm a little late, but if it's a real deathstar, then it's probably not the circuit board. Good luck anyway.
It didn't make any noises, and it isn't detected at all by the BIOS. So I know for one, the board is dead, and I'm hoping there is no number two.

<rant>
I know one thing for sure though. I will NEVER buy another IBM or Hitachi product ever again if I have the choice. I had 3 deathstars before the problem became public. I have since lost all the drives. F*#K IBM for releasing such a failure-prone product.

</rant>

[Ice Czar]

I can't think of a huge reason why it wouldn't

however I can :p

it can be done, but actually matching up the old and new board is far easier said than done
there are numerous revisions within any model, both physical and firmware
consider that "real" low level formatting can only be done at the factory do to areal density these days, if anything is slightly off its not going to work\

Id say one out of 10 attempts are successful and generally those only with factory assistance in identifying suitible replacement boards ;)

[S1nF1xx]

however I can :p

it can be done, but actually matching up the old and new board is far easier said than done
there are numerous revisions within any model, both physical and firmware
consider that "real" low level formatting can only be done at the factory do to areal density these days, if anything is slightly off its not going to work\

Id say one out of 10 attempts are successful and generally those only with factory assistance in identifying suitible replacement boards
Damned you and your sensibility. :p j/k

Well, I found one with the same model number as mine, and it was manufactured within 4 months of mine, so I'm praying it's the same thing.

This drive crashed before I realized the importance of checking that my backups were working. :rolleyes: I had a bunch of burned CDs that didn't work so well. :(
Now I backup everything in triplicate.

[insanarchist]

however I can :p

it can be done, but actually matching up the old and new board is far easier said than done
there are numerous revisions within any model, both physical and firmware
consider that "real" low level formatting can only be done at the factory do to areal density these days, if anything is slightly off its not going to work\

Id say one out of 10 attempts are successful and generally those only with factory assistance in identifying suitible replacement boards ;)

Well, phht! :p