samsung hard drive pcb dead

[bitsandbytes]

Hi I have a customers hard drive at the moment, it is a samsung sata internal 500gb model no: HM500JI. The PCB board is dead, I cannot get an exact replacement anywhere to the point where i have given up looking.... what im asking is there any way of retrieving the data any other way apart from sending to a data recovery lab. Im basically looking for a DIY solution.... any ideas please.

 

[angry_geek]

Anyone have any jam for his toast?

Seriously, though, it sounds like you're pretty well hosed unless you can identify and replace the damaged components on the pcb. We don't even replace pcbs anymore. If the customer is serious about the recovery, I would much rather send it to a clean room.

 

[bitsandbytes]

the customer that im sorting it for has sentimental photos on the hard drive, but dosnt have the sort off money to send it to a clean room.

 

[bitsandbytes]

This may be a long shot but im pretty sure from experience that the pcb is shot due to overheating.... there is no visible damage so im thinking (in theory) that it maybe that the solder on the pcb has reset incorrectly after overheating so im wondering if a reflow type technique might be worth a shot..... any thoughts on this?

 

[Martyn]

the customer that im sorting it for has sentimental photos on the hard drive, but dosnt have the sort off money to send it to a clean room.

Which is 99% of all data recovery calls I get. Rarely is the data important enough to spend £500 on.

 

[altrenda]

This may be a long shot but im pretty sure from experience that the pcb is shot due to overheating.... there is no visible damage so im thinking (in theory) that it maybe that the solder on the pcb has reset incorrectly after overheating so im wondering if a reflow type technique might be worth a shot..... any thoughts on this?

a long shot, but it worked for me. http://www.technibble.com/forums/showthread.php?t=34710&highlight=hard+drive+power

 

[bitsandbytes]

a long shot, but it worked for me. http://www.technibble.com/forums/showthread.php?t=34710&highlight=hard+drive+power

I'm glad you said that it makes me a bit more confident to try it

 

[altrenda]

Pull the TVS and see if it works. Can't hurt any worse than it already is. Took me less than a minute and i was a pulling data of the drive.

 

[NYJimbo]

the customer that im sorting it for has sentimental photos on the hard drive, but dosnt have the sort off money to send it to a clean room.

Had two today. Same story, I want the data but I don't want to spend any money. If its a decent machine I actually will sometimes take out their old drive, put in a new one and start loading the O/S before I call them because almost all of the time they will just go for a new drive and o/s load. This way I can tell if it will work and if the COA on the bottom will be accepted. If they say no, big deal, just pop the old drive back in. I only do this with Vista and Win7.

Right now I got a pretty new lenovo I just put a new WD HD in and fully loaded Win7, did the COA and then installed all the drivers before calling the customer. So I called the customer an hour ago and he said yes. The thing is finishing up Windows updates and I will give it back to him by 6pm.

Data recovery for most people is saving photos, music and a few doc files, but if you can't, they seem to live without it.

 

[iisjman07]

Send it off to PC Image; professionals that won't charge you an arm and a leg to get the data back.

 

[Ciaran]

Have you tried www.onepcbsolution.com or www.hddzone.com?

 

[Larry Sabo]

Here's a long list, from a post in the Data Recovery Certification Google group
(http://groups.google.com/group/datarecoverycertification/msg/d947591e069471f3):

<http://www.hddzone.com> http://www.hddzone.com
<http://www.hddsupplier.com> http://www.hddsupplier.com
<http://www.effectiveelectronics.com> http://www.effectiveelectronics.com
<http://www.onepcbsolution.com> http://www.onepcbsolution.com
<http://stores.ebay.co.uk/FarnboroughIT>
http://stores.ebay.co.uk/FarnboroughIT
<http://www.accesscomputerparts.net> http://www.accesscomputerparts.net
<http://www.donordrives.com> http://www.donordrives.com
<http://www.hdd-parts.com/> http://www.hdd-parts.com/
<http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Darius-HDD-solutions>
http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Darius-HDD-solutions
datadonor.net
laptopdrivestore.com
<http://hddparts.blogspot.com/> http://hddparts.blogspot.com/
ultratecdirect.com
hdd-donor.com
socalresellers.com

<http://stores.ebay.com/HDRescue> http://stores.ebay.com/HDRescue
<http://www.pcb-hdd.com> http://www.pcb-hdd.com

http://www.drivestar.biz

http://www.firmwarefinder.com

Here is the URL:
<http://www.google.com/cse/home?cx=011867922784872493128:6vt8_adlkk4>
http://www.google.com/cse/home?cx=01186 ... vt8_adlkk4

Here are the suppliers currently in the list:

<http://www.donordrives.com> http://www.donordrives.com
<http://www.hdd-parts.com/> http://www.hdd-parts.com/
<http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Darius-HDD-solutions>
http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Darius-HDD-solutions
datadonor.net
laptopdrivestore.com
<http://hddparts.blogspot.com/> http://hddparts.blogspot.com/
ultratecdirect.com
hdd-donor.com
accesscomputerparts.net
socalresellers.com

 

[bitsandbytes]

Here's a long list, from a post in the Data Recovery Certification Google group
(http://groups.google.com/group/datarecoverycertification/msg/d947591e069471f3):

<http://www.hddzone.com> http://www.hddzone.com
<http://www.hddsupplier.com> http://www.hddsupplier.com
<http://www.effectiveelectronics.com> http://www.effectiveelectronics.com
<http://www.onepcbsolution.com> http://www.onepcbsolution.com
<http://stores.ebay.co.uk/FarnboroughIT>
http://stores.ebay.co.uk/FarnboroughIT
<http://www.accesscomputerparts.net> http://www.accesscomputerparts.net
<http://www.donordrives.com> http://www.donordrives.com
<http://www.hdd-parts.com/> http://www.hdd-parts.com/
<http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Darius-HDD-solutions>
http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Darius-HDD-solutions
datadonor.net
laptopdrivestore.com
<http://hddparts.blogspot.com/> http://hddparts.blogspot.com/
ultratecdirect.com
hdd-donor.com
socalresellers.com

<http://stores.ebay.com/HDRescue> http://stores.ebay.com/HDRescue
<http://www.pcb-hdd.com> http://www.pcb-hdd.com

http://www.drivestar.biz

http://www.firmwarefinder.com

Here is the URL:
<http://www.google.com/cse/home?cx=011867922784872493128:6vt8_adlkk4>
http://www.google.com/cse/home?cx=01186 ... vt8_adlkk4

Here are the suppliers currently in the list:

<http://www.donordrives.com> http://www.donordrives.com
<http://www.hdd-parts.com/> http://www.hdd-parts.com/
<http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Darius-HDD-solutions>
http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Darius-HDD-solutions
datadonor.net
laptopdrivestore.com
<http://hddparts.blogspot.com/> http://hddparts.blogspot.com/
ultratecdirect.com
hdd-donor.com
accesscomputerparts.net
socalresellers.com

Thanks for that, these sites will come in useful, they will be a useful addition to my bookmarks

 

[ectta]

Hi I have a customers hard drive at the moment, it is a samsung sata internal 500gb model no: HM500JI. The PCB board is dead, I cannot get an exact replacement anywhere to the point where i have given up looking.... what im asking is there any way of retrieving the data any other way apart from sending to a data recovery lab. Im basically looking for a DIY solution.... any ideas please.

what do u mean "dead? hardware(pcb, power, motor, reading heads sound? )
if u want to find the pcb u need to find the one with the same firmware version! or it won't "work" for recovery.
if it is power issue, check the fuse, diodes, caps and inductors.

motor issue may not just relate to the above, it could be the controller chips, then usually will find a same hdd and dissolder its chip to replace.

whether u hv a clean room or not, to open the hdd cover will "definitely" shorten the life span of the hdd, the only way is to extract the data asap and migrate/clone to the other hdd and use further software to recover the data.

cheers.

 

[dropletasf]

hddzone.com/samsung-pcb-c-5.html

In most cases, you should exchange the BIOS/Main Controller IC before you swap hard drive PCB, in order to make the replacement board compatible with your HDD. Local TV/Phone repair shop can offer this service for $5-$20