www.deadharddrive.com

lsgko · Active contributor Joined: 03 Oct 2008 Posts: 6

I've got a Seagate 500 GB that won't spin up. It came out of a Lacie drive enclosure. When I connect it to a computer the computer won't start. When I put it in another (non lacie) enclosure the enclosure wouldn't power up. So I think I need a PCB but don't know if the motor inside could have fried the circuit board and would fry a replacement circuit circuit board.

Questions:
1) Do I need a whole another drive or just a PCB?
2) Is there a way I could get a PCB from another drive and try to get the drive to spin up without risking a the same exact PCB? (e.g., to ensure the motors in the drive won't damage the same exact PCB)

Drive Details:
Barracuda 7200.10
IDE Interface
Model: ST3500830A
P/N: 9BJ036-500
Firmware: 3.AAC
Date Code: 07285

harddrivespecialist · Posted: Fri Oct 24, 2008 5:48 pm Post subject:

Post a picture of the board and I will let you know how to fix it.
_________________
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lsgko · Active contributor Joined: 03 Oct 2008 Posts: 6

Please see:
http://i36.tinypic.com/2hfqd05.jpg

Thanks harddrivespecialist.

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markc · Officially active! Joined: 09 Dec 2008 Posts: 3

Hi,
I was fiddling with adding a new HDD today. When I inserted/removed the cable from my Seagate 500 GB drive, it broke, leaving the main piece inside the header. It took awhile, but I was able to pry it out. The pins and board looked o.k., but I was unable to boot Win XP, nor find the OS, yet the PC thinks there is HDD there. I tried using my Win XP boot CD to do a recovery, but it could not find the HDD.
Do you think I damaged the circuit board, just the header, or something else? Is there a diagnostic s/w tool I can try before I go fiddling with the PCB? The version is 7200.10 and the w/ is 3.AAF. Any help is appreciated as I REALLY need to fix this ASAP.
Thanks,
Mark

harddrivespecialist · Posted: Tue Dec 09, 2008 11:43 pm Post subject:

Can you post a picture of the drive or a damage.
It is really hard to determine what exactly is broken.
_________________
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markc · Officially active! Joined: 09 Dec 2008 Posts: 3

It seems to be working now (as I am using the PC to type this response), but I am embarrassed to admit this, but I think my problem had to do with jumper placement. I thought I had it set in the correct position, but apparently did not. I am trying to copy old drive information on this drive, then wipe them clean to discard them.

Based on my PC's tight construction (an old IBM NetVista 8305), I had the drive in the secondary slot, but probably cable select or master mode, but it couldn't boot the PC, and the other drive had no OS (unbeknownst to me), then I flipped the 500 GB to the master slot, but the cable-tugging and eventual destruction began. Then I found a master-only cable lying around, but the drive failed to boot, because the jumper was probably set in slave or some other mode. The other drive (which is also a Seagate) had a different protocol for jumper selection. Why can't HDD manufacturers standardize jumper selection?! Sorry for this long-winded response, but I just wanted to let everyone know I solved the problem and how. I will be on the lookout on eBay (one of my favorite sites for finding/buying stuff) for HDD boards in case I do destroy one some day.
Thanks and regards,
Mark

OldGuy · Active contributor Joined: 09 Nov 2008 Posts: 9

lsgko,

Your problem sounds like what I ran into that turned out to be a bad zener diode. In my case, it was a drive in a Maxtor enclosure. It was zapped by connecting the wrong power brick. Look at my post under "More Stories" for details. Looking at the picture you posted, the two zener diodes are in the upper right corner of the PCB. One is immediately to the left of the torx screw and is square. The other is just to the left of the first one and is rectangular. The black pieces are primarily insulators. I would first try measuring the resistance on the diodes with a voltmeter. Reverse the leads and measure the resistance again. If the diodes are OK, they will register a high resistance in one direction and a low resistance in the other. If one of them shows a very low resistance in both directions, then it is probably shorted out. In my case, it was the larger square diode that was shorted. If you're good with a soldering iron, you can desolder one end and then lift it up so that it is disconnected. If you can't do that, then just cut it loose with a set of diagonal cutting pliers.

Hope this helps.
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RussWinters · Posted: Thu Feb 26, 2009 1:18 am Post subject:

have you resolved your issue yet? If not I may be able to help you

markc · Officially active! Joined: 09 Dec 2008 Posts: 3

yes, thanks for asking. I had jumper configuration issues.