I need a legacy drive (Caviar WD1600JB)

Gregg · October 15, 2015, 1:24am

My wife’s WD1600JB went up in smoke. Literally. A component on the circuit board near the 12v input charred out in a puff of glory, leaving my wife’s data in limbo. Most of her important files were backed up, but not all. So, I am looking to recover what is on the presumably intact platters.

The first attempt was to buy another WD1600JB and just transplant the entire circuit board, which simply drops in. However, it was a different revision and while it powered up the drive, it would not recognize its size or formatting, and in fact had an ever so slightly different component layout on the circuit board. So…

Does anyone out there have an item of the part number:

WD1600JB - 55REA0

The circuit board, if removed, will have:

2060-701292-002 REV A

on the back. If you’ve got it, I want it, just so I can yank the PCB, recover the data and then trash the old drive. Any help appreciated.

Mabkay · October 15, 2015, 2:46am

Try here… Make sure to find exact match.

http://www.hddzone.com/western-digital-pcb-c-2.html?zenid=0sc6220n9ervsjbnkjf0tg4n70

Gregg · October 15, 2015, 2:46am

Thank you much. That appears to be a perfect solution, but I won’t know until I actually get the part and try it out. Will check back and report the results when I get it.

Mabkay · October 15, 2015, 2:46am

Any time…

Gregg · October 15, 2015, 2:46am

Well, no joy in Mudville. The new PCB fits perfectly and powers up, but apparently the specs for the exact drive in question are burned into the BIOS for that unique drive, so it looks like I would have to remove the old BIOS chip and install it on the new PCB to get the thing to work. That, or go to a professional drive recovery service.

Mabkay · October 15, 2015, 2:46am

We can’t be sure of the parts salvaged form old burnt out board. You’ll be better off if you contact WD data recovery agents. If the drive is spinning with new PCB, you can try using Testdisk to correct drive errors. But this is a remote chance. If it cannot see your drive, you have to seek help from DR agents.

fzabkar · October 15, 2015, 2:46am

The problem with the original PCB is probably a shorted 12V TVS diode. This component sacrifices itself to protect the rest of the electronics. The solution is simply to remove it.

Can you upload a detailed photo of the damaged board?

BTW, the chip that needs to be transferred to your donor PCB is located at U12. It should have a “25” in its part number, and will have 8 pins.

Gregg · October 15, 2015, 2:46am

That sounds like the right component. Removing its charred remains was one of the first things I did.

Unfortunately I damaged the traces on the original board when removing the burned out component with a stone axe. Or at least that’s how my regular PCB soldering iron felt when using it on the board.I think there is a pass-through on the board in that area that I have disconnected, and do not want to risk messing up other board components at the moment.

I’m going to see if I can find someone locally with the tools for surface mount work and get them to move the chip for me, If that fails, then go the professional recovery route (the wife values the old data enough to pay the cost),

fzabkar · October 15, 2015, 2:46am

Some PCB suppliers provide a firmware transfer service for US$10 - $20.

http://www.hdd-parts.com/18000254.html