My hard disk 120 GB Western digital got eletrick shock and therefore it wouldnt spin and start at all. I talked to few data recovery specialists to help me out. They were asking $800 plus amount which i couldnt afford. So i had a 40gb hard drive with same logic circuit board as my bad hard disk had, i replaced the circuit board, the drive started to spin but
was making clicking noise. I opened the lit or disk cover to see what is making the noise.
I found the head/read/write arm was clicking. I am not sure whether my head arm is bad ?.
The concern i have is whether i erased the disk data after i open the disk lid or cover (a cover with 4 screws).
Any epertise opinion. I am not sure opening a disk lid or case will erase the data automatically. Also i want to know
whether data will be recoverable or not if i replace the head arm.
How can i stop head clicking by downloading any firmware software.
You’ve already opened the cover, so it’s too late for anyone to advise you not to.
The actuator was clicking because the replacement board was calibrated for a different set of read/write heads. Depending on the design, you may be able to transplant an 8-pin serial EEPROM chip from patient to donor. The EEPROM contains the calibration data that were determined at the factory. If you are unlucky, the EEPROM may be incorporated into the main MCU, in which case you will need professional data recovery.
However, you may be able to repair the original board if it has TVS (transient voltage suppression) diodes. If you have overvolted your drive, then either of the 5V or 12V diodes may have short circuited. The fix is to remove it and replace an associated fuse, if applicable.
Can you upload a detailed photo of the component side of your faulty circuit board? One of us will be able to identify the faulty part, if it isn’t obvious.
Thank you so much. I found out the logic board had short circuit (a chip is burned) and the read/write arm head has torn apart or came out little bit from the arm.
I was able to find a exact same model another working hard drive, and i transferred the logic circuit board/read-write arm, the drive spins now but i get clicking sound even though i replaced each component of the bad hard drive except the platters.
I am not sure why it is still clicking although the same hard drive from where i took out parts was working alright.
I put back the parts back to the working hard drive, now my even good hard drive is clicking.
I donno what did i do wrong, the only thing i am doing is i am not opening the hard drive in a clean room or laboratory,
my office is very clean with no dust or air.
I noticed that when i open any working hard drive just to test it for few seconds, it starts to click .
AFAICS, by messing with the HDA, you have made it almost impossible to retrieve your data, at least not without great expense. The original problem was confined to the circuit board, and was probably a simple fix.
The following article will explain why head stack replacement is not a DIY job.
