My hard drive failed out of no where and my backups are messed up. I’m hoping I can still get the drive going long enough to pull the data off.
The drive doesn’t spin up or click or make any noises so I’m guessing (read: hoping) it’s the controller board although I’m not seeing any obvious signs of damage. I’ve been doing some reading and I was thinking about replacing the PCB but I know there are some tricks on whether you need to move the U12 chip, match firmware, or if I can just pop out a diode.
Before I do anything stupid, I’m hoping someone here can give me advise on whether the board is the issue and how I can get me data back. Considering my backups are non functional, this may be the only place I have some very important family photos. I’d appreciate any help I can get!
your dead board should have a part number on it on the side with no components on it ( it should be something like: 2061-701335-005 Rev.A) . get same part number board from ebay, and move U12 rom chip from original to donor board. power up - enjoy your pictures
Pooched, I can’t see any TVS diodes on your board. As for matching firmware, that will be accounted for when you transfer the chip at U12. If you are not adept at soldering, then you could ask your local TV/AV repair shop to do it for you.
Alternatively, the following PCB suppliers offer a firmware transfer service, either for free, or for US$10:
I would advise that you avoid those suppliers who don’t tell you that a board won’t work without modification. Often they will attempt to obscure the requirement for a firmware transfer by deceptively describing their products as being “for data recovery only”.
