External WD Hard Disk Drive R.I.P?

peanutismint

peanutismint

peanutismint

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I just dropped my mate's external 500GB Western Digital Elements Hard Disk Drive. SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVER ME TIMBERS!

It only fell about 10 inches, but it was enough to stop the transfer of data (between it and my Macbook) and now won't load up.

When I connect power, it makes a funny sound, as if it's trying to sing... OS X says it's unrecognised and offers to initialise it....we all know what 'initialise' means..... and Windows can't even see it. OS X actually sees it as a 2TB drive. I wish a simple drop DID turn it into a 2TB drive....

Unfortunately, it had a lot of important(ish) data on there, so I could really do with getting it back. If the strange noise is the head moving around then I reckon it safe to say that it's that which has broken. Anybody know anything about self-repair of one of these things? Coz I just know that if I take it to a data recovery place they're gonna fleece me for something I'm reasonably confident I could do myself.

Looks like it needs a T9 torx to crack it open, then just replace the head with a new one, if that is in fact the problem. But where might one go to buy a replacement head? And does it have to be the EXACT same model number etc to work? I've had a dead SATA HDD before, and it turned out to be the PCB, so I just swapped that over with a working one of EXACTLY the same model and it worked. Any ideas anyone? I'm bricking it here!!!
 
In theory you could replace the head with that of an identical model and it would work but in practice opening it up would contaminate the interior with dust, skin cells, and other crap that would quickly render the disk even more useless. The recovery places cost so much because they work in clean rooms in Tyvek suits. You could attempt it, of course, since the data might be gone anyway.
 
Do you know what's even involved in removing the heads?

It's not some "oh unscrew this, yank the heads out, shove these in" job.
 
He's right, to get the heads out you need to take the platters and spindle out, which is a nightmare in itself given that you can't touch the platters if you want them to work again. Then you need to remove the arm assembly and magnets which again is a pretty nightmareish task to do, let alone to do it gently and without fuss.

You have about a 99.99999% chance of failure if you attempt this, and will most likely increase the recovery costs from a specialist.
 
peanutismint said:
Industry-leading shock tolerance my ASS, Western Digital....
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Shock tolerance != dropping it. Shock tolerance is it taking a slight lateral knock, or being moved about like in a laptop. Dropping an IN USE HDD is dangerous to the heads, you do realise what tolerances they have to have distance wise from the platter yes? Dropping it whilst its spinning could well have gouged the platter, which is baaaad mkay.

Dropping a HDD when its in use is just stupid no matter how you look at it, so don't try blaming the manufacturer.
 
Okay, okay. Although in my defense, it fell off the desk due to its stupid rounded edges... :-D

Right, so I'm gonna need to spend out on a 500GB drive to rescue this? A 500GB drive which will then also be rendered useless... I know PCBs usually have to come from the exact same model and F/W version, but how about heads? (if that is found to be the problem) Exact same model, or just one that 'fits'? Because I happen to have a 180GB Seagate Barracuda which randomly 'stopped working' one day (no dropsies, scout's honour...), and that seems like its problem is just the PCB.....

So if I could take the head from that, that'd save me a LOT of money, and also the knowledge that I just destroyed a perfectly good 500GB drive, something I could do with MYSELF right now....
 
basmic said:
Do you know what's even involved in removing the heads?

It's not some "oh unscrew this, yank the heads out, shove these in" job.
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Yeah I do know what's involved thanks, I've read up on the subject quite a lot in the last 24 hours! Dangerous? Yes. Impossible? No way. Hey, somebody's gotta be able to do it successfully, what's to say I can't?
 
Coming from someone who has looked extensively into starting up a data recovery business, you will fail, with that attitude especially. How are you going to stop dust and other foreign objects from entering the disk when you take it apart? How are you going to stop the heads from hitting the platters whilst you are taking the arm assembly off? How are you going to unattach the cabling from the arm assembly to the board connectors? They aren't always detachable. How are you going to remove the arm assembly and the platters simultaneously without hitting one with the other? How will you reverse this process?

And yes, I'd get an identical drive if I was even to contemplate attempting this.
 
peanutismint said:
Yeah I do know what's involved thanks, I've read up on the subject quite a lot in the last 24 hours! Dangerous? Yes. Impossible? No way. Hey, somebody's gotta be able to do it successfully, what's to say I can't?
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You obviously know NOTHING about harddrives.

Do you think Seagate, Western Digital, Hitachi, all use the same heads? Somehow, I think not!

When you remove the heads from the drive, you will need to remove just the heads. So you'll need to park them, make 100% sure the heads cannot move up/down (so they don't touch the platters). Then remove the head mechanism - I believe by unscrewing a screw which is usually on the head's pivot. That's only roughly what I know.

You obviously think this is just a simple swap trick you can do in your bedroom.

Actually, come to think of it, you're right. Go ahead, swap the heads from a Seagate drive to the drive. Oh and make sure you unscrew the torx screws that hold the platters, and screw them back down again - I guarantee it'll work.
 
Ive dismantled loads of old hard drives to get the magnets from them. Usually end up using brute force and ignorance. All the screws inside are usually Torx heads. And you will need a GOOD set, as cheap ones will just break. Oh, and a clean room.
 
basmic said:
You obviously know NOTHING about harddrives.

Do you think Seagate, Western Digital, Hitachi, all use the same heads? Somehow, I think not!

You obviously think this is just a simple swap trick you can do in your bedroom.
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Dude would you listen to yourself? It's hardly helpful.

Firstly, I could be smart. I could be Stephen Hawking but not wheelchair-ridden smart, with the technical ability of a Chinese rice-writer on diazepam.

Secondly, my bedroom. I sleep in a hyperbaric chamber, free of all dirt and dust. Well of course I freaking don't, but you don't know me from Adam, so why the hostility?! :D

"Mate, this is an EXTREMELY difficult job, and if you were to pull it off, it'd be a technological miracle. However, if you'd like to have a go, I've found these helpful videos on YouTube. Have a go, best of luck. I'm with you. I believe in you. I love you man..."
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Okay well I kind of tailed off toward the end, but that's the kind of response I would have hoped for from what I've always known as a helpful and friendly and not at all elitist techno-nazi messageboard.


I'm sorry everybody, totally off on a tangent here, but mean people get me all riled up! :) Right well, thanks for the helpful comments all, I think I'll take how difficult it is into consideration and maybe get a 'professional' to look at it...Basmic, are you busy today?! :D
 
My seagate 7200.10 dropped 2m, onto a hardwood floor... still working in raid0 now.. thats shock tollerance ;p
 
They were just trying to help mate, thats one great thing about these forums, everyone has past experiences in different things, basmic simply wrote like that because of the 'gung-ho' attitude you started off with in the thread.

Perhaps it wouldnt save you money going to a professional, but it would save you the hassle of both them saying i told you so, and save yourself the hassle of losing all of your data and having to buy a new drive anyway

:)
 
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