HDD PCB advice and more

core2core

core2core

core2core

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Joined
7 Dec 2010
Posts
119
Location
UK
I have a Samsung HD103SI.

I accidentally shorted out the PCB while moving it. So I looked round to buy another PCB.

Just got it today and it matched all serial numbers. Drive powers up but won’t load. Am I right in thinking I need to move the chip? I don’t know how or have the right tools if that is the case.

I can’t find it now but it was said, that if you remove one or two of the resistors it may work. Any ideas?

It seems the Samsung PCB’s are rather less durable than or brands of HD.

HD PCB’s are to easily damaged, expensive and I wish they would have some sort of trip, fuse switch you can move back with a ballpoint pen. It would save a lot of hassle and costs.




While I’m on the subject of Hard disks, I need either 3 or 4TB for storage. What is the best bang for money? Also needs to be able to be seen by XP.

Can I have your opinion on these drives? I am worried about Toshiba, as they seem to have a lot of issues.

Toshiba HDWC130EW3J1 Stor.E Canvio 3TB USB 3.0 3.5 Inch Desktop Hard Drive

Western Digital 3TB Red

Seagate ST3000NC000 - CONSTELLATION

Cheers. :)
 
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Sorry to hear of your problem.

I think you are a bit misled to think that a trip or a fuse would protect a HDD PCB against "shorting out".

Unless the short circuit was simply across a power supply rail, a fuse would not prevent damage.
 
core2core said:
HD PCB’s are to easily damaged
Click to expand...

All such internal components are highly sensitive and fragile.

Basically you should have handled your equipment with the required diligence and care. Complaining that internal components should be built differently to guard against mis-use is ridiculous.

As for XP support, choice of HDD/Hardware will make ZERO difference to XP's support (or lack thereof) of a disk over 2TB in size.

Read:
http://www.ghacks.net/2010/11/04/how-to-use-3tb-hard-drives-on-windows-xp/
 
Sin, accidents do happen but it's not ridiculous at all. I had a HD year’s ago that had a plate at the bottom of it, so you could not accidental damage the PCB, unless you removed that plate.

No reason why HD manufacturers can’t do that now. Trip switch was another idea i had. Only reason they don't do these, is because they know most will go out and just buy a new HD.

As for XP. Some HD manufacturers provide software so you can use NTSF on a 3tb or more drive but some HD's, won't work with XP at all, because the HD has missing features.

The HD market has changed a lot since I bought my last HD and it gets confusing.

Anyway none of this helps with my Samsung issue. Is there nobody on here that is technical about HD PCB's that can assist?

Only thing I found was this but above my head. What and where is a TVS diode? http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/280488-32-103si-board
 
BlackAle said:
Backup is the solution to your problem, probably not now, but in the future.
Click to expand...

I already do that but I have many drives I use for backup of files. Just had an accident with the Samsung drive. Also need larger storage.


I don't use USB caddy’s much but connect the drive to my PC. I don’t have enough room in the case, so it's on the outside.
 
core2core said:
As for XP. Some HD manufacturers provide software so you can use NTSF on a 3tb or more drive but some HD's, won't work with XP at all, because the HD has missing features.[/url]
Click to expand...

Nothing to do with NTFS, it's OS limitations XP presents.

And no, it's not ridiculous. HDDs serve one function, to sit in an appropriate bay in an internal capacity. You should handle it appropriately outside of this function.

HDDs are not waterproof to protect against accidental spillage, why should they be reinforced against dropping/mishandling?
 
To be fair, some insulating material covering the PCB would not be a bad idea, and it would not add much to the cost of a HDD (maybe £0.03 ?).

A motherboard is a fault waiting to happen, with all those exposed components.

Insulating a motherboard would be a more complicated and expensive task.

If you want to avoid shorting out a HDD, buy an SSD. No short circuits, and lots of wooooooosh ! :D
 
Darvious I would love to buy a SSD but still far to expensive. When I can get a 1TB SSD for 60 quid, then I will buy. Lol


Sin, I don't drop my HD's or get them wet. I'm not that silly.

Well as no one has helped me with my HD probelms, few things I found today.

This seems to be true.

Samsung HD103SI has grown to become one of the world's leading hard drive manufacturers. One of the most common problems with Samsung hard drives is damaged circuit board (PCB), which is caused by overheating and power surges. Firmware corruption is another issue with Samsung HD103SI hard drives and can be fixed without opening the drive and parts replacement. Another problem with Samsung HD103SI hard drives is Clicking noise, which is caused by damaged head disk assembly and requires parts replacement in clean room environment. Another very common problem in Samsung HD103SI Hard drives is bad sectors. This problem is typical in all kinds of other hard drives manufactured by other companies also.
Click to expand...


A video about the sort of problems I am having. Don't worry, from the US and we don't buy from there. May help others.

How to repair a hard drive with dead circuit board and swap hard drive
http://youtu.be/Yn2eL4o-6Eo

This explains about the diode thing.
http://www.users.on.net/~fzabkar/HDD/TVS_diode_FAQ.html

And best go here http://forum.hddguru.com/ for help and advice on HD PCB's and more. It's where I may well post but I need to get a multimeter first. Never had to use one before.
 
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I've swapped a few HDD PCBs in the past with some success. Over the last few years I haven't had any luck with 1TB+ drives, so much so that I tell people "tough luck" instead of trying. Just IMO, take from it what you will
 
I've to agree with core2core that Samsung Hard drives are very sensitive and need extra care while handling because most of the components are the delicate and fragile compared to other suppliers. I remember that My HDD Samsung HD103SJ suddenly stopped working and couldn't be detected by the BIOS at all.
 
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