Power supply fried my WD120JB. Can I rig it to recover data?

[Jeff McAhren]

My WD120JB won't spin up due to damage suffered during a power supply
failure. I have no backup (it failed), and I would like to recover
the data, but I don't want to pay the recovery firms high prices
($800+).

Would it be possible for me to buy an identical drive, replace the
circuit boards, and recover the data?

Any other suggestions for cheaper data recovery than the big,
expensive firms on the web? I'm desperate, but not desperate enough
to pay $1,000.

Thanks,

JM

 

[Arno Wagner]

My WD120JB won't spin up due to damage suffered during a power supply
failure. I have no backup (it failed), and I would like to recover
the data, but I don't want to pay the recovery firms high prices
($800+).

Would it be possible for me to buy an identical drive, replace the
circuit boards, and recover the data?

You have to take into account that most modern HDDs have a
pre-amplifier next to the heads inside the enclosure. If
that is fried too, replacing the main board will not help.

There may also be other problems if you do not get exactly the
same revision of the circuit board. Some modern HDDs store
part of the OS on the disk. If that does not match, the
disk will likely not work.

Any other suggestions for cheaper data recovery than the big,
expensive firms on the web? I'm desperate, but not desperate enough
to pay $1,000.

$1000 is a very reasonable fee. Part of that is for the huge
store of replacement parts a data-recovery company has to keep,
to have exactly the right circuit board available.

Arno

 

[CJT]

My WD120JB won't spin up due to damage suffered during a power supply
failure. I have no backup (it failed), and I would like to recover
the data, but I don't want to pay the recovery firms high prices
($800+).

Would it be possible for me to buy an identical drive, replace the
circuit boards, and recover the data?

Any other suggestions for cheaper data recovery than the big,
expensive firms on the web? I'm desperate, but not desperate enough
to pay $1,000.

Thanks,

JM

I give it a 20% chance. Others may guess higher or lower, but we'll
all just be guessing.

It might be worth a try, but don't get your hopes up too much.
I am aware of it working at least once in history (although I
have no experience with your particular drive), so it's not a
ridiculous idea.

Suppose the motor is fried -- then changing the board won't help.

 

[Folkert Rienstra]

You have to take into account that most modern HDDs have a
pre-amplifier next to the heads inside the enclosure. If
that is fried too, replacing the main board will not help.

There may also be other problems if you do not get exactly the
same revision of the circuit board.

Some modern HDDs store part of the OS on the disk.

Clueless.
If anything, modern HDDs may not store part of the firmware on the disks anymore now that flash memory gets cheaper/bigger every
day.

 

[Michael Hawes]

My WD120JB won't spin up due to damage suffered during a power supply
failure. I have no backup (it failed), and I would like to recover
the data, but I don't want to pay the recovery firms high prices
($800+).

Would it be possible for me to buy an identical drive, replace the
circuit boards, and recover the data?

Any other suggestions for cheaper data recovery than the big,
expensive firms on the web? I'm desperate, but not desperate enough
to pay $1,000.

Thanks,

JM

Not if the motor burned out!
Mike.

 

[Leo]

If anything, modern HDDs may not store part of the firmware on the disks anymore now that flash memory gets cheaper/bigger every
day.

Can you specify the name even one of ATA HDD (not older than 10
years), which does not store some parts of the firmware on the disk?
SMART modules, defect lists, event logs, adaptive tables, factory
process logs, etc. can not be stored in flash. And WD, as well as the
majority of other HDDs, have also some program overlays, loaded from a
disk as required.

Leonid

 

[Folkert Rienstra]

What happened to your terribly broken english all of sudden, Leo?

Can you specify the name even one of ATA HDD

(not older than 10 years),

What is it with the "not older than 10 years" thing?
I certainly hope that you are not suggesting that HDs before that
did not use Firmware and therefor didn't need (flash e)proms.

which does not store some parts of the firmware on the disk?

I have no idea.

I do know, though, that my older IBM SCSIs (DFHS, DCHS, ca 1993)
had 2 sets of firmware, a RAM version and a socalled ROS (ROM) version.
ROS Revision Level = 41
RAM Load Revision Level = 4G

The firmware came in 2 files, a full version and a ROS only version.
The ROS only version could be used to only update the ROS firmware.
The RAM and ROS version parts were distinctly traceable in the full
firmware file (first half ROS, second half RAM).
Both would have the same revision level.

Both versions displayed in the identification line when spun-up.
If the disk was spun-up by the bios instead of PowerON it would
display only the ROS revision at the time of identification by the bios.
After spin-up it would display both the ROS and the saved-on-the-
platters RAM revision which could be different from the ROS revision.
The whole firmware was only 320KB, the ROS firmware was only 160KB
(uncompressed). The DFHS/DCHS has a 1 Mbit flash eeprom.

The firmware was flashed in 2 stages. First the drive was spun down and
the ROS version was uploaded, then the drive would spin-up again and the
RAM version was uploaded and saved on the platters.

My (slightly) newer IBMs (DMVS, ca '98,'99) have only one firmware,
it has grown a bit over 50% to 544KB.
There is only one file, although there are different files depending on
what size drive you have. It now says Microcode Revision Level = 0260
It displays this version whether it has spun-up or not. There are no more
distinct Rom and RAM parts traceable in the firmware file.
The DMVS has a 4 Mbit flash eprom.

In some 5 years flash eeprom size has grown a lot more than firmware
and become so affordable to not have a NEED to store the firmware
partially on the platters to keep the cost down.
I have no bullet-proof proof that firmware is not on the platters any-
more with current harddrives but my DMVSs suggest that the full firm-
ware is now in ROM when it has a 4 Mbit flash eprom to accomodate it.

SMART modules, defect lists, event logs, adaptive tables, factory
process logs, etc. can not be stored in flash.

Uhh, did I say logs, lists and tables? I must have meant firmware.
You know, code? Even Arnie said "OS". Pity that you misunderstood.

And WD, as well as the majority of other HDDs, have also some
program overlays, loaded from a disk as required.

Required by whom, or what, why?

 

[The Enigmatic One]

It might be worth a try, but don't get your hopes up too much.
I am aware of it working at least once in history (although I
have no experience with your particular drive), so it's not a
ridiculous idea.

Is that counting me?

Of course, I fried the circut board directly when being careless where I
had it set up. The OP's situation sounds a bit more serious. I also now
have the data that I was so upset at losing on at least a half dozen
different CDs from periodic back-ups. Don't want to do that again.


-Tim

 

[Folkert Rienstra]

Your turn, Leo.
You called my bluf, now I call yours. Let's see your cards.

 

[Folkert Rienstra]

Erm, Leo?