Storage Solutions HELP! Burnt hard drive controller (Western Digital WD5000KS-00MNB0)

tracerbullet

tracerbullet

Discoverer
My 500GB Western Digital hard drive suddenly died. No warnings, no SMART impending failure alerts, nothing. It was working without a hitch the last time I used it. Then I powered on the computer a day later and it simply disappeared from the face of this earth.

It doesn't show in the BIOS and it doesn't appear in Windows. It doesn't work on another rig and it doesn't even work with an external casing. When I put my ear to the device when powered on with the external casing, there's no activity going on. The platters don't turn neither are there any sort of ticks or other noises.

This led me to believe that there's some issue with the power circuitry as the platters aren't getting any power. So I took a STAR screwdriver and proceeded to remove the hard drive controller. Here's what I found: ImageShack Album - 8 images



If you look at the pictures, it appears that some logic controller on the circuit board (last pic) is dead, probably burnt from bad power from a faulty PSU(?) or from overheating. If I can replace the controller board, I should hopefully have my poor baby back in the groove :(

I am willing to go to any lengths as this 500GB hard drive had all my preciously collected music (~80GB of my best music as I only keep what I listen to and discard the rest), lots of HD and non-HD movies, lots of downloads and lots and lots of photos. Someone please shoot me in the head because I don't have a backup of any of this data :'( Pros, here's a question: What are the chances that my data is intact on the platters?



I am willing to pick up a used/unused working Western Digital WD5000KS-00MNB0 hard drive from any of you at the current market price of a new 500GB hard drive.

Also, are there any other options open to me? What happens if I don't manage to find the same exact controller from another 5000KS-00MNB0? Can I swap the controller with any generic 500GB WD hard drive other there - what will happen in the worst case scenario? Please help as the data on this drive is terribly important.

Thanks in advance!

--- Updated Post - Automerged ---

I found a couple of places online that sell the PCB of my WD5000KS-00MNB0. Here are a couple of links: PCB for WD5000KS-00MNB0 00MNBO 2060-701383-001 REV A For Sale and PCB for WD5000KS-00MNB0 500gb 7200rpm SATA Hard Drive - eBay (item 170552024447 end time Nov-11-10 13:33:44 PST)

Should I go ahead and order one and replace it myself? Are there any other factors that need to be looked in? If anyone here has tried this with success do respond here.
 
Sorry to hear that Nikhil. What power supply were you using with this system anyway?

I recall, medpal tried swapping the controller board of my 640AAKS with his WD drive which failed but to no avail. Although this could have been a problem with some other component(s).

Amarbir offers recovery of data from the drive so you may contact him. I am not aware of the rates though.

I shouldn't be probably saying this to you, but please keep a backup of all the data. I realised the importance a couple of months back, when my 5000BEVT drive inside my netbook died and took away ~100GB of hd rips I had downloaded. Ever since that incident, I maintain a 1:1 backup of all the data on a couple of other drives. As for HD rips and music, you may download them again or lend the drive from friends and copy it. But you can't do that for photos so keep multiple backups of photos on dedicated gmail accounts, dvds etc.

PS: Should you need any hd rips, hit me over PMs.
 
hi op

if ur in mumbai i can give u the number of this place that does data recovery

however they might be able to repair the drive itself

pm me if interested and i will pm u the number

best of luck
 
Desecrator said:
Sorry to hear that Nikhil. What power supply were you using with this system anyway?

I recall, medpal tried swapping the controller board of my 640AAKS with his WD drive which failed but to no avail. Although this could have been a problem with some other component(s).

Amarbir offers recovery of data from the drive so you may contact him. I am not aware of the rates though.

I shouldn't be probably saying this to you, but please keep a backup of all the data. I realised the importance a couple of months back, when my 5000BEVT drive inside my netbook died and took away ~100GB of hd rips I had downloaded. Ever since that incident, I maintain a 1:1 backup of all the data on a couple of other drives. As for HD rips and music, you may download them again or lend the drive from friends and copy it. But you can't do that for photos so keep multiple backups of photos on dedicated gmail accounts, dvds etc.

PS: Should you need any hd rips, hit me over PMs.
Click to expand...

My PSU is a Corsair 620HX! So unless it's borked, I doubt it is the culprit. About taking backups, I know! But it's tragic that I actually removed backups instead of making more. Let me explain: I had a 1TB WD World Edition NAS which had everything that was essential backed up on it. But I sold it to Bikey and did a complete factory reset beforing handing it over a month ago. I'm sure if I do run a file recovery app, I might be able to retrieve a lot of my music back but it's not worth the trouble. Poor bikey is as it is so busy these days.. The second backup I had of my photos and music was on my 320GB Hackintosh hard drive, but Snow Leopard was giving lots of issues with my latest graphics card the Radeon 5750, so I did a complete format and converted the drive into NTFS. I'm silly to remove my backups like that and I understand that now :(
moksh4u2 said:
hi op

if ur in mumbai i can give u the number of this place that does data recovery

however they might be able to repair the drive itself

pm me if interested and i will pm u the number

best of luck
Click to expand...

Hey Moksh, pass on the no. However, call me arrogant, but I don't feel like giving my beloved hard drive into others' hands yet. I want to give retrieving my data a proper shot and if that fails then I'll think of taking the professional route.
 
tracerbullet said:
What are the chances that my data is intact on the platters?
Click to expand...
Not a Pro but since the damage to the chip is visible, I am guessing its quite likely that there is nothing wrong with the platters.
tracerbullet said:
What happens if I don't manage to find the same exact controller from another 5000KS-00MNB0?
Click to expand...
I think you should try only with a controller from an identical hard drive. I am not sure if using some other WD controller will damage the data but if it were my hard drive I wouldn't use a controller from any other model.
 
Nikhil, Those data retrieval guys charge a bomb these days, and quote figures based on megabytes recovered etc. Put up a thread on market section, maybe someone with a similar controller would sell the hard disk.

Try contacting WD themselves, and see if they are able to help etc...
 
Actually data recovery does not charge on the basis of the amount of MB per se, but on the perceived value of the data. 10GB of corporate HR information is worth a lot more than 200GB of music and photos, and 10Gb of bank data is worth a lot more.

I've tried this both without any success in the past. The only way you will know is by trying it out. You might want to pick up a new drive of the same type and swap in the controller (though it's not really a sure shot), then copy it on a loaner and back up everything on the new drive. Am not sure what the OKS designation means - Green? Black? Blue? Anyway the ebay link you posted is $95 with shipping - kinda pricey but will still be much less than what a recovery guy will charge you. The other link is a little cheaper - and far more informative, one of the reasons why it did not work for me is the ROM on the controller board was not the same for my drives (it may or may not be for yours).

You don't know anything about backup until you keep about 2.5TB of data in a 1:1 mapped backup over three separate machines :D It's a nightmare.
 
Aces170 said:
Try contacting WD themselves, and see if they are able to help etc...
Click to expand...
Yup, done that. I spoken to the PR. They're checking their inventory to see if they have the same drive with them. Let's hope they do!
cranky said:
Actually data recovery does not charge on the basis of the amount of MB per se, but on the perceived value of the data. 10GB of corporate HR information is worth a lot more than 200GB of music and photos, and 10Gb of bank data is worth a lot more.

I've tried this both without any success in the past. The only way you will know is by trying it out. You might want to pick up a new drive of the same type and swap in the controller (though it's not really a sure shot), then copy it on a loaner and back up everything on the new drive. Am not sure what the OKS designation means - Green? Black? Blue? Anyway the ebay link you posted is $95 with shipping - kinda pricey but will still be much less than what a recovery guy will charge you. The other link is a little cheaper - and far more informative, one of the reasons why it did not work for me is the ROM on the controller board was not the same for my drives (it may or may not be for yours).
Click to expand...

the thing is that my drive the WD5000KS-00MNB0 has been replaced by the AAKS version and is no longer available in the market. Like you said, the ROM on the controller may need to be swapped as well, onto the new controller board for anything to work. Check this link out: PCB for WD5000KS-00MNB0 00MNBO 2060-701383-001 REV A For Sale The site clearly mentions that "Please note : Marvell 88I6545-TFJ1 chipset boards are not compatible even from exactly the same drive. You need to swap small ROM chip U12 from your old board U12 ROM chip is programmed with unique parameters/setting of your drive. Any electronics repair shop can do it for about $20-25. ROM is marked as U12 on the board. U12 It's a small 8 pin chip near SATA port." Do you know anyone in Mumbai who can do the soldering of this microchip? It's visible in the second pic - it's the 8-pin chip near the SATA port, directly above the tag V7112.

--- Updated Post - Automerged ---

Also, all of the WD5000KS-00MNB0 controller boards I've found online have different DCM IDs. Take the ebay one for instance - it mentions DCM: HBACAJAAB while my drive's DCM is HCHCAJAH. Is it required that the DCM IDs need to be exactly the same?
 
Any mobile repair guy should be able to do it, in Cal they sit on pavements equipped with the fanciest of SMD rework tools :)

The thing is even between revisions the firmware would have changed, so it's a not a sure thing. You could follow the procedure down to the letter and still be disappointed. Prepare for the worst, and try your best. It's all down to your luck. The drive platter and the firmware are a tightly interwoven system, and you could break it pretty badly by doing the wrong thing. Data may be unaffected and recoverable, but the partition table may be totally tossed by a faulty firmware flash (which essentially this is).

It may be a better bet to look for the burnt parts on Digikey or similar, and see if replacing those helps.
 
download whatever you lost again. even i've lost more than 300GB data of the usual movies, music, anime stuff. Ask people around and many might have the same stuff you had. Just ask them to burn your stuff on dvds and ship it to you. I ended up downloading almost 60% of what i lost and rest i got thru friends here on TE itself.

As for the pics if its from a digicam or so, you could try a data retrieval software on the formatted drives which still work. Invest your money in buying new hdd's for backup instead of buying a hdd and trying to retrieve a dead hdd and in process loose both hdd's. I might sound pessimistic but i can't help it. The risk in your project is too much. You'll end up spending way too much more money than a couple of brand new hdd's and you might not even get a result. Ask yourself whether those movies and music are worth that amount atleast 10 times please. Just think rationally. :)
 
^ I have at least 10-15GB of photos which I've diligently collected since 2003 when I first started shooting with digital cameras. I'm sure I have 50% of that backed up on DVDs, but the rest isn't and I'm willing to spend time and energy if only to recover the remaining 50%. The music (all of which is relatively esoteric, harder to find etc.), movies, tonnes of downloads and whatnot only add to my determination. Let's see how it goes. I think Cranky's suggestion of replacing ONLY the burnt chip sounds like a better plan. But that's a way more complicated process. Have a look at the burnt chip in the first photo. Do you guys think it can be swapped easily?
 
that can be easily replaced if a person has the right device. but question is if that chip was burnt then the components in line before it were also affected in one way or other. So will you keep replacing the components one by one till your hdd works?
 
Yeah it can be. Like Sangram Sir's mentioned, cellphone repairers (albeit the better and popular ones out there!) can do it provided you can find the replacement chip. Worth a shot IMO.
 
It's not that tough for a repair technician to debug the circuit. The power inside an HDD isn't that much (say, compared to a motherboard) so sequential failure mode is unlikely. Anyway the chip supplying power to the main controller (which looks borked but shouldn't be that tough to find as it's a ST part) and the associated passives can be easily replaced when the chip is.

Most likely something in the power delivery chain took some impact (electronically speaking) and passed it along, so the controller died. That would be the little 5-pin chip on the extreme top right of the board.

And (and this is much worse) in a very casual inspection from your board picture, I see the damage has occurred near the point where the spindle rotor gets its power, so if the rotor went into terminal failure and reached overcurrent (sometimes this happens when you switch on and the rotor is unusually loaded), it would have damaged the chip. This obviously means that there's not much use in replacing anything and the effort will only bring heartache.

Good Luck :)
 
Buy a new disk and get everything from your friends .Buy the ebay pcb controller card and try swapping it with your disk .if it doesnt work then try replacing the ST chip

did you find any exact matches for the same ST chip ?
 
tracerbullet said:
My 500GB Western Digital hard drive suddenly died. No warnings, no SMART impending failure alerts, nothing. It was working without a hitch the last time I used it. Then I powered on the computer a day later and it simply disappeared from the face of this earth.

It doesn't show in the BIOS and it doesn't appear in Windows. It doesn't work on another rig and it doesn't even work with an external casing. When I put my ear to the device when powered on with the external casing, there's no activity going on. The platters don't turn neither are there any sort of ticks or other noises.

This led me to believe that there's some issue with the power circuitry as the platters aren't getting any power. So I took a STAR screwdriver and proceeded to remove the hard drive controller. Here's what I found: ImageShack Album - 8 images



If you look at the pictures, it appears that some logic controller on the circuit board is dead, probably burnt from bad power from a faulty PSU(?) or from overheating. If I can replace the controller board, I should hopefully have my poor baby back in the groove :(

I am willing to go to any lengths as this 500GB hard drive had all my preciously collected music (~80GB of my best music as I only keep what I listen to and discard the rest), lots of HD and non-HD movies, lots of downloads and lots and lots of photos. Someone please shoot me in the head because I don't have a backup of any of this data :'( Pros, here's a question: What are the chances that my data is intact on the platters?



I am willing to pick up a used/unused working Western Digital WD5000KS-00MNB0 hard drive from any of you at the current market price of a new 500GB hard drive.

Also, are there any other options open to me? What happens if I don't manage to find the same exact controller from another 5000KS-00MNB0? Can I swap the controller with any generic 500GB WD hard drive other there - what will happen in the worst case scenario? Please help as the data on this drive is terribly important.

Thanks in advance!

--- Updated Post - Automerged ---

I found a couple of places online that sell the PCB of my WD5000KS-00MNB0. Here are a couple of links: PCB for WD5000KS-00MNB0 00MNBO 2060-701383-001 REV A For Sale and PCB for WD5000KS-00MNB0 500gb 7200rpm SATA Hard Drive - eBay (item 170552024447 end time Nov-11-10 13:33:44 PST)

Should I go ahead and order one and replace it myself? Are there any other factors that need to be looked in? If anyone here has tried this with success do respond here.
Click to expand...
Well,

Please Contact Me Via PM .I will Get Your Job Done With Perfection .
 
cranky said:
And (and this is much worse) in a very casual inspection from your board picture, I see the damage has occurred near the point where the spindle rotor gets its power, so if the rotor went into terminal failure and reached overcurrent (sometimes this happens when you switch on and the rotor is unusually loaded), it would have damaged the chip. This obviously means that there's not much use in replacing anything and the effort will only bring heartache.
Click to expand...

What damage point is that? Are you referring to the damage on the SMOOTH L6284 2.2 chip or someplace else? Would you like me take a clearer photo with a 5D Mark 2 and send it to you for better inspection?
hA1d3R said:
Buy a new disk and get everything from your friends .Buy the ebay pcb controller card and try swapping it with your disk .if it doesnt work then try replacing the ST chip did you find any exact matches for the same ST chip ?
Click to expand...

If by ST chip you're referring to the SMOOTH L6284 2.2 chip that's burnt, I haven't tried searching for it yet. Let me scour ebay etc. and post back over here.

Thanks for all the help so far guys, I appreciate it :)
 
The 4 solder points near the ST/Smooth chip are where the connections for the drive internals take off. The chip should not be tough to find, but if you really want my opinion, it's to send it to Amarbir (or somebody who's done this before) and get him to recover your data for you. If the data is as important as you say it is, you can't afford to bork your disk by doing something wrong.
 
I wouldn't recommend sending it to Amarbir, you will wait ages for your drive and data. In my case i got half the data that too after repeated number of calls over 6 months, and teh drive from which he recovered the data is still with him and he refuses to send it back. Since you love your data and drive i don't want you to fall into a sweet trap. Just my experience and suggestion.
 
cranky said:
The 4 solder points near the ST/Smooth chip are where the connections for the drive internals take off. The chip should not be tough to find, but if you really want my opinion, it's to send it to Amarbir (or somebody who's done this before) and get him to recover your data for you. If the data is as important as you say it is, you can't afford to bork your disk by doing something wrong.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the help Cranky, here're some high resolution pics for you to do some more of your magic :)



luckyishere said:
I wouldn't recommend sending it to Amarbir, you will wait ages for your drive and data. In my case i got half the data that too after repeated number of calls over 6 months, and teh drive from which he recovered the data is still with him and he refuses to send it back. Since you love your data and drive i don't want you to fall into a sweet trap. Just my experience and suggestion.
Click to expand...

Amarbir, I'd like to send my hard disk to you for repair, but what do you have to say about luckyishere's plight over here?
 
Back
Top