Wd raptor (WD360) ... an early model

[bruceshining]

I just broke my WD360 Raptor drive.
I did it (I think) by connecting BOTH the Sata Power connector AND the Molex power connector.
I did this when in a hurry and had not noticed the clear:
"WARNING: Use either SATA Power or Legacy Power connector.
DO NOT use both which may result in damage to the hard drive".

Damn.

My questiion is does any one know if this is repairable or what I can do about it.
I would like to recover the data (but at minimal expense).

Thx

 

[Wamphryi]

Yes connecting both power connectors at the same time is the kiss of death for the Raptor. I would imagine that you would have blown the circuit board on the HDD. It is likely that the data survives on the Disk Platters but it will take a specialist to remove it. These services generally do not come cheap. :-(

 

[bruceshining]

Can anyone recommend someone who can replace the circuit board for this drive or recover the data for a reasonable fee????

 

[bruceshining]

Best answer selected by bruceshining.

 

[bruceshining]

Yes connecting both power connectors at the same time is the kiss of death for the Raptor. I would imagine that you would have blown the circuit board on the HDD. It is likely that the data survives on the Disk Platters but it will take a specialist to remove it. These services generally do not come cheap. :-(

--------------------
Please recommend someone who can repair the circuit board or recover my data.

 

[Guy_Nxt_Door]

Yes if the board is the problem you can locate and exchange the board from a drive that was Mfg. same plant (country, ect...) with a Mfg date as close to yours as possible (with in a few weeks or less) for best chance of firmware/compatability & data/drive access.

 

[fzabkar]

A straight board swap is extremely unlikely to work. This is because most modern HDDs store unique, drive specific "adaptive" information in a serial EEPROM chip. This chip, or its contents, needs to be transferred from patient to donor. In WD drives, this chip is usually located at U12.

The following PCB suppliers offer a firmware transfer service, either for free, or for US$10:

http://www.donordrives.com
http://www.onepcbsolution.com
http://www.hdd-parts.com

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".

Alternatively, if you are not adept at soldering, your local TV/AV repair shop should be able to transfer the chip for you.

Some PCBs do not have a discrete serial flash memory chip. Instead they store the adaptive data inside the Marvell MCU (the largest chip). In this case you will need a "PCB adaptation" service.

The following PCB supplier includes such a service for free:
http://www.donordrives.com/services