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11-02-2012, 03:35 PM
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#1
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 793
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dead drive - replacing controller board on 2.5" SATA HDD to recover data
I'm trying to help out a friend. 2.5" SATA HDD went bad and when I install it in a system it is not recognized in the BIOS or in Windows. The drive spins up as normal and there are no sounds that are out of the ordinary. My guess is that the controller board failed. Has anyone here ever tried replacing a controller board on a 2.5" SATA HDD? My plan is to buy the exact same model drive and attempt to swap controller boards. Just wondering how feasible this is. Due to the importance of the data, this is worthwhile even if the chances of sucess are small. I'm also curious if there will be any soldering involved.
Thanks!
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11-02-2012, 04:02 PM
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#2
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Golden Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: England, UK
Posts: 1,643
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I can't comment on how difficult it is but I have heard that many people have successfully done this before so it's definitely worth looking into. I'm sure there are some videos on the web on how to do it.
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11-02-2012, 04:12 PM
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#3
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 793
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Thank you for the reply! I will do some searching on youtube and such. I'm convinced this is the best option, just a little worried about having my friend spend money on a new drive when i don't have any experience with this myself.
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11-02-2012, 05:36 PM
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#4
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Platinum Member
Join Date: May 2002
Posts: 2,391
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It is more than just the exact same model, it is the exact same controller board, and the exact same firmware.
You may get lucky... but usually, they tweak those things, so you end up buying the exact same model, but it has different firmware or the controller board is slightly different.
__________________
The truth is incontrovertible, malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end; there it is.
The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.
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11-07-2012, 09:28 AM
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#5
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 793
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That's a good point. There is a lot of info printed on the drive including firmware rev so hopefully I can find a really close match.
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11-07-2012, 03:11 PM
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#6
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Platinum Member
Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 2,035
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Before you do that have you tried placing the drive in an external dock to see if it becomes readable? This has worked for me on several occasions.
__________________
Loop 1: EVGA x58 E760 i7 930, HK 3.0 cpu block, EK chipset block & dual bay res, swiftech mcp655 pump, feser x360 rad, scythe fan controller & 3k fans, bp & feser fittings, distilled water w/primochill liquid utopia, samsung 840 pro 256gb
Loop 2: Bp 150 res, feser x480 rad, scythe fan controller & 3k fans, mcp655 pump with bp top, evga gtx 480's w/ek nickel plated blocks, bp & feser fittings, distilled water w/primochill liquid utopia
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11-20-2012, 01:14 PM
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#7
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 793
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Puffnstuff
Before you do that have you tried placing the drive in an external dock to see if it becomes readable? This has worked for me on several occasions.
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that's a good idea. I have tried this, but I think trying an additional dock wouldn't hurt.
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11-21-2012, 01:36 PM
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#8
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Diamond Member
Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 6,282
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If it's not recognized by the BIOS I wouldn't bother going any further.
Bummer. 
__________________
Rick
You Get What You Pay For!
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11-21-2012, 02:58 PM
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#9
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Platinum Member
Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 2,035
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I had the same problem with a drive that kept dropping out of bios on the internal controllers. When I took that drive and put it in an external dock with it's own power the drive became readable and allowed me to copy the data to another drive before rmaing it.
__________________
Loop 1: EVGA x58 E760 i7 930, HK 3.0 cpu block, EK chipset block & dual bay res, swiftech mcp655 pump, feser x360 rad, scythe fan controller & 3k fans, bp & feser fittings, distilled water w/primochill liquid utopia, samsung 840 pro 256gb
Loop 2: Bp 150 res, feser x480 rad, scythe fan controller & 3k fans, mcp655 pump with bp top, evga gtx 480's w/ek nickel plated blocks, bp & feser fittings, distilled water w/primochill liquid utopia
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