brocken HDD

[Thunderchild]

A friend asked me to look at their computer as it said: operating system not found, meaning in realistic terms that something was wrong with the HDD

So I've taken the HDD out and tried it in an enclosure and low and behold its dead - stone dead not a flicker won't even spin up.

is it possible that its the controller circuit thats faulty ? can this be replace with an old one ?

 

[microtexan]

Broken HD

A friend asked me to look at their computer as it said: operating system not found, meaning in realistic terms that something was wrong with the HDD

So I've taken the HDD out and tried it in an enclosure and low and behold its dead - stone dead not a flicker won't even spin up.

is it possible that its the controller circuit that's faulty ? can this be replace with an old one ?

I have heard of people finding an IDENTICAL working HD and swapping out the controller board just long enough to salvage data from the dead drive. Of course there is no guarantee the platters themselves are still good. Depending on the "value" of the data it might be worth a try.

 

[Thunderchild]

well they have their photos on them so obviously would like to have these back.

its an old Maxtor 541DX 5400 RPM 20 GB UATA100 hard drive any ideas where I can get another one ?

 

[mister_e]

I got this issue once, and it was a simple SMD fuse. Might worth to check.

 

[Thunderchild]

so how do I identify a brocken fuse ? from what I was told it went down from one day to the next rather than slowly playing up. I my limited experience with HDDs breaking down its not that rapid and the plates still spin even when the rest packs up

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

well they have their photos on them so obviously would like to have these back.

its an old Maxtor 541DX 5400 RPM 20 GB UATA100 hard drive any ideas where I can get another one ?

Almost certainly long obselete, you would have to find a second hand one somewhere.

Not surprised to hear it's a Maxtor, they are incredibly unreliable - almost all HDD's I've changed have been Maxtor.

 

[bubba_blazer]

Read this:
**broken link removed**

and then if your still interested, here is a good place to start looking for your controller.

www.hdd-parts.com

 

[ParkingLotLust]

Im the exact opposite - while Ive found better deals lately buying Seagate 7200.11 drives, all the Maxtor drives I had held up fine.

OP, here is a PCB board for your 541DX that you could swap with:
**broken link removed**

 

[mister_e]

If you could upload a close-shot picture of your HDD circuit board (close to the PSU connector), maybe we could help you to find the possible blown fuse. This have to be a really clean picture though.

 

[Thunderchild]

ok I'll do that as soon as I can, I'm well equiped photographically so shouldn't be a problem,

 

[Thunderchild]

here is a pic, let me know if you need more area

 

[mister_e]

Check those 2 1R00 resistors, then the ferrite bead (the gray thing next to INDEX label).

Would be nice too see some other PCB sections as well. underneath too.

 

[Thunderchild]

if I remove the board how easy is it to get back on ?

which other sections would you like to see ?

 

[Thunderchild]

all three check out ok

 

[mister_e]

I can't tell how hard/easy it is, it all depend of your own experience and patience

If possible, divide the PCB in 4 section for the top, 4 for the bottom. I don't know how crazy it is... maybe we do this for nothing, but If we don't try we'll never know

 

[Thunderchild]

the 1 ohm resistors are measuring more like 21-22 ohms, I'm currently working on an image of the whole board (didn't you know you could do a panoramic image of a circuit board ;-) )

 

[antoniodilen]

Read this:
**broken link removed**

and then if your still interested, here is a good place to start looking for your controller.

www.hdd-parts.com

Thanks for the info....

 

[Thunderchild]

not a terrific image done with the scanner, I'll try and get a better one

 

[mister_e]

Good enough. I guess it would be good to see the other side of this PCB. Seems pretty easy to remove the controller board. Remove all screw, then gently remove the PCB. Look how the motor is connected to it.

I would probably suggest to check all those ferrite bead and all 0 ohm resistor/jumper, check voltage at VR200 output (should be 8Volt) and all other test point. But yeah... is there voltage everywhere if only connected to an ATX supply??? can't tell myself.

 

[Thunderchild]

well I'll try dismantleing it tomorrow