WD 250 GB Issues

[NickL]

Greetings.

I have a WD2500KS Sata drive that stopped working recently and I would like to get some data(docs) from it.  The PCB doesn't have any apparent burn marks.  I can hear it spin up, then it slows down and spins back up, etc .  I can hear the arm moving( the click of death).

I have priced data recover services but their prices are a BIT HIGH relative to the data that I would like to recover. 

I have done some research regarding board replacement and ROM programming.  I don't know if this is a viable option.

My question is:  Is this drive dead?  Does the "click of death" mean that the drive is non-repairable, even temporarily, just to retrieve data?

Thanks for any help with this!

Nick

[fzabkar]

If this is your board ...

http://www.ioffer.com/img/item/124/401/351/NJyplYi3jIDcWt9.jpg

... then my understanding is that the Marvell MCU often develops a fault that mimics a head or media fault.

Therefore, even though it does sound like your drive has internal problems, you should first try a board swap (plus U12 transfer).

Also use a soft white pencil eraser to lightly remove any oxidisation from the 20-pin preamp contacts at J1 (top left corner).

[NickL]

Thanks for responding.  The board is similar.  It does have a U12 chip.  The PCB is 2061-701444-700 AD; I will attempt to order another PCB that exactly matches the original. 

Regarding the U12 chip, do I just lift it off the board and CAREFULLY insert it to the new board or is there soldering involved?

Thanks.

[fzabkar]

The IC must be desoldered. Your local TV/AV repair shop should be able to do this for you. You must not damage this chip , otherwise the cost of data recovery will be much higher.