Seagate Momentus 5400.6 ST9250315AS PCB swap?

CJS23 · 04-01-2012, 04:21 PM

Hi

My friend spilled a glass of water all over his laptop. He then powered up the laptop after mopping it with a towel, only to discover a strange noise coming from HDD.

I got the laptop this morning, took out the HDD and placed in a dock. The dock did not pick it up at all.

I then plugged straight into motherboard and again, nothing, BIOS has no idea a HDD is plugged in. There are no signs of life, not a click, whir or whine.

You may be able to see from the attached picture, that there are some burn marks on the PCB.

I want to attempt a PCB swapout, but wonder, specifically for this HDD - how close the firmware, model number, date code etc have to match?

Details of dead drive:-

Seagate Momentus 5400.6 ST9250315AS 250GB

PN: 9HH132-150
FW: 0002SDM1

Basically, although fairly au fait with computers, I don't fancy having to swap the ROM chip.

Most grateful for any specific advice.

tyza · 04-01-2012, 08:04 PM

Before doing all this , have you tried a new hdd on that same laptop first?

Else everything else would just bea waste of effort.

**Networks** · 04-01-2012, 09:10 PM

If you swap the hard drive board out you have to swap the ROM info to the NEW board. Not ALL hard drives have an external ROM chip. Remove the board and check for any markings near the power connector such as F1 these have micro sized fuses it may have BLOWN again good soldering skills needed to replace.

CJS23 · 04-02-2012, 02:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tyza

Before doing all this , have you tried a new hdd on that same laptop first?

Else everything else would just bea waste of effort.

Hi and thanks for the quick response. Yes another HDD works fine in the laptop.

CJS23 · 04-02-2012, 02:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Networks

If you swap the hard drive board out you have to swap the ROM info to the NEW board. Not ALL hard drives have an external ROM chip. Remove the board and check for any markings near the power connector such as F1 these have micro sized fuses it may have BLOWN again good soldering skills needed to replace.

Hi. Is the ROM specific to the model / firmware or is it literally bespoke to the Hard Drive which is now dead?

The idea I had was to find an exact PCB match and simply swap it. I appreciate I may be showing my ignorance here!!

All I wanna do is pull the files off the dead HDD and then place onto a replacement HDD

**Networks** · 04-02-2012, 04:58 AM

Yes the Rom info is specific to each hard drive so just a board swap won't work the drive may spin up but access to the data will be unlikely until the rom info gets moved

CJS23 · 04-02-2012, 10:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Networks

Yes the Rom info is specific to each hard drive so just a board swap won't work the drive may spin up but access to the data will be unlikely until the rom info gets moved

Sorry to keep putting a fine point on it, is there not a way to flash the ROM?

You see in my mind, a ROM is read only memory, so are you saying that each ROM is factory programmed for the individual drive to which it is attached?

Surely there's a chance that a short circuit could have damaged the ROM from the original drive?

I know many posters in Forums can be lazy, I am certainly not but am struggling to find a written guide detailing what I need to do?

Are you aware of any?

I know there are Youtube videos, I guess, but I understand written instruction far better.

Thanks again

**Networks** · 04-02-2012, 12:04 PM

Yes the rom is specific to each drive and burned at the time the drive is manufactured. Pro data recovery tools exist that allow a DR expert to download the ROM and flash from one board to a new board. You won't find a written step by step guide on this on the open web since its how the DR Pro's make their living. Again it may just be a simple blown fuse on the existing board a very inexpensive repair. Some board providers offer the ROM swap service for an additional fee as well.

CJS23 · 04-02-2012, 03:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Networks

Yes the rom is specific to each drive and burned at the time the drive is manufactured. Pro data recovery tools exist that allow a DR expert to download the ROM and flash from one board to a new board. You won't find a written step by step guide on this on the open web since its how the DR Pro's make their living. Again it may just be a simple blown fuse on the existing board a very inexpensive repair. Some board providers offer the ROM swap service for an additional fee as well.

Thanks for the advice.

As an eternal optimist, I have attached a photo of the rear of the PCB in question.

I have highlighted the area which seems to be damaged.

Any pointers as to where this fuse may be, also, which is the ROM chip?

Assuming it's not the fuse (which I'm not discounting following your advice) - is my next step to get hold of an identical donor pcb?

Thanks again

Better quality pic here http://dl.dropbox.com/u/50603386/201...2023.26.39.jpg

**Networks** · 04-02-2012, 03:41 PM

The pic doesn't allow me to zoom in it gets very blurry so I can't make out any "detail" on the board. The area circled is the "head" contacts which can be cleaned with an eraser from a pencil. Its normal to see some discoloration on them. If you can get a better pic near the end of the board where the power connects and the small chip near the circled area it would help

CJS23 · 04-02-2012, 04:24 PM

Sorry about the picture quality, it's from an 8 megapixel phone camera which is not good on close up work.

If it's any help, I THINK the number on the eight legged chip is

25U4088
03
0CAOW

Again, slightly better pic links at

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/50603386/201...2023.55.54.jpg

and

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/50603386/201...2023.57.03.jpg

**Networks** · 04-02-2012, 04:35 PM

If you have a multimeter check the black item near the power connector I can't tell if its a fuse or a diode try the diode scale. The one pic of the power connector is much better the one of the 8 pin chip is washed out by the flash I can't find the number in the IC lookup databases. This one have the rom intergrated into the CPU

CJS23 · 04-02-2012, 04:46 PM

Right, it's well past my bed time here in UK - will get on this tomorrow, thanks again - your ongoing help is genuinely appreciated

CJS23 · 04-03-2012, 04:34 AM

This is a better picture - amazing what daylight does

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/50603386/201...2012.04.08.jpg

Looks like the number is

25U406B
03
0CA0W (not sure if zeros or O's)

**Networks** · 04-03-2012, 06:01 AM

Chip seems to be only in China can't get a data sheet on it my guess its not the rom chip its proximity to the head contacts makes me think its for that circuitry. Any check the small black component with a meter I don't see any markings on it.

CJS23 · 04-03-2012, 01:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Networks

Chip seems to be only in China can't get a data sheet on it my guess its not the rom chip its proximity to the head contacts makes me think its for that circuitry. Any check the small black component with a meter I don't see any markings on it.

Sorry to be a pain but which component are you referring to (small black component) - any chance you could highlight it? I'm no electronics wiz so go easy

**Networks** · 04-03-2012, 02:33 PM

Ok See attached image for RED circle around component to test with meter.

CJS23 · 04-03-2012, 04:10 PM

OK, thanks, will test tomorrow and let you know of my findings.

CJS23 · 04-04-2012, 03:38 AM

Using the continuity checker on my multimeter, I get a reading of 750 if the red probe is on the end nearest the other 2 components and a reading of 1 if the black probe is on the end nearest the other 2 components.

Does that mean anything of significance?

**Networks** · 04-04-2012, 05:09 AM

Sounds like normal diode reading