Hardrive repair, Can it be done???

thecuist · 05-24-2007, 05:36 AM

Hi all
I have a failed hardrive from my laptop which has quite a lot of data that i would like to retrieve. I bought a USB external enclosure to try and retrieve the data but it comes up with the message hardrive unreadable. Anyway, I took the hardrive apart and it is not spinning up at all. I checked voltages and am getting around 2.5 volts onto the motor and the disc spins freely, so I am assuming that the motor or a component on the PCB has failed. My question is this: If i buy another identical hardrive(its a seagate 100GB 7200rpm SATA drive) and switch the hardisk from the broken one to the new one, assuming I make sure the disc is spotlessly clean will I be able to retrieve the data. If the only problem is that the hardrive is not powering up and therefore not being read it seems logical to assume that my theory would work. I guess the only question is, how sensitive is the actual hardisc to being removed and fitted into another drive.
Thanks
Peter

**Terrister** · 05-24-2007, 06:40 AM

This has to be done in a clean room. If you open up the hard drive and expose the platters, it is very unlikely it will ever work again.

If you really need what is on the drive, send it to a data recovery service.

You can swap the electronic boards from one drive to another if they are the exact same drive.

05-24-2007, 05:36 AM	#1 (permalink)
thecuist Registered User Join Date: May 2007 Location: SHROPSHIRE, ENGLAND Posts: 2 OS: XP	Hardrive repair, Can it be done??? Hi all I have a failed hardrive from my laptop which has quite a lot of data that i would like to retrieve. I bought a USB external enclosure to try and retrieve the data but it comes up with the message hardrive unreadable. Anyway, I took the hardrive apart and it is not spinning up at all. I checked voltages and am getting around 2.5 volts onto the motor and the disc spins freely, so I am assuming that the motor or a component on the PCB has failed. My question is this: If i buy another identical hardrive(its a seagate 100GB 7200rpm SATA drive) and switch the hardisk from the broken one to the new one, assuming I make sure the disc is spotlessly clean will I be able to retrieve the data. If the only problem is that the hardrive is not powering up and therefore not being read it seems logical to assume that my theory would work. I guess the only question is, how sensitive is the actual hardisc to being removed and fitted into another drive. Thanks Peter

05-24-2007, 06:40 AM	#2 (permalink)
Terrister Moderator Hardware Forum Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: West Georgia, USA Posts: 7,098 OS: Xp	Re: Hardrive repair, Can it be done??? This has to be done in a clean room. If you open up the hard drive and expose the platters, it is very unlikely it will ever work again. If you really need what is on the drive, send it to a data recovery service. You can swap the electronic boards from one drive to another if they are the exact same drive. __________________