Tech Support Forum banner
Status
Not open for further replies.

chip came off my hard drive! smoking!

3K views 21 replies 6 participants last post by  cowpuncher 
#1 ·
I hope i can receive help here...

I was installing my hard drive from another computer, when i heard a little noise. I thought i dropped a screw. when i turned the comp on, the hard drive started smoking. I unplugged and checked it, and found that a small chip fell off, which i recovered. Will soldering this chip back into place save my hdd or am i screwed because it's already fried?

the hdd in question is an 80gig seagate barracuda 7200.7. model ST380011A

:sigh:
 
#2 · (Edited)
Smoke coming from an electronic component is not a good sign.

Did you use a power connector that came directly off of the PSU or an adapter? Some adapters may not be wired properly. Also if you forced the Molex connector to connect you may have inadvertently connected it backwards.

That little chip was probably the jumper used to configure the drive (e.g., master, slave, cable select). http://www.seagate.com/support/disc/manuals/ata/cuda7200pm.pdf
 
#6 ·
Smoke coming from an electronic component is not a good sign.

Did you use a power connector that came directly off of the PSU or an adapter? Some adapters may not be wired properly. Also if you forced the Molex connector to connect you may have inadvertently connected it backwards.

That little chip was probably the jumper used to configure the drive (e.g., master, slave, cable select). http://www.seagate.com/support/disc/manuals/ata/cuda7200pm.pdf
thanks for the reply, no adapters were involved. I'll upload some pix of the motherboard and the chip shortly.
 
#3 ·
I sincerely doubt that losing a Master / Slave JUMPER would cause physical damage to an HDD. I've done that intentionally to see the effect on various HDDs, and the worst thing that happened was that the drive wouldn't boot the OS.

As MPR told you, smoke is NOT good; you have no way of knowing if the drive is still usable until you resolder the chip, but you MUST know EXACTLY where it goes, and what the orientation is. For example, if you reattach a diode backwards, you can probably kiss that HDD goodbye forever.

Search the 'net for photos of the controller board of that Seagate HDD; when you find a perfect match, see if you can locate the chip in the photo so you will know how to reattach it. The drive might well be ruined, so I doubt you have anything to lose by trying to repair it; I've saved a few HDDs over the years using that method, but since I have no way of knowing the level of your skills when soldering SMD components, YMMV.

Good luck with this; please let us know if you are able to salvage that HDD.
 
#12 ·
There are two TVS diodes at the other end of the board. The mystery component is about the same size as the others, but I can't see for sure what it is (it's not a jumper). I have another photo that indicates that it is a diode, but I can't see its markings.

In any case, your SMOOTH motor controller chip has failed, so a board repair isn't really an option for you. Instead you need to replace the PCB. However, I suspect that your board may have unique, drive specific "adaptive" information stored in the 8-pin serial flash memory IC just below the jumper block. If so, then this chip, or its contents, will need to be transferred to the donor.

Some board suppliers (eg onepcbsolution.com) include such a service for US10 - $20, otherwise your local TV/AV repair shop should be able to do it for you.
 
#14 ·
I agree with LMiller7; it looks as if that IC is ALSO burned / damaged, with no way of knowing if anything else was affected without more thorough testing of the PCB. The component that fell off looks like a burned TVS diode to me, though I can't be sure without better photos...

Unless that drive holds priceless information, I'd put it in the "Stuff to be fixed" box and get another HDD. I've done PCB surgery on HDDs in the past, and although I enjoy the challenge of the repair, I try hard not to make a habit of it. If the problem were ONLY the detached component, I'd suggest attempting a repair, but after seeing the damage mentioned by LMiller7, my best advice is to get another HDD, or be prepared to spend a small pile of money fixing that damaged Seagate HDD.

Your money, your hardware, your time, your choice... MY choice would be to get another HDD and not devote any time or cash to this Seagate...
 
#16 · (Edited)
Unless you have data on the drive that would be expensive or time-consuming to reproduce it's not worth trying to replace a circuit board for $40 as the entire drive can be bought for less than $30 new (and an equivalent refurbished drive for as little as $10).

I agree with the poster who said that there is more damage to the board than just the component that came off. If a component came off essentially mechanically due to a bad solder job it would be a different matter to solder it back on but there appears to be considerable heat-related damage to that board (melted chip, burned traces). I think it's time for a new drive.
 
#17 ·
I agree with MPR; an 80 GB HDD is easily and cheaply replaced unless you're located in some remote region, so I don't consider it cost-effective to attempt a repair of this HDD. I might well be the most notorious cheapskate in the known universe, and I don't encourage people to spend money on NEW hardware when repair is feasible, but I suspect you have better things to do with your time.

Once again, I fully realize that this is your money, your hardware, your time, and your choice; only you can decide your best option. For MY money, there would be a replacement HDD in my future.

Best of luck; please let us know what you decide to do.
 
#18 ·
thanx guys,

I'm a graphic designer, so there's a considerable amount of work on this drive that's irreplaceable. it's in my best interest to fix this hdd long enough for a data transfer.

I tried looking for more pix online of the original chip/diode in question but to no avail. the chip was also too small for me to read and for the cam to focus on the details written on the top. i was hoping that once we could figure out what type of chip it was, that i could discover the orientation of the chip, re-solder it and be on my merry lil way.

Basically, now i need a PCB swap due to that burned IC caused by the dislocated chip/diode?
 
#19 ·
I have no trouble reading the markings with a magnifying glass in bright sunlight. Alternatively, try scanning it at 1200 dpi.

That said, if the component is in fact a secondary TVS diode, then the usual reason for failure is an overvoltage. In such cases the diode goes short circuit. The SMOOTH motor controller IC was most probably damaged by the same overvoltage.

The only other possibility that comes to mind is that the diode may be a Schottky rectifier.
 
#20 ·
#22 ·
Now we know that you consider the data to be important, which puts this entire situation in a new light.

Fixing this type of damage can be hit-or-miss; you run the risk of destroying the data on the drive, but if you're willing to accept the risks, then by all means, take a shot at repairing the HDD.

Best wishes; let us know how this turns out.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
You have insufficient privileges to reply here.
Top