Head Swap on WD10JMVW "Firebird"

[Rampage]

Hey Everyone,

Looking to do a head swap and recovery on a WD Passport HD that is currently experiencing the click of death.

Model is a WD10JMVW and the code identifies it as a Firebird family (S5XS). Now from research on here, a Firebird or FBlite head should do the trick. I'm currently looking for that donor drive now, I've already found a few potential options locally on Kijiji that I'll be looking into acquiring.

Anyway, looking to understand which head comb I'll need to perform the swap. Recommendations & links on where to purchase would be great. Found the "WF" set on ApexToolLab, but wondering if there are other options out there.

Happy New Year!

Thanks!

 

[lcoughey]

What tools do you have to handle the firmware issues that likely accompany damaged heads?

 

[Rampage]

Thanks for the reply.

Actually I don't have any tools for that ... Is that necessary? I thought that was only if you're swapping PCBs.

 

[pclab]

Usually after head swap, you need to handle some issues on firmware, or even enable/disable a specific head.
Without proper tools you can't do it.

 

[Blizzard]

Hey Everyone, Anyway, looking to understand which head comb I'll need to perform the swap. Recommendations & links on where to purchase would be great. Found the "WF" set on ApexToolLab, but wondering if there are other options out there. Thanks!

Another option is HDD Surgery tools, which I highly recommend for professionals. For a one time head swap it isn't practical though, the tools cost as much as we would charge to recover your hard drive.

 

[Rampage]

Thanks everyone for the feedback, much appreciated.

I think I'll try the ApexTools. Unfortunately I do not have the necessary tools to dive into the firmware, so I'll just be swapping heads and then hoping I'll get lucky.

 

[lcoughey]

Thanks everyone for the feedback, much appreciated.

I think I'll try the ApexTools. Unfortunately I do not have the necessary tools to dive into the firmware, so I'll just be swapping heads and then hoping I'll get lucky.

You would most certainly be luckier than most of us who do this every day.

 

[Rampage]

Thanks everyone for the feedback, much appreciated.

I think I'll try the ApexTools. Unfortunately I do not have the necessary tools to dive into the firmware, so I'll just be swapping heads and then hoping I'll get lucky.

You would most certainly be luckier than most of us who do this every day.

I hear ya, I know my chances may not be good but I figured it's worth a shot ... Ordered the tool from Apex and I've got some time to find a proper donor before it arrives from Russia. Looking at a donor drive this weekend actually, they're pretty cheap to find used locally on Kijiji.

At this point I've already mentally come to the conclusion that my data is gone. It wasn't terribly valuable or critical to me, hence why I'm doing this. So if it doesn't work it won't be the end of the world. The real lesson learned here is how I've backup my data thus far and I've already implement a new strategy there.