Broken Toshiba Hard Drive

[BrokenToshiba]

Hi guys!

I discovered your forum thanks to this blog post and wondered if you could help me.

My internal laptop hard drive (Toshiba MQ01ABD050) is broken after the laptop got hit in the area where the hard drive was located. It makes a clicking noise and is not recognised by any computer. The head is not stuck.

So I changed the controller with one from another broken hard drive I ordered at eBay which is from the same model number and has the same number printed in blue on the PCB. The result: nothing changed, it still makes the exact same clicking noise (I can provide an audio file of the noise if it's of any help). But I guess that's a predictable behaviour as I didn't change the chip on the PCB?

So, what should be the next step you suggest? Changing the chip? Or is it more probable the head is broken? If so, where should I order a new head and what would it roughly cost?

A professional data recovery service is sadly too expensive for me, so I will definitely try to do this myself, knowing that I could destroy all the data - at least I gave it a try then...

So if you could give me a hint of what to do next that would be really fantastic. Thanks a lot in advance!

Cheers

 

[pclab]

Hi

Well, if really a DR lab is too much, you can try the DIY.
Only the swap of PCB isn't enough. You can try to swap ROM, but it's almost a head problem (could also be a platter damage).
Why don't you take it to a lab that doesn't charge only for diagnosing it?

 

[Jared]

I highly doubt that the PCB has anything to do with the problem. It's almost certainly failed heads, especially given that it's clicking and experienced physical trauma. Maybe, just maybe, it's g-list or SMART damaged in which case you'd need pro data recovery regardless.

Toshiba are actually pretty easy to match heads for. Just follow the Toshiba section of this guide: http://www.donordrives.com/blog/matching-guide

However actually changing the heads takes a lot of practice to master and actually pull off successfully.

 

[jol]

as stated above

[post]4156[/post] I highly doubt that the PCB has anything to do with the problem. It's almost certainly failed heads...

[post]4156[/post] However actually changing the heads takes a lot of practice to master and actually pull off successfully.

my advice would be as "pclab" already suggested

[post]4155[/post] Why don't you take it to a lab that doesn't charge only for diagnosing it?

no offense...
IMHO your chance of succeed is close to 0 or below.
if the data is important to you and you can't afford that money, then put it away for better days.
going the route you have chosen - DIY - will almost certainly make the job a lot more harder and expensive or even impossible for future recovery.
if the data is not important, do yourself a favor and bin it, you wasting time and money, on a very very low percentage of success, as already stated above.

 

[Bankole Oladoja]

Well, if DR Professional is too expensive, you can try Pastors is your church. Maybe they can pray to the drive.. :lol:

 

[jerovsek]

If you hit laptop, and drive clicking, then you Will need to change heads.
Just one thing to think before you do next step. Depensd on your location, check the cost of recovery. Ask few DR labs for prices or ask here on forum, if someone willing to recover your data.
Because every donor Will cost you some amount of money. If one Will not be enough, then you Will need to buy another. On the end you Will spend a lot of money for donor drives. Without proper tools, you Will destroy data on your drive. And on the end you Will spend some amout of money for nothing. Think twice.

 

[BrokenToshiba]

Thanks everyone for your responses!

Well, I guess I have to think it through then. Losing the data would not be the end of the world but still quite annoying.

If I should choose to try changing the head: Would you suggest to order one of the head replacement tools available in the internet (like this one)?

Anyway, I will keep you updated about the progress!

 

[Jared]

My experience with HDRC tools wasn't very pleasant. Even though I did buy their tools once, I didn't find them to be very effective. For 2.5" drives I actually use my own home made tools which are far more effective, and only cost me a few cents to make. PM me if you're interested in what I use, I'd rather not post it here.

Part of the issue with doing your own head swap though is that you'll most likely need a hardware imaging tool to extract the data afterward. If the drive has a lot of bad sectors (which it almost certainly will) it'll be unstable and likely kill the replacement heads fast. We certainly aren't trying to deter you from DIY attempts, just that the odds aren't very good in a case like this.

 

[LarrySabo]

If you decide to DIY, practice on a healthy similar drive (preferably same model as your important drive) that you don't mind trashing while you learn. Scan the drive with HDDScan to get stats on how many slow/bad sectors it has before and after you remove then re-install the heads. Once you can do the removal/re-installation without killing the drive, then consider swapping them on the drive you don't want to trash. If you are unable to do it without killing the drive, at least you will still have a chance to recover the data at a later date.

For head combs, you might try the technique Scott Moulton suggests in this video.

 

[Jared]

If you decide to DIY, practice on a healthy similar drive (preferably same model as your important drive) that you don't mind trashing while you learn. Scan the drive with HDDScan to get stats on how many slow/bad sectors it has before and after you remove then re-install the heads. Once you can do the removal/re-installation without killing the drive, then consider swapping them on the drive you don't want to trash. If you are unable to do it without killing the drive, at least you will still have a chance to recover the data at a later date.

For head combs, you might try the technique Scott Moulton suggests in this video.

For 2.5" drives, I prefer to use rubber bands