How to Check Compatible Heads WD

[Jared]

I've been asked about this a few times, so I'm just posting this so I can point people here instead of trying to explain it each time.

Here's how to verify if a drive is a compatible donor after you've already matched as closely as possible:




Micro Jogs need to be within 300 of each other, preamp vendor and rev should be a match. Headmap should also match, but you can get away with having extra heads if need be. Also keep in mind that preamp vendor and rev is relative to the HDD model number, so if you're using a completely different model they might match here, but be totally different heads.

 

[jol]

I haven't used it yet (I'm still used to search the old fashioned way... manually)
but wondering

[post]4112[/post] but you can get away with having extra heads

is the search engine aware of that ? and the results is issued accordingly ?

 

[Jared]

I don't know that it is. I haven't found the search to be extremely helpful yet, but it's a good way to check a drive you buy on ebay or somewhere else before you open it and destroy it.

 

[mvcercal]

I don't know that it is. I haven't found the search to be extremely helpful yet, but it's a good way to check a drive you buy on ebay or somewhere else before you open it and destroy it.

Very nice,

Also to that , i use this old procedure :

DCM: 123456789

1- Motor
2- Base
3- Latch
4- Bottom VCM
5- Media
6- Headstack
7- Actuator-Preamp
8- Top VCM
9- Separator

Works well to me .

Regards.
Marcus Cercal

 

[Jared]

I don't know that it is. I haven't found the search to be extremely helpful yet, but it's a good way to check a drive you buy on ebay or somewhere else before you open it and destroy it.

Very nice,

Also to that , i use this old procedure :

DCM: 123456789

1- Motor
2- Base
3- Latch
4- Bottom VCM
5- Media
6- Headstack
7- Actuator-Preamp
8- Top VCM
9- Separator

Works well to me .

Regards.
Marcus Cercal

Except it's not really accurate. DCM codes actually vary in length now with some being longer or shorter. You really just need to match the 2 or J and the character immediately preceding it if you're looking to match heads. So it'll always be letters such as VJ or T2 or TJ that you are matching. If possible I'll also match the one before that (e.g. NTJ) as well, but it's not really necessary.

That having been said, it's not perfect. I've seen cass where the DCM code was almost completely identical and the date was just a few weeks off, but the heads weren't a match. The one that I found which did match was a totally different DCM. So I think the DCM code does change over time and a TJ code that works one week might be different a few months later in their manufacturing.

Checking the Preamp Rev. through PC-3000 is more accurate, but even that I've found can vary based on the country of manufacture.

 

[osity]

You can get this info from a clicking patient ?

 

[Jared]

You can get this info from a clicking patient ?

If you've got at least one system head that's working you can. You'd just need to modify the RAM to disable all but the good system head so it can ID and you can get that info from the drive. But, if there are no good heads, then no.