Re: replacing head assy in a hard drive

In two words: Forget it. Sorry, the cleanroom and alignment issues
are just so far beyond what you likely have available, that the chances of
success are about as close to zero as the odds of winning the lottery
twice in a row.

If the data was that valuable, you should have sent the unopened drive to
a data recovery service.

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JazzMan <No_Spam@xxxxxxxxxxx> writes:

> Ryan Underwood wrote:
> >
> > Hello.
> >
> > I have a click-of-death 4-platter Maxtor drive. It failed clicky while
> > running. So I believe that this is not a firmware issue or an issue with the
> > hidden data on the drive, nor simply due to bad sectors. By process of
> > elimination, it seems to be either the electronics, the heads or the head
> > amplifier. I obtained an identical drive and swapped the board, which did not
> > change things. So now I am thinking about trying to replace the head assembly.
> > I have attempted this before, on a Toshiba 2.5" drive with 5 platters, and met
> > with no success.
> >
> > I recall two problems I had at the time. One was that when removing the voice
> > coil magnet, it seemed to be awfully close to the platters for comfort. Is
> > there any risk to the platters if this magnet is removed, as long as it stays
> > as far away from them as it did when mounted to the coil?
> >
> > The other problem was that when I slid the heads off the platters, they slapped
> > together. I believe this may have instantly destroyed them, but I'm not
> > certain. It seems like I need some kind of "comb" type thing to keep the heads
> > separated while off the platters. Anyone have any bright ideas?
> >
>
> Before we can proceed further, we need to know what class
> clean room you are working in.
>
> JazzMan
>
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Relevant Pages

  • Re: replacing head assy in a hard drive
    ... > coil magnet, it seemed to be awfully close to the platters for comfort. ... > The other problem was that when I slid the heads off the platters, ... live under the laws of justice and mercy." ...
    (sci.electronics.repair)
  • Re: 2GB CF card vs. 4GB Microdrive....
    ... The biggest vulnerability with any hard drive is the delicate gap between the heads and the surfaces of the platter- if the unit has powered down then the heads are already in contact with the platters in a reserved area, and are held against the surface with a force that might surprise you. ... I have not a clue whether a MD has the same insides as other hard drives, nor whether the heads were doing the reseek dance while they bounced about, but my guess is my hammer is ...
    (rec.photo.digital.slr-systems)
  • Re: Why magnetic drums was/are worse than disks ?
    ... I already told you that the maximum number of disk platters isn't decreasing much at all. ... There's nothing about thermal expansion that would 'encourage' reductions in platter count: some desktop drives are being made with fewer platters (and heads) so that they can be manufactured more cheaply - in fact, some drives have been made that use only one side of one platter. ... Split the difference to make a round number, and say that the multi-head assembly length can vary with respect to the 'pencil' length no more than +/- 0.000001 inch, at least if you want track density comparable to a contemporary disk's. ...
    (comp.arch)
  • Re: Hard Drive Destruct System?
    ... Crash the heads into the platters with the drive at top speed ... Hard drives have gotten a lot ... >classic paper on removing information from computer disks. ...
    (comp.security.misc)
  • Re: Hard Drive Destruct System?
    ... a shock in excess of 25g's: drives aren't sensitive beasts anymore. ... Seek them from one edge of the platters to the other back and forth ... You'd have to -keep- the heads on the platters while you did that. ... 2318 K is well above the Curie temperature of Iron ...
    (comp.security.misc)