SATA logic control board

[directlyconnected]

I have a 300gig Maxtor that I accidentally plugged in backwards---the 4 pin Molex connector did not fit, of course, but the pins were not secure in the connector, which allowed the 12vdc to touch the 5vdc. The logic board is fried. I took the control board off of another Maxtor SATA, 100gig, and put it on the 300gig, and it works fine. My question is---does anyone know of a place that sells only the control board, or has anyone had this problem before and is better at troubleshooting to the component level than me, or perhaps a place that can repair the board? I bought a cheapo on Ebay (80gig), and I plan to use the control board off of it for the 300gig (has my home movies and OS backup!!!). I will then have a perfectly good 80gig SATA with a no-good control board. I won't return it for a warranty, either, although that would be too easy. Thanks for any help. As far as trying to troubleshoot, I followed the solder runs to a voltage regulator, and allthe caps that are in line with all the runs coming straight from the connector input on the board, as well as a few diodes. All measure good. I also looked for any burn spots/holes on all the IC chips, as well as smelling the board---nuthin'. Thanks.

Tim

 

[mainegeek]

I have a 300gig Maxtor that I accidentally plugged in backwards---the 4 pin Molex connector did not fit, of course, but the pins were not secure in the connector, which allowed the 12vdc to touch the 5vdc. The logic board is fried."

This doesn't make much sense? You would have had to have the power turned while you were trying to attach the molex to the drive in order for it to be energized and fry the board. Unless of course your HDD supports both Molex and SATA and you had them both plugged in at the same time.

Either way, PCB swaps should only be temporary in an effort to recover data. I recommend that you replace the entire drive. This is what I would do.

 

[G0AOZ]

Over-voltage on circuits like these usually results in multiple component failures. Some of these pcb's will undoubtedly be multilayer, so you could have unseen tracks which might've blown without noticable surface discolouration.

Have you actually unsoldered and removed the diodes and capacitors? Trying to check if a diode has broken down or a capacitor is still within its spec is difficult if not impossible whilst still in circuit. Whatever... The more likely culprits are the I.C.s.

Good luck!

ROGER - G0AOZ.

 

[directlyconnected]

The SATA power connector has one end for the drive and the other end is for the Molex 4 pin to the computer power supply plug.
_______________
/ \
/ 12 GG GG 5V \
| 12 GG GG 5V |
---------------------
The 12 is 12vdc, the G is ground, and the 5 is 5vdc, yellow-black-black-red. This is the Molex end of the connector coming out of the power supply. The one coming from the harddrive has a Molex on one end to fit to this connector. When I went to plug it in, I had the one from the SATA upside down, but the pins were very loose in the connector which allowed them to protrude out of the connector. I thought the computer was off. Obviously I did not purposely do this. I have a 22 month -old and a 9-month old, both boys. My mind is gone. KnowwhatImean, Vern? And why would the pcb swap be temporary? Bad board for good board---elementary! The only way data loss occurs on a hdd is not when the logic gets confused on the hdd, but when a physical circumstance affects the platters, either loss of magnetism, too much, static build-up, motor pauses/failure, etc. If a power surge takes out the hdd, the platters will ALWAYS be good. A power surge cannot fry the motor---impossible for a surge larger than what the motor can handle to get past the input voltage regulator, or input control chip on the pcb. If it gets past one component, the next in line may not handle it.

 

[directlyconnected]

Thanks, Roger---that last response was for mainegeek. Usually on a multilayer board the mid layers are going to different pins on an IC. I agree, I think an IC is the culprit, and if it is a fried solder run (unlikely) I won't see it if it's in one of the mid layers. As far as the diodes, no I did not desolder them from the board. I measured the resistance directly across them, which in diodes is checking for proper voltage-drop and in capacitors it is checking for a shorted cap. I won't spend too much time on it---I would rather buy another board or have this one repaired if I can for cheap. Know of any sites I can look into?

 

[mainegeek]

directlyconnected,
My experience is that it costs you more in the long run when doing things like this. My guess is that a new PCB and/or parts and labor to repair the fried one will probably cost at least half the price of a new drive and makes no sense when the 300gig is under warranty as you stated.

 

[directlyconnected]

The 300gig is not under warranty---the one I got from Ebay is. I could put the bad board on the one I get from Ebay and report it doa. That is what I am NOT going to do. How could it possibly cost more in the long run if it costs half price of the drive? And you have experience with this? You replace the drive when the control board is bad? If your company hires me at $50.00/hour, I could still easily save you guys a whole lot of money every year. I fix things whenever possible. I put a good control board on the hard drive---problem solved!!! Now do you know where I could get one???

 

[mainegeek]

My mistake about the warranty. Also,the repair cost was merely an assumption. However, I still would not invest a dime or a second on a questionable drive unless it was in an effort to recover data from it. It would also be reckless of me to put someones data on a questionable drive.

I define "questionable drive" as anything other than a new drive in a sealed static bag with a valid warranty.

I also wouldn't recommend running the 300gig with the 100gig
board on it for anything other than recovering your data as they are not the same board,firmware revision,etc....

Therefore, having no use for previously fried drives I really don't know where or how to buy just the board.

 

[rakadapa]

sorry to jump in and steal the thread, but as I recently decided it would be nice to short-curcuit my sysdrive (a Maxtor DiamondMax 9 plus 250GB PATA), and then regretted it and began looking for a new logic board, I have to ask...

what series were the drives you swapped logic boards with? do you think the SATA and PATA drives are the same, so that I can put SATA board on my PATA drive (SATA seems easier to find)?