Help HDD Repair, WD Sata 400GB

[ideas]

hi, guys

see i have a western didgital sata 400gb HDD with all my data, what happened was that i had the drive on the floor pluged in and water managed to settle under the circuit board and i did not know and powered on the pc then i saw an error message that says hard disk error, so after observing my HDD i say the liquid on it, so to get back my data i was thinking to try replacing the PCB controller board and finish backup my data, but i have no clue where to find them, their cost and do i have to get a 400gb PCB board or anyone would do?

[Ponch]

You need to find exactly the same drive. That might prove the hardest part of your recovery (swapping boards is very easy, at least those I've done) .

[pointertovoid]

You will have to separate the printed circuit anyway. So if there is no visible damage, why shouldn't you try to clean the printed circuit and look if it works again, before replacing it?

Having powered it when wet of course didn't help... and if water entered the platter compartment, I would say it's over, as the platters are dirty now. But anyway, these are the directing lines:

Water deposits dirt (salts) that create electric path, conductive enough to disturb electronic circuits. These deposits must be removed.

First, rinse with plenty of water. You may begin with tap water, but you must end with deionized water, as is sold for lead batteries. Clean the container before putting deionized water, and try not putting you fingers in it. Of course, electronic parts shouldn't be left for hours in water.

Then, rinse with pure alcohol, or with an alcohol mixture used to clean windows. The aim is the same: no dirt left after evaporation.

At the end, dry up with a hair dryer.

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You can find a printed circuit at eBay, by buying several broken disks of this model (called there "untested" or "sold as broken" and the same...) until one has a broken platter and a sound printed circuit. You can even find the printed circuit alone there. eBay Dot Com and Dot De only, others are too small (among other reasons...)

A more secure method, as you probably won't use the damaged disk after you retrieve your data, is to buy a working disk of this same model and take temporarily its printed circuit to put on the old platter. After retrieving your data, put the circuit back on the working platter, as well as the data. Or sell the working disk after testing it.

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A few companies specialize in retrieving your data. Not really cheap, but less expensive than one imagines.