Some 6 months ago, while i was installing a fan cooler to another drive (wd250), i connected all of the components in line, on a 12v rail molex with a SATA power splitter, then the fans. After turning on the system it seems like my OEM PSU fried both drive PCBs. I know it probably wouldn’t have been some massive voltage shot through that rail, but i have heard of many people with this problem and i have seen them getting help through this forum.
So what do i do? Do i search for a PCB of a similar DCM and somehow reprogram it? (I have no idea about how to reprogram it)
I also would rather not get another PCB only to try to sholder the chip from my dead one to the new working one knowing i might destroy both.
I can probably unscrew the PCB and take pics of it and show it to some of you people that might know what i should do. I am ok with sholdering this already ruined PCB. I don’t have a multimeter but if i absulutely need one then i will get one.
Waiting for a reply. Thanks to all that can give me a credible solution.
Set your multimeter on the 200 ohms range and measure the resistances of the 12V and 5V TVS diodes (D4 and D3), and the two zero-ohm resistors, R67 and R64.
Thanks so much for the reply fzabkar. On tuesday i will have a multimeter and post here with the results. (I read everything from the links you provided but still feel unsure about what i should do)
Your readings are a little ambiguous. I’m assuming that “1” is distinct from “1.0”, in which case it means that your meter has overranged on that scale. That is, “1.0” means 1.0 ohms whereas “1” means that the resistance is greater than 200 ohms. To put it another way, if you touch the probe tips together, then that’s a short circuit ( 0.0 ohms), whereas if you hold the probes apart, then that’s an open circuit (1).
That said, the readings for D3 and R64 are good. OTOH, R67 is open, in which case you would normally expect D4 to be shorted. However, D4 tests open circuit, which would suggest that sustained a massive hit.
My approach would be to remove D4 and then either replace R67 with a wire link, or flow a blob of solder over it. Before applying power again, I would confirm that there is no additional short circuit between the copper pads at D4.
I just finished concluding our experiment! :smileyvery-happy:
Removed D4, shorted R67 with a blob of solder, checked D4 for shorts (it was all open) left it to cool off for like an hour, plugged in and then it all went down in a glorious CHIFF sound and burnt electronics smell :)) PSU shut off and wouldn’t give power again unless i plugged the HDD out.
Well, one can never say we didn’t try. Testing D3 showed no different results from before same with R64, still the smell comes from that area. A bit of discoloring near the legs of D3. I also believe the smell originated close enough to the spidery chip right bellow :))
Sooo, is the data fried or just the PCB? Any alternatives? Like buying a similar PCB and somehow reprogramming it? Should i just throw everything in the garbage can, mourn the loss of 2 years of photography and sleep happier at night?
I also have that other 250GB hard drive that probably contains the essential data. Perhaps we can try my luck with that one, perhaps being able to deduct what happened judging from the autopsy of the late aaks5000?
You are correct, although you only need to short R67 and remove D3. The other components were OK.
To get a better understanding of why your meter readings are not closer to 0, touch the probe tips together. That’s a short circuit. I’m expecting a reading of around 01.0 ohms, which will be the resistance of the leads and range selector switch. You need to subtract this number from your overall reading to get the actual resistance of the component under test.
