01 February 2011
This article explains the importance of a PCB (printed circuit board) and the role it plays with the running of your hard drive. A PCB is the electronic component attached the the hard drive and is sensitive to power surges and dusty environments. Many faulty hard drive issues that we receive at Kingdom Data Recovery concern the PCB and requires a good understanding of the different types of PCBs and skill to repair such issues.
Many common computer problems cause the PCB to fail such as power surges and even dust contamination
What is a Hard Drive PCB?
A PCB or a printed circuit board, also known as printed wiring board or etched wiring board, is used to mechanically support and electrically connect components in an electronic device. The mechanical support and electrical connection is done by means of conductive pathways, conductive tracks or signal traces etched from copper sheets and laminated onto non-conductive substrate.
PCB’s are more reliable and cheaper than the older wire-wrap and point-to-point construction technologies. The initial effort and cost with PCB layout may be high but for high-volume production, PCB’s are cheaper and faster.
PCB fabrication is a multi-step process involving etching, photo engraving, multi-layer processing, drilling, masking and finishing. Finally, there is electrical testing to final-check its efficiency. If the PCB fails the final electrical testing, it is replaced or corrected accordingly.
Where is the PCB located in my computer?
If you have tried installing a hard drive, you have seen the PCB as that green board on the bottom of the drive. When the hard drive fails, it is most likely because of a PCB malfunction. Many common computer problems cause the PCB to fail such as power surges and even dust contamination.
What does a Hard Drive PCB do?
The PCB contains the firmware of the drive and lets the drive know how to operate and how to read data from the platters. Its particular functions include storing information about how many heads there are in the drive and how to access continue microcode for successful drive start-up.
The information is put into each PCB right at the factory level and is designed to be very specific to a particular hard drive.
What are the symptoms of PCB failure?
When a hard drive fails due to PCB failure, the drive usually cannot boot up or there may be an inaccurate display in the BIOS of the hard drive’s information. Also power may not get to the hard drive and as a result it will not spin up.
Can I just replace the Hard Drive PCB?
The narrow customization of the PCB to its hard drive makes finding the right PCB replacement very difficult. Usually you have to find a donor hard drive with the same firmware, model number, PCB part number and manufactured within a few weeks of your faulty hard drive; it can be like finding a needle in a haystack. In addition, because of the unique adaptives, replacement of the PCB may cause further damage to the hard drive, such as its heads and the platters.
Our advice on Hard Drive PCB issues
If you think you’re dealing with a hard drive PCB failure, do not try to operate the drive any longer and never switch the PCB with that of another drive. Get your drive to a professional data recovery company. Try us at Kingdom Data Recovery.
