Warning: Seagate Barracuda 7200.11

So my dead WD MyBook external 1 TB...pulled the pcb off and found the pad between the chips and drive burnt....I can run it for 10 minutes at a time before it overheats so long as I remove the stock pad. Got all the critical data off it...why on earth put the chips on the drive side of the PCB??? Stupid design.

 

It is more serious and less serious at the same time. The 75GXPs (all 4 of mine are still working today) suffered from intermittent hardware failures. Purportedly but never proven to be above the norm for any HD's manufactured in it's day. (all 4 of my maxtors at the time died between 1-2 years later). However, what they did get was a lot more internet attention than other manufacturer's.

This problem however affects almost all drives with the affected firmware. It's just a matter of time as to whether you hit the useage pattern that triggers the bricking.

However the fix is also a lot easier than an actual hardware defect. Since a simple firmware flash (when the manufacturer doesn't try to rush job a firmware fix due to trying to please the internet mobs) fixes the issue completely.

That the problem surfaced in the first place is bad. That Seagate bowed down to internet pressure and released a firmware fix ASAP without proper testing makes it even worse.

That Seagate is offering data recovery for free for affected drives goes a long way since the data isn't lost (as could be the case in a hardware fault), it's just inaccessible.

Regards,
SB

 

There's a couple reasons for the chips to be on the "top" side of the PCB. First is that is lessens the chance that the chip will be damaged by improper handling. Second is that if it is well ventilated it's possible for the case to actually be cooler than the chip thus acting as a heatsink.

External enclosures are notorious for killing HDs either due to insufficient cooling or failed fans. Heck even fans that accumulate dust for too long and lose some efficiency is enough to turn what was a marginally good airflow into insufficient airflow and thus kill a drive.

Regards,
SB

 

I could see the HD case as heat sync if this were a TIM material, but it's just gray anti-static foam. This external enclosure had no fan, btw.