I burned out my external hard drives PCB board and I am unable to find a new one

This is en external HDD. This means, there's a HDD inside the package, and a small PCB (print with tiny ICs on it). If you're lucky, the PCB is defective, while the HDD is OK. In that case, you only need to look for another USB Harddisk enclosure for a 2.5 inch SATA harddisk. Maybe your local computer-store sell these casings, otherwise check internet (eBay for example)

To be sure it's either the HDD or the PCB, just open up the casing and remove the HDD. Insert this HDD into a PC, connecting it to the motherbord over a SATA-cable (and don't forget to use a powercable too).

If the HDD becomes visible under Windows or whateven operating System you use, than it's indeed the PCB, which is defective. If the HDD is not visible, maybe the HDD is defective. In such case, you can find at internet a new(er) HDD of identical make (brand / type HDD)

If the PCB board is burned, there is a possibility that your data is still in the drive and that the drive can still work. However, at the very least you will need a new PCB board from Hitachi.

Because of this customized firmware, however, it's not possible to switch out a PCB board in many cases; of course, this varies depending on the manufacturer of a drive. For instance, some older drives have the same basic information on two PCB boards of the same model, provided that both drives were made at about the same time, before more unique adaptives were programmed into the next line of drives. If one of the PCBs fails, there is some chance of making a recovery by simply swapping the boards of the two drives. However, hard drives have contained "customized" firmware on at least an occasional basis since they've become a consumer product, so the chances of a straight "board swap" working are very low. In addition, because of the unique adaptives, it is highly possible to damage a drive further by the placement of a foreign PCB. Data recovery companies must rebuild the firmware information in many situations when the PCB of a drive fails. In addition, occasionally PCB failures cause damage to other hard drive components, such as the heads of the drive (and subsequently the platters, in certain situations). Professional data recovery companies have special processes to treat these problems as well. If you think that your hard drive has a problem with its PCB board, it's important that you don't try to operate the drive any further or try switching out the PCB board with another drive's. Get your hard drive to a reputable data recovery company immediately for an evaluation. A good data recovery company will be able to quickly diagnose the drive's issues and let you know what your options are from that point. http://www.onepcbsolution.com/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=du0Qd_3wFWM

If you're lucky, it's just your drive isn't receiving enough current to it (and therefore can't spin - thus those strange sounds) and if you're a bit less lucky it might be an electrical problem of the controller board of the enclosure. I don't imagine you have another power supply for the external enclosure on hand, and I doubt any warranty for your product would include data retrieval, so here's what you can do yourself; Unscrew the hard drive out of the external enclosure and try connecting it directly to your PC (you will need to know which end goes where, beyond that it's pretty straight forward and you need not be a computer wizard to test it - just make sure you don't fiddle with your PC's innards while it's plugged in and as a precautionary measure unplug he power cord off it before even opening it up). Follow up on this topic if you require any additional help with it. If you can manage, then once connected, plug you PC back to the el. grid, turn it on and see if the affected hard drive came back to life. Boot to your OS and make a backup of data you need to retrieve either on your other internal drive or alternatively burn it to recordable optical media. You will need another external enclosure for your drive after it and, may I suggest, you get an actively cooled one instead. If you're unlucky, it's the hard drive itself that's gone bad (in external enclosures it's most typically due to overheating and might be hard drive's PCB board that's burnt). That will require advanced servicing and might cost you an arm and a leg to get your data back, depending on where the problem lies. PCB can be exchanged for a working one also in a DIY fashion, however it requires a bit more know-how and I wouldn't suggest you do it on your own. If the motor gave, then servicing in a "clean room" environment is required and that might get darn expensive. Best of luck, though! Please tell us how it went either case ;)

Inside that plastic external case of the Hitachi XL 1000 external harddrive, is a regular desktop computer sized harddrive.

It is a SATA type of harddrive.
It is 3.5 inches across in Width. (3 and a half inches)
1 TB in size.

Looks similar to this example,

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5589521&CatId=2459

On the back end of the Harddrive is where it's power cable, and data cable are attached.

Inside the case of the Hitachi also is a small circuit board. (PCB or Printed Circuit Board)
The SATA harddrive is connected to this small circuit board.

The small circuit board, or Interface PCB , is attached directly to the Harddrive.
Or cables (Wires) are used to connect it to the Harddrive.
The Interface PCB is connected to the computer, via the USB cable that is attached to the Interface PCB.

It is this small circuit board that usually goes bad.
(Unless the external harddrive was on, and dropped. Then the problem is the Harddrive)

There are two solutions;

One, buy an 3.5 SATA external enclosure, and use the Harddrive as an external harddrive again.

Two, install it as a Slave drive in a desktop computer, and retrieve all your information. Burn to disk/s, or flashdrive/s.

When using a SATA harddrive as a Slave drive, there are NO jumper pins to mess with.
DO NOT change any jumpers on the back of a SATA harddrive.
(These are for the factory)

This is an example of a 3.5 SATA external enclosure,

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2145406&CatId=2780

There are no guides to open a Hitachi XL 1000's case, to my knowledge.
It isn't something the manufacturer wants stated.

However opening the external enclosure (Case) isn't that tough. It falls under the same as this model,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQ_vjyvK28A

Here we see at 3:00 through 5:00, that the Harddrive is attached directly to the Interface PCB.
Just remove the Harddrive from the chassis, and unplug it from the Interface PCB.

For additional questions please post in a Comment.

Regards,
joecoolvette

Its PCB, or printed circuit board.
You can find one, do a google search but remember:

IF YOU CHANGE A PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARD WITH A NON MATCHING PCB... SUCH AS DIFFERENT FIRMWARE, LAYOUT, OR MICRO CONTROLLER NUMBERS, YOU WILL RUN A HIGH RISK OF FAILURE AND FURTHER DAMAGE!


So very carefully note down:
Firmware and MDL

Example of firmware details recorded:
Western Digital MDL: WD2000BB-16DWA0
MDL: WD2000BB This indicates the Model Number of the Drive and Memory Cache BB Meaning 2MB there are also JB for 8MB and so on... this needs to be the same if you are ordering parts.
Firmware: 16DWA0 This is reference to the hard drives firmware number, this can be used for a PCB Swap but if unsuccessful you will need to contact a professional data recovery with the means of firmware recording and or firmware replacement

Good luck!

Nope, even on swapping hard drive board with same spec(size, board version) doesn't guarantee success.

Consider how the hard drive is construct on different brand. Initialization, disc number and many things.

It maybe, if it is same spec like size, brand, board version and model batch.

Hi Indro,

HEat issues like that can be caused either by a failure on the PCB or internally. Remove the PCB board and inspect it, if it's an issue I have seen occasionally you will have a hard time removing the PCB as it will have blown out a chip near the contact point for the drive and will be somewhat fused to the padding between the PCB and the drive chassis.

If this is the case a new board runs about 50% chance of fixing the issue, try finding one on eBay and replacing it. If that fails or if there's no noticable failure on the PCB, chances are the failure is internal and you will need the help of a professional facility with a clean room to get your files back. If this is the case and you don't mind spending a few bucks for the file, respond with your location(Country, State and City) and I will refer you to a nearby facility that has the appropriate equipment to assist you.

Hope this helps FixYa,

Chris

I'm not sure I understand you correctly but this is what I think.
You tried to use the drive in an external case and the power supply was 19v. The drive really needs 12v. When you put it back inside a PC the bois does not detect it.

Id say it is destroyed. Do not wast you time with it.
If you think it is burned then it probably is.

If your computer is not a laptop, then open it up and look on the main chip. Right next to where your current hard drive is there should be another slot that is identical. If that doesn't work then 1.look at the other slots, 2. or see if the connector will work somewhere on you outside shell.