Easy Mode Data Recovery: Maxtor HDD PCB Exchange

Disclaimer: You shouldn't put your valuable data in danger by following advice you find on Internet blogs.

Maxtor drives tend to accept PCB swaps, making data recovery when it's only a burnt chip (ST 2DPS20V, in this case) nearly effortless.

I had some worthwhile* data in need of recovery.

In 2009, 80gb donor drives were still expensive ($75 to $100).  

Now, they're under $30 on ebay (the one that worked for me was $26.99 with shipping.)

See references for what's (probably) needed for a donor match.

Overview
PCBs and Shells

Damaged
PCB

Crispy Chip

Donor
PCB

Pristine Chip

After switching boards, I simply booted Hiren's on a diag system and copied the data off to a network share.

If you find yourself in similar circumstances, perhaps consider this much cheaper (and brainlessly easy) route before sending it into the pros.

Tools Needed:
T8 Torx
Donor Drive PCB
Cavalier Attitude With General Disregard For Important Data

Drive PCB Specs:
Burnt: Code: YAR41BW0 N,M,G,A TLA: 6Y080L0422611 AAB Date: 08 Nov 2005 PCB: M6FYA
Donor: Code: YAR41BW0 N,M,B,A TLA: 6Y080L0422611 AAB Date: 02 Dec 2005 PCB: M6FYA

* Porn. Of course I mean porn. Also the schematics for a working cold fusion reactor, and an unaltered copy of the United States Constitution.

References:
Newbies Start Here - Scott Moulton's Site
HowTO How To replace Maxtor Calypso III board
PCB layout - Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 9 ATA/133
Repair and Recover Maxtor Hard Drives
Maxtor Hard Drive PCB swapping replacement guide
HDD ICs
P-CHANNEL 20V - 0.14 ohm - 2.5A SO-8 2.7V-DRIVE STripFET™ II MOSFET PLUS SCHOTTKY DIODE