hard drive help

[c01642]

I have a maxtor 20gb hard drive, the heads have failed. I have a second drive that is exactly the same. Is it possible to remove the platter from the broken drive and put it in the working drive? The platter sits on top of the heads and lifts straight off (i have had a look in a third drive which also failed). Has any one attempted this? I would be grateful for ant help or links to some information.
Thanks

 

[ADZ]

THis is FAR from a technical answer. BUT. I try anything once, and if it doesnt kill me, whats stopping me from doing it again? ALthough im not sure...

 

[SLAYERMAN]

I agree with adz lol look at it this way...what you got to lose? but if this was me i'd buy another hdd as you can get 20gb's next to nothing nowadays, and one other point they're all maxtor i take it, ever considered trying seagate or other brands??

 

[RoyalW]

So long as both drives are EXACTLY the same it should work ok.
I've done it once before and it worked ok. I took the logic board off and basically just set it up on the new hdd as I saw it from the old hdd.

But I didnt trust it at all and cloned it to a brand new third drive to get the data off which was all I was worried about and not the actual hard drive.

 

[kboy]

I've never known anyone that did it but what the hell! Worse can happen is you futz up the HD. HD's aren't built in a factory assembly line setup like Micro says so I wouldn't expect it to work very well if it will even boot would be a surprise. Go for It!!!

 

[gruntwerk]

You may want to start by CALLING to see if the drives are still under warranty. . . -- BEFORE you try opening them....
Again, unless you have access to a cleanroom you are NOT going to be able to fix the drives...

 

[dbk4297]

Hi,

I really don't think you will have any luck even if you have the exact drive, "and" a clean room.
I take apart old hard drives so I can use the magnets at work, and it is impossible to remove the platters without scratching them or screwing up the heads.
If, you could get the platters out, you would have to have an exact match with relation to each platter if you plan on getting your data.

Darrell
http://home.pacbell.net/dbk4297/