Data Recovery Success: Bringing a Silent Seagate 2.5″ Drive Back to Life
Most people think a silent, non-spinning hard drive means their data is gone forever. But in reality, it’s often just a circuit board component that’s failed. This case study looks at a recent case where a portable Seagate drive, showing no signs of life, was brought back from the brink thanks to some clever work by a data recovery engineer.
The Case of the Silent Seagate
Our senior data recovery engineer took a look. He removed the circuit board and immediately spotted the issue: two fried electrical components. One of these components was responsible for delivering power to the hard drive, which explained why the drive was showing no signs of life. The electrical damage was pretty clear on the circuit board.
The Fix: A Board Swap
If you are looking to buy a PCB for your hard drive, you can buy it locally here in Australia from a business called ‘Donor Drive Parts‘.
Once he powered up the drive with the donor board, it came to life! The drive started spinning, and data began copying immediately. The most amazing part was that the power surge that killed the circuit board had, somehow, spared the read heads inside the drive. This meant we had full access to all the data.
We Can Help With Any Type of Hard Drive
Including These Popular Seagate 2.5″ SATA HDDs:
Our data recovery specialists have extensive experience with all Seagate 2.5″ SATA hard drives from 80GB to 5TB capacity. Below is a comprehensive list of popular models we regularly work with:
| Model Number | Series | Capacity | RPM | Interface | Cache |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BARRACUDA SERIES (Current Generation) | |||||
| ST500LM030 | BarraCuda | 500GB | 5400 | SATA 6Gb/s | 128MB |
| ST1000LM048 | BarraCuda | 1TB | 5400 | SATA 6Gb/s | 128MB |
| ST1000LM049 | BarraCuda Pro | 1TB | 7200 | SATA 6Gb/s | 128MB |
| ST2000LM015 | BarraCuda | 2TB | 5400 | SATA 6Gb/s | 128MB |
| ST2000LM007 | Mobile HDD | 2TB | 5400 | SATA 6Gb/s | 128MB |
| ST4000LM024 | BarraCuda | 4TB | 5400 | SATA 6Gb/s | 128MB |
| ST5000LM000 | BarraCuda | 5TB | 5400 | SATA 6Gb/s | 128MB |
| FIRECUDA SSHD SERIES (Hybrid Drives) | |||||
| ST500LX025 | FireCuda | 500GB | 5400 | SATA 6Gb/s | 64MB + 8GB NAND |
| ST1000LX015 | FireCuda | 1TB | 5400 | SATA 6Gb/s | 64MB + 8GB NAND |
| ST2000LX001 | FireCuda | 2TB | 5400 | SATA 6Gb/s | 64MB + 8GB NAND |
| ST1000LM014 | Laptop SSHD | 1TB | 5400 | SATA 6Gb/s | 64MB + 8GB NAND |
| MOBILE HDD SERIES | |||||
| ST1000LM035 | Mobile HDD | 1TB | 5400 | SATA 6Gb/s | 128MB |
| ST1000LM024 | Mobile HDD | 1TB | 5400 | SATA 6Gb/s | 32MB |
| ST1000LM010 | FreePlay | 1TB | 5400 | SATA 3Gb/s | 32MB |
| MOMENTUS SERIES (Legacy Models) | |||||
| ST980825AS | Momentus 7200.1 | 80GB | 7200 | SATA 1.5Gb/s | 8MB |
| ST9120821AS | Momentus 5400.2 | 120GB | 5400 | SATA 1.5Gb/s | 8MB |
| ST9160821AS | Momentus 5400.3 | 160GB | 5400 | SATA 1.5Gb/s | 8MB |
| ST9160827AS | Momentus 5400.4 | 160GB | 5400 | SATA 3Gb/s | 8MB |
| ST9250827AS | Momentus 5400.4 | 250GB | 5400 | SATA 3Gb/s | 8MB |
| ST9250315AS | Momentus 5400.6 | 250GB | 5400 | SATA 3Gb/s | 16MB |
| ST9320325AS | Momentus 5400.6 | 320GB | 5400 | SATA 3Gb/s | 16MB |
| ST9500325AS | Momentus 5400.6 | 500GB | 5400 | SATA 3Gb/s | 16MB |
| ST9500423AS | Momentus 7200.4 | 500GB | 7200 | SATA 3Gb/s | 16MB |
| ST9750420AS | Momentus 7200.4 | 750GB | 7200 | SATA 3Gb/s | 16MB |
| LAPTOP THIN SERIES | |||||
| ST160LT003 | Momentus Thin | 160GB | 5400 | SATA 3Gb/s | 16MB |
| ST250LT012 | Laptop Thin | 250GB | 5400 | SATA 6Gb/s | 16MB |
| ST250LT007 | Momentus Thin | 250GB | 7200 | SATA 3Gb/s | 16MB |
| ST320LT020 | Momentus Thin | 320GB | 5400 | SATA 3Gb/s | 16MB |
| ST500LT012 | Laptop Thin | 500GB | 5400 | SATA 6Gb/s | 16MB |
| ST500LT032 | Laptop Ultrathin | 500GB | 5400 | SATA 6Gb/s | 16MB |
| ST750LM022 | Momentus | 750GB | 5400 | SATA 6Gb/s | 32MB |
| ST1000LM014 | Momentus | 1TB | 5400 | SATA 6Gb/s | 32MB |
| ADDITIONAL POPULAR MODELS | |||||
| ST9160412AS | Momentus 7200.2 | 160GB | 7200 | SATA 3Gb/s | 16MB |
| ST9250410AS | Momentus 7200.2 | 250GB | 7200 | SATA 3Gb/s | 16MB |
| ST9320423AS | Momentus 7200.4 | 320GB | 7200 | SATA 3Gb/s | 16MB |
| ST500LX003 | Momentus XT | 500GB | 7200 | SATA 6Gb/s | 32MB + 4GB SLC |
| ST750LX003 | Momentus XT | 750GB | 7200 | SATA 6Gb/s | 32MB + 8GB SLC |
| ST1000LM028 | Laptop SSHD | 1TB | 5400 | SATA 6Gb/s | 64MB + 8GB NAND |
| ST2000LM009 | Mobile HDD | 2TB | 5400 | SATA 6Gb/s | 128MB |
| ST2000LM010 | Mobile HDD | 2TB | 5400 | SATA 6Gb/s | 128MB |
| LEGACY MOMENTUS MODELS | |||||
| ST9120817AS | Momentus 5400.4 | 120GB | 5400 | SATA 3Gb/s | 8MB |
| ST9160314AS | Momentus 5400.5 | 160GB | 5400 | SATA 3Gb/s | 8MB |
| ST9250320AS | Momentus 5400.5 | 250GB | 5400 | SATA 3Gb/s | 8MB |
| ST9320320AS | Momentus 5400.5 | 320GB | 5400 | SATA 3Gb/s | 8MB |
| ST9500420AS | Momentus 7200.4 | 500GB | 7200 | SATA 3Gb/s | 16MB |
| ST9640320AS | Momentus 5400.5 | 640GB | 5400 | SATA 3Gb/s | 8MB |
| ST9160310AS | Momentus 5400.4 | 160GB | 5400 | SATA 3Gb/s | 8MB |
| ST9250421AS | Momentus 7200.4 | 250GB | 7200 | SATA 3Gb/s | 16MB |
| ST9320421AS | Momentus 7200.4 | 320GB | 7200 | SATA 3Gb/s | 16MB |
| ST1000LX001 | Laptop SSHD | 1TB | 5400 | SATA 6Gb/s | 64MB + 8GB NAND |
| ST1000LM037 | Mobile HDD | 1TB | 5400 | SATA 6Gb/s | 128MB |
| ST1000LM038 | Mobile HDD | 1TB | 5400 | SATA 6Gb/s | 128MB |
Key Takeaways
- A silent hard drive doesn’t always mean lost data.
- Circuit board component failure is a common issue.
- Specialised tools and expertise are needed for delicate repairs.
- Sometimes, even after a power surge, data can be fully recovered.
This case study really showed how technical know-how can bring back what seemed completely hopeless, turning a digital disaster into a full recovery. Whether you have a newer BarraCuda drive, a legacy Momentus model, or any of the SSHD FireCuda series, our team has the expertise to handle PCB failures and other complex recovery scenarios.
If you’re facing a similar issue with any Seagate 2.5″ SATA hard drive, don’t give up hope! You can learn more about our HDD data recovery service or get a free quote to see if we can help you too.