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Is it possible, and if so, what would it take to do a hard drive disc swap?

If a HD has a damaged PCB, but the actual disc inside the drive where all the information is stored is not damaged, is it possible to take that disc and put it in another hard drive whose PCB is not damaged? (as long as both are the same type, SATA to SATA, etc.)

Can this be done at home? Any special requirements?

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It is possible to swap the PCBs between drives but not only will it have to be the same type, but also the same manufacturer, the same model, probably the same revision and possibly the same firmware version

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  • How would you go about guaranteeing this?
    – Sev
    Commented Jun 10, 2010 at 21:00
  • It would be nearly impossible. If you really need the data, I would go to a professional. You would have to go to the store and manually check each box for the proper revision, or find one on eBay where it's listed. You'd probably also need a cleanroom, as I can only imagine what the smallest piece of dust would do to those platters.
    – Darth Android
    Commented Jun 10, 2010 at 21:05
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    @Darth - if its only the PCB that is fubar then an identical PCB swap wouldn't need to open the platters at all
    – Shevek
    Commented Jun 10, 2010 at 21:12
  • So just go to the store and purchase. I wonder if there's any other way. Do manufacturers send out specific revision/model requests?
    – Sev
    Commented Jun 10, 2010 at 21:17
  • this is why IT departments buy harddrives in multiples, so they get drives from the same manufacturing batch. note that swapping PCBs is the only realistic DIY option; swapping platters isn't something anyone considers seriously.
    – quack quixote
    Commented Jun 10, 2010 at 21:37

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