Replacing Fan Inside hard drive...possible?

Theres a spinning fan inside each hard drive and i think the one in mine isnt working is it possible i can buy a fan or whatever it is and replace it mabey it will work. i think thats whats causing the heating problem

 

which exact model of hard drive is it?


Look on the outside if the drive and type in all the specs

 

There are no fans in hard drives (they have to be kept free from dust and contamination), unless you have it in some sort of caddy, or external enclosure.

As E_Pizza says, post the specs for your hard drive..............

 

yeah bad bearing is what im thinking good call ddp youre the man

 

Ok its a 120 gig western digital bought it last year. heats up when i try it and i understand that its the spinning object in it thats not spinning so if i can buy that part it might work im thinking, because sendning it into a lab so far i called about 6 places and the cheapest is 350$ insane. If you need any more info on the hard drive i will give it to you. Its just it sucks i have so much stuff on that hdd and i dont want to spend 350$ for like 10 gigs. Anyone can help please, greatly appreciated.

Thanks for the help

 

well you could buy the same model and replace one part from the new to the old. Of course that would void the warranty have you tried actually calling or emailing western digital they may be able to repair it so it can function properly again for a lower cost.

 

well no i havnt called them good idea i will do it now. But that means i have to open it right, i mean if im very careful you think it would work?

 

my warrenty dosnt expire till 2006 so u think they can replace the same hard drive therefore it will work?

 

just ask them if it would be possible to repair it but keep the data intact dont open it till you phone them. If you send it off they might be able to replace the faulty part inside leaving you to retrive this data. But be critival about the importance of this make sure they know you wabt this data. If you have to replace it yourself it will be very difficult. Just basically say you think its a faulty bearing or something and make sure they know the situation before they touch it.

 

ok well warrenty it untile 2006, i also tried the freezer trick a few times, put the hdd in the freezer for a few days and tried it but it didnt work. reason why im almost sure the problem is the spinning thing inside is because it heats up a lot when i turn on my computer.

 

there no reaso why they cant repair it under warranty but check with them to make sure that you can still keep the data. It wont fail because of heat alone there must be a fault in the machanism. Hard drives have no fans inside and ive seen a 10000Rpm drive heat up to about 100 degrees. Hard drives are built to take heat trust me, it will be a fault check with the company by email and quite the serial number and things. I suggest an email the maybe phone them just to be sure and then you know but just be 100% sure they know you want the data. Of course you will have to recover it yourself if they repair it they wont recover data for it.

 

yea i e-mailed them about the situation. Im going to call them tommorow because there closed now the phone lines. But hopefully they will the thing is i want the data back i hope they dont just give me a new one. But say they cant fix it somehow you think i will be able to do it, worse comes to worse. If i can but a piece for it open it and replace it?

thanks for the help

 

im not sure to be honest depends whats screwed but it will be costly get advice off a pro or someone with really good experience with hdd repairs cos i have none.

 

ok thanks for the help man

 

yea i know i should have but i never had any problems plus ive had it for a year so im looking for a solution now

 

Just read through the thread seems your getting a bit side-tracked from the actual problem. Is the drive working but just heating to much or is it dead? The spinning fan your refering to - do you mean you cant here the spindle? This isnt a fan but the actual disk spinning for the heads to read the data - if thats not working hdd is gone unless your a skilled engineer and then youd prob be working for working for western digital and not posting here : )
If its bearing as the guys suggested you'l be able to sort it but as your saying the you 'cant here it' suggests to me it's the spindle.
Bit of a rant there but hope it's helpful Cheers Haim

 

That's how it works.

What part is that?

Oh, THAT part... LoL :^)
Guys, HDs get hot. REAL hot! Especially if you have more than 1 side-by-side within your case, with no air circulation.
They transfer their heat through the frame to which they are mounted - it acts like a big heatsink.
Make sure your HDs are firmly attached (using at least 4 screws) directly to metal case frame, and not in a still-air sheltered place within the case.
Note: front casefans (typically 80mm blowing in) can actually sabotage your HD cooling, if they do not move air directly over the HDs ;^(
Backup all your data onto DVD (or CDRom or tape - or whatever) and then, your HD is under warranty until whenever (3 year warranty? Must be 8MB cache model).
If it fails, you get a new one.
HDs are inexpensive; if they fail they are replaced not repaired.
Don't roast yours though, and it will hopefully not fail!
HDs can easily generate almost as much heat within the case as CPU and Video card.
This is normal and does not necessarily indicate a problem with your drive...
That said, a client of mine roasted a Seagate he had. Medium-rare; it was toast!
I replaced it with a newer-faster-bigger model (80GB WD w/8MB cache, I believe...) but first I re-engineered his cooling to eliminate the problem.
This involved removing the front casefan and installing it as rear exhaust fan (in a nice place provided by case mfg, but empty).
Now he has proper negative pressure within the case, and cool air streams in from the front, through all the little perforations & holes, over the HDs - eliminating the dead stagnant airspace.
If your drive fails they'll replace it, but they'll have nothing to do with your data.
Backup your data, attend to your case cooling, and then use the drive. Betcha it's just fine...
Regards

 

yea the disc or whatever is not spinning and its not accessable at all, gets very hot when i try to read it such as setting it as a master/or slave.