BleepingComputer.com: can I replace the pc board on my failed hdd?

nightmare scenario: a 3-year old squirted something from a spray bottle into my hp tower. It dripped onto the pc board that's mounted on my un-backed-up hdd that has important data (photos, etc). One of the chips erupted like a volcano, and the drive doesn't even spin up. It's a seagate 360 GB SATA drive.

So I've possibly learned my lesson. Beyond that, is there any way to recover the drive?

If I can find exactly the same drive but one that works, can I swap boards?

key question -> Has anyone done this before?

Remove the drive and install it as a slave in a working machine.
This should allow you to access and copy the files off the slave. (provided it was not damaged)
You can replace the MotherBoard, but if it is not the same as the current board
it is not likely to boot because Windows on that drive is configured for the old board.
Chipset drivers, USB support, and video being the main culprits.

I've seen circuit boards advertiswed on EBay.

If you are talking about the circuit board on the hard drive, I've done it once where it worked.
It has to be the EXACT same make and model to a T. Close don't count
There are no guarantees

This post has been edited by garmanma: 06 January 2009 - 09:44 PM

I went through this several years ago with an 80 gB W-D drive. Finding the exact same revision for the PCB is durned near impossible (I never did). And, since most people selling them have no idea of the revision number of the PCB in the drive - you'll end up spending a lot on speculation.

I'd suggest a professional data recovery service to get the stuff back. It's gonna be expensive, but most places will give you a ballpark figure after seeing the drive.