Physical data recovery on a Toshiba MK5075GSX hard drive with a faulty head

Faulty Toshiba MK5075GSX in need of a head transplant to carry out a physical data recovery

The Toshiba MK5075GSX hard drive is 500GB 2.5″ SATA 5.4K 5400 RPM storage device, ideal for high-end laptops, PCs and portable external hard disk drives.

A couple of days ago, Creative IT received a customer with his 2012 Toshiba MK5075GSX hard drive who was unable to access his data. The drive was clicking.

After inspection, it was clear that it was the head that had been damaged by the surface of the drive when reading it and needed to be replaced.
Physical head replacement on a Toshiba hard drive is a complex procedure that Creative IT carries out inside its certified clean room located at The Willows. The team has access to all the necessary tools inside. The process includes locating an identical drive to be able to access the part for the transplant, cleaning the surface of the drive with pure 100% alcohol to remove all dust particles once the drive is was opened and finishing off with compressed air to get rid of the reminder of the dust particles. Once the part is extracted from the healthy Toshiba MK5075GSX hard drive, the transplant can take place.

How to locate a donor drive for a Toshiba head replacement?

Toshiba MK5075GSX donor drive for physical data recovery

There are several rules to follow in order to ensure the optimum conditions for a successful physical recovery when it comes to transplanting heads. The requirements for choosing a donor drive is to have a truly identical drive to the original model. It is also Important to have the same country of manufacture as this is one of the key characteristics for the transplant of heads to a faulty Toshiba hard drive. In some cases, more than one donor drive is necessary for a successful recovery.

Finding the correct drive isn’t always easy but there are a number of suppliers specialised in donor drives who can help. By working with data recovery companies like Creative IT, they have stocks of drives, new and refurbished, who can be purchased for spare parts in cases of physical failures.

What is the process of swapping heads with Toshiba hard drives?

Toshiba MK5075GSX head

Both the Toshiba broken hard drive and the donor drive are taken to the clean room and opened. The drives must be dismantled in order to access the heads. Once done, the drives are thoroughly cleaned from all the dust particles. Once the malfunctioning head is removed from the drive, the new head can be placed onto the drive and the drive reassembled for the data recovery to take place.

Creative IT is specialised in data recovery of all kind. We are equipped with a clean room and have years of experience in successful head swaps. All the data recoveries we carry out are done securely in-house.