Yesterday I was using my mac and it became unresponsive and froze during web browsing. I reset it but it hung on the happy mac and the HD made continuous clicking noises. Powered off and on, same thing, but just a grey screen this time. I took the drive out and put it into a 20SC drive case, and sure enough, after spinning up it will go into an endless "click-clunk" routine when it should initialize the heads.
The drive is a Seagate Barracude ATA II 30.6GB. I know someone else with the same drive, so I thought I might like to try switching the circuit boards to at least get my data off it (which I would quite like to do). However, since the drive is still in warranty until 2004, I do not want to jeopardise my opportunity for a free replacement, especially since this may not even get the drive working.
How strict are companies about getting out of warranties? All that it says on the drive is "Product warranty is void if the top cover, or any seal or label is removed, or if the drive experiences shock in excess of 300 Gs." To get at the circuit board I need to unscrew at least two torx screws - there is a "Seashield" cover to make things harder though...
If I used latex gloves (to avoid fingerprints) and undid the screws carefully through a thin fabric (and put everything back very carefully), do you think they would be able to tell I'd tampered with it? Im not removing any seals as such, so hopefully it doesnt even void anything.
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