HDD PCB Main Controller Chip

The circuit board (PCB) is an important part of the hard disk. There are some important components or parameters on the circuit board, such as “Main Controller Chip”, “Board Number”, “BIOS Chip” and “White Label Number”, etc. This article will mainly introduce the “Main Controller Chip”. The main controller chip is very important, because if our hard disk circuit board is failed or died, to find a suitable replacement circuit board, we need to make sure the numbers on the main controller chip are the same. The number of the main controller chip is the most important parameter should to be considered. To find a replacement circuit board for Maxtor and Hitachi 3.5” hard drives, we should to make sure the replacement board and your original board have the same main controller chip number.

Main Controller Chip Number on Hard Drives:

1. Maxtor PCB Main Controller Chip (Begin with 040***)

2. Hitachi 3.5” PCB Main Controller Chip (Begin with 0A/0J***)

To find the correct main controller chip number on the PCB, you’d better to use a T6/T8 screwdriver to unscrew the hard disk.

Note: Even we have found the correct replacement PCB, we also need to swap the BIOS chip from the original PCB to the replacement PCB to let the hard disk be recognized. To transfer firmware on PCBs, please refer to: HDD PCB Firmware Transfer

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.