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Researching an obsolete (?) part "SH6790A".

I am the research electronics technologist for the University of Wisconsin, Parkside campus.  I have a 500Gb hard-drive by Maxtor with platen motor failure.  I see a physically damaged TI part with the number SH6790A P but I can't seem to cross this to any datasheet or family/function.  The TI Customer Support Center looked and suggested I try this venue.  My case number is CS0116278 if any members of this forum can access the conversation.  This hard drive contains the research data of one of our professors and they are delinquent in their backups and as a result are now in a panic. 

I will start with this, if I can cross reference the part, before more drastic (and expensive) options.  No other physical damage is apparent so with some idea of this component (family schematic or chip function), i should be able to determine root cause.  Any help in this matter would be appreciated!

  

  • Hello Vincent,

    Give me some time to see if I can connect you with a device expert or get some sort of statement about the part. I ask for your patience as the holidays usually introduce some delay in communication.

    My initial analysis suggests that this is a custom component, which requires direct communication with TI support or sales representative to purchase.

    Best,

    -Cole

  • Thank you Cole, no problem with delay... Happy New Year btw!  Yes, i think you may be right, the part may be proprietary.  I believe it is the motor control chip for the plates of this HDD and i have found discussions about another TI part (SH6770C) which appear to be in the same family as mine.  I'm looking through my bone pile of hard-drives from surplus computers (hundreds waiting to be destroyed or wiped prior to disposal) but this seems to be the only Maxtor 500Gb drive ever used on campus!!  other Maxtor's have completely different control boards and none have a matching part that this one uses.

    Any help is greatly appreciated...

    Thanks.

  • Hello Vincent,

    Happy New Year, I wish I came bearing good news.

    Having the team look at your situation, we'd like to comment that the source of the electrical overstress on the part was, most likely, external. This means, we are not sure just replacing the SH6790A will fix the problem as numerous other devices in the path could be damaged. In addition, the part is proprietary, as you guessed, so TI cannot directly give a replacement part.

    As a result, we think that obtaining a fresh board would be only realistic approach. I imagine obtaining a similar make or model from Maxtor directly would be expensive, but possible. Otherwise, you'd have to continue to search for one and see if someone with a working make or model on campus is willing to give up their machine in an attempt to recover the backups.

    The expert has been notified but is currently out of town, unfortunately. Again, expect some delays in follow up questions.

    Best,

    -Cole

  • Hello Vincent,

    SH6790A is our team's part however it is not public device we can disclose. It was developed as custom device for specific customer and we cannot share any information.

    Thanks,

    Shinya