Question/Issue with WD GreePower!

[synergia]

Hi,

I have a WD HDD of which suddenly died, no power! I have a similar WD HDD but has a different sticker ID of AB instead of AC as it was made in JAN.. and with this PCB the HDD spins just fine so I've eleminated it down to the PCB at fault, but windows will not initialise it as it's the wrong versions?

Now I have found a PCB suitable for mine below which has the same MDL, PCB Sticker and PCB serial/versions. Do I need to do anything special to get this drive to detect my data or do I need to swap ROMS? If so which is it on the PCB?

Thanks for reading/help in advance!

MDL: WD5000AAV8-00ZTB0
Date: 15 MAY 2008
DCM: DBRCHTJABN
PCB Sticker: 2061-701444-J00 AC
PCB: 2060-701444-004 Rev A.

[Touchclarity]

ROM is usually located at U12 on the PCB unless it's embedded in the MCU, then you will need professional help on this...

Post a picture, and I'm sure someone will point you in the right direction...

[w.simon]

Hello

Can you make photo of the pcb board ? and post

On the not working pcb look if there are TVS (D3 / D4) and check if the are not 0 ohm.
If they are 0 ohm they burned so you can remove / change for recover datas

If you do PCB swap, you had to swap the U12 chip too.

Good Luck

EDIT : TouchClarity has been faster than me

[synergia]

ROM is usually located at U12 on the PCB unless it's embedded in the MCU, then you will need professional help on this...

Post a picture, and I'm sure someone will point you in the right direction...

Ok located U12 on the attached photo and there is a blank spot with 4 pins on each side missing... guess it's embedded in the MCU? Where is the MCU on the attached photo?

Attachments

[synergia]

Hello

Can you make photo of the pcb board ? and post

On the not working pcb look if there are TVS (D3 / D4) and check if the are not 0 ohm.
If they are 0 ohm they burned so you can remove / change for recover datas

If you do PCB swap, you had to swap the U12 chip too.

Good Luck

EDIT : TouchClarity has been faster than me

Hey mate, D3 & D4 is reading 0.6 ohm...

[Touchclarity]

ROM is embedded.....you will need pro assistance on this....

[w.simon]

ROM is embedded.....you will need pro assistance on this....

+1

[sathyan]

Where is the MCU on the attached photo?

Rom is embedded in the large Marvell chip

Hey mate, D3 & D4 is reading 0.6 ohm...

May be you are not checking correctly.
0.6 Ohm is as good as 0 ohm== Short TVS.
Check in the resistance range of the multimeter,( not the diode range)
But , usually , Both the TVS dont fail together.
Also if the TVS diodes have failed , it wont allow your CPU to power on.

As suggested by Touchclarity, this is not a DIY case.
If data is really important, take pro help.
VCM controller may be faulty, but proper diagnosis is necessary ,rather than guess work
DIY attempts can make matters worse,so be careful

[mr_spokk]

IF you desolder the Diods, don't use the same Psu that blowe'd them in the first place...just a warning.

[synergia]

Where is the MCU on the attached photo?

Rom is embedded in the large Marvell chip

Hey mate, D3 & D4 is reading 0.6 ohm...

May be you are not checking correctly.
0.6 Ohm is as good as 0 ohm== Short TVS.
Check in the resistance range of the multimeter,( not the diode range)
But , usually , Both the TVS dont fail together.
Also if the TVS diodes have failed , it wont allow your CPU to power on.

As suggested by Touchclarity, this is not a DIY case.
If data is really important, take pro help.
VCM controller may be faulty, but proper diagnosis is necessary ,rather than guess work
DIY attempts can make matters worse,so be careful

No worries, will check this again later as this is the sympthoms it is giving me on the HDD cradle and won't allow the unit to power on or the WD MyBook Essentials V2 enclosure it was in would not power it up either. I also plugged it into the PC SATA power connector and it would not power the PC up, until i removed the faulty HDD.

TVS sounds like the culprit. Will let you know later today what my TVS resistance is as 0.6 ohms is as good as 0 ohms.

[synergia]

IF you desolder the Diods, don't use the same Psu that blowe'd them in the first place...just a warning.

No worries mate - thanks! It was inside an enclosure so it's going to remain outside the enclosure!

[synergia]

ROM is embedded.....you will need pro assistance on this....

Thanks for the heads up! I have a mate who's into SM PCB repairs so if it's the TVS or requires new PCB I will get him to do the ROM swap over.

[northwind]

No worries, will check this again later as this is the sympthoms it is giving me on the HDD cradle and won't allow the unit to power on or the WD MyBook Essentials V2 enclosure it was in would not power it up either. I also plugged it into the PC SATA power connector and it would not power the PC up, until i removed the faulty HDD.

These drives may carry encryption on the usb bridge. That means that even if you manage to 'repair' the hdd problem, all data will be encrypted (chances are if you connect your drive through sata port, and assuming the 'repair' has been successful, drive will power up and detect on disk manager as 'unallocated' or ...

I have a mate who's into SM PCB repairs so if it's the TVS or requires new PCB I will get him to do the ROM swap over.

Again, swapping the M chip is EXTREMELY difficult, even for seasoned techs. If it fails, then you may end up with quite a mess.

I suggest, since that you insist on the DIY path, to re-check the TVS measurements and go from there.

I have to say though, that the safe route is through a pro, and it wouldn't be that costly at THIS point.

As always, your data = your choice.
Good luck.

[sathyan]

No worries, will check this again later as this is the sympthoms it is giving me on the HDD cradle and won't allow the unit to power on or the WD MyBook Essentials V2 enclosure it was in would not power it up either. I also plugged it into the PC SATA power connector and it would not power the PC up, until i removed the faulty HDD.

TVS sounds like the culprit. Will let you know later today what my TVS resistance is as 0.6 ohms is as good as 0 ohms.

The symptoms suggest TVS failure.
Remove the TVS and use a good Power supply as you have been suggested here.
Do not try to replace the MCU just yet,( let this be the last option)because as Northwind suggested , this is not easy and chances of spoiling the pcb is high.
Remove the TVS and connect it to the SATA port of a PC. If the drive detects , make a clone or copy off the files ASAP.

[w.simon]

The symptoms suggest TVS failure.
Remove the TVS and use a good Power supply as you have been suggested here.
Do not try to replace the MCU just yet,( let this be the last option)because as Northwind suggested , this is not easy and chances of spoiling the pcb is high.
Remove the TVS and connect it to the SATA port of a PC. If the drive detects , make a clone or copy off the files ASAP.

+1

Simple thing to try remove the TVS, that cost nothing and less risk that swap mcu ship.

[synergia]

After testing the Diode again D3/D4, I found that D4 was shot! I desoldered the offending diode and reinstalled the PCB back into the main HDD unit and sure enough the HDD powered back up and was able to copy all my data back onto a spare HDD.

I do thank everyone's input, but if you do feel confident in doing it yourself by all means give it a go, after all experts have to start somewhere . If you don't feel like going further in your diagnosis then by all means consult a specialist. Again this TVS would not necessarily have fixed this fault but like a few posts have said, "It's a simple thing to try", do one diagnosis at a time (IF YOU FEEL CONFIDENT).

Thanks heaps again!

[w.simon]

After testing the Diode again D3/D4, I found that D4 was shot! I desoldered the offending diode and reinstalled the PCB back into the main HDD unit and sure enough the HDD powered back up and was able to copy all my data back onto a spare HDD.

I do thank everyone's input, but if you do feel confident in doing it yourself by all means give it a go, after all experts have to start somewhere . If you don't feel like going further in your diagnosis then by all means consult a specialist. Again this TVS would not necessarily have fixed this fault but like a few posts have said, "It's a simple thing to try", do one diagnosis at a time (IF YOU FEEL CONFIDENT).

Thanks heaps again!

GG ! Good to hear that !