WD My Passport 2TB control board failure

[khalestorm]

Hello all,

First time here, so please forgive in advance if I'm not posting correctly or using all the right terminology.

I have a 2TB WD My Passport HDD Model: WDBY8L0020BBK-NESN, I can provide DCM and PCB board number when I get home.

I accidentally plugged the HDD into a USB hub that had the wrong adapter powering the hub and I think I may have sent too much power to the HDD.

Now, when I try to fire up the hard drive on macOS High Sierra, I receive the warning along the lines of - 'this USB device is using too much power and is disabled...'

The light for the HDD is now extremely dim and the disk isn't spinning any more, nor is the HDD mounting. It's also not showing up in Disk Utility

I suspect that my PCB / controller has some fried components. I looked at the control board but do not see any visible signs of burn marks, etc. I'll post a picture soon to see if anyone can spot anything I'm missing.

I've considered purchasing a new control board here (https://www.hddzone.com/index.php?main_ ... VW&x=0&y=0) and replacing the parts that are no good.

Can anyone recommend a good course of action here?

Would it be wise to purchase an identical board and try to replace the components? Can I send the controller board off to a company / service for repair?

Please let me know any information I'm missing that I can provide for help.

[rogfanther]

First, start by posting pictures of both sides of the control board .

There are places that will transfer the necessary componentes from your fried to a new board, but the fix may be simple, so first lets take a look at the boards to better assess the situation.

[fzabkar]

Buy a replacement PCB and transfer the chip at location U12 (if it exists) from the old PCB to the new PCB. Some PCB suppliers (eg hdd-parts.com) will do this for no additional cost.

However, before you do this, show us photos of both sides of the PCB.

[khalestorm]

here are the parts.

If anyone is willing to provide the link to PCB I should buy I'd be grateful

Attachments

[khalestorm]

also this looks like a similar post to mine: https://forum.hddguru.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=32980

[fzabkar]

Your PCB p/n is "2060-771961-000 REV P1".

[khalestorm]

I see a few here: https://www.hddzone.com/index.php?main_ ... P1&x=0&y=0

Which "2060-771961-000 REV P1" are you referencing?

[jermy]

if the problem is electronically (PCB), why on earth did you open the lid ?

[pcimage]

if the problem is electronically (PCB), why on earth did you open the lid ?

By doing that, a whole huge can of worms has been opened.

The risk of the drive destroying itself when powered up with the new PCB has now just gone up exponentially.

Now the only real chance for recovery is by sending to a DR pro. BEFORE it is powered up!

[fzabkar]

@khalestorm, did you replace the overvolted USB hub?

What happens if you power the PCB on its own? Does the HDD light remain dim?

If you don't intend to pay for data recovery services, I would suggest that you "purge" the drive of contaminants by allowing it to spin without loading heads. This can be achieved by isolating the VCM contacts at the HDA. This procedure won't guarantee dust free platters, but it's better than doing nothing. I can show you how to do this should you decide to go this way.

[rogfanther]

Things will be harder now that the disk has been opened.

Process only if the data is not important.

If the disks parks the heads on a ramp, you can try @fzakbar´s suggestion.

Also, it is important do ditch the usb hub if you think it was involved in the cause of the problem, albeit I think that a wrong supply to the hub would fry the hub instead of damaging the disks. But , in many ways, we didn´t see what happened to the disk.

[khalestorm]

@khalestorm, did you replace the overvolted USB hub?

@fzabkar I did. I actually no longer use that hub anymore and have a new USB powered Anker hub. The old one was powered by a wall adapter. I used the wrong adapter not specific to the hub, thus sending a power surge through the hub into the HDD. Big mistake I hope I never do again...

If I power the PCB on it's on by itself, not connected to the drive the light no longer turns on, even dimly. The PCB gets really really warm and starts to smell of burning a little so I immediately disconnect it.

If you don't intend to pay for data recovery services, I would suggest that you "purge" the drive of contaminants by allowing it to spin without loading heads. This can be achieved by isolating the VCM contacts at the HDA. This procedure won't guarantee dust free platters, but it's better than doing nothing. I can show you how to do this should you decide to go this way.

Can you provide the instructions on how to do this? I'll likely go this route before I shell out money for DR.

I've purchased the replacement PCB p/n '2060-771961-000 REV P1', I'm going to swap the U12 BIOS from the old to the new PCB and then fire it up after purging drive contaminants. @fzabkar is this what you'd recommend or something else?

Thanks all

[unknown]

Forget about DO-IT-YOURSELF. This is a 2 TB drive and not a 40 GB one ...

Again this is NOT a 40 GB drive ...

Good luck.

Is it OK to open the top lid if it was a 40 GB drive?
Just kidding.
@ OP
I hope the drive has no important data. It's Shrek LT with 4 platters/ 8 heads

[khalestorm]

If you don't intend to pay for data recovery services, I would suggest that you "purge" the drive of contaminants by allowing it to spin without loading heads. This can be achieved by isolating the VCM contacts at the HDA. This procedure won't guarantee dust free platters, but it's better than doing nothing. I can show you how to do this should you decide to go this way.

@fzabkar can you provide these instructions?

[fzabkar]

I'm assuming that the heads are parked on the ramp in their normal position and not on the platters.

To prevent the heads from moving off the ramp when the drive spins up, I would place some insulating tape over the VCM1 and VCM2 pads. These pads connect the PCB's motor controller IC to the voice coil inside the HDA. After the PCB has been screwed down, measure the resistance between VCM1 and VCM2 to ensure that it is open circuit.

This used to be my standard practice 30 years ago when servicing a HDD after a head crash. Of course today's drives are completely different animals, but ISTM that "purging" contaminants in this way is still a good idea. Hopefully any dust will be blown off the platters and into the filter. It's your risk, though.

Attachments

[khalestorm]

Thanks fzabkar

I'll give this a shot and report my findings

[jono-ats]

If you don't intend to pay for data recovery services, I would suggest that you "purge" the drive of contaminants by allowing it to spin without loading heads. This can be achieved by isolating the VCM contacts at the HDA. This procedure won't guarantee dust free platters, but it's better than doing nothing. I can show you how to do this should you decide to go this way.

May I suggest an experiment for you?

Take an old drive. Open the lid and let it sit out for a bit. Inspect the top platter for debris with a magnifying glass.

Replace the lid & perform the procedure you've recommended.

Then open the lid and inspect the top platter again.

What did you discover?

[fzabkar]

Turn the drive upside down.

[rogfanther]

Some interesting experiences could be done with this with a microscope in a clean room.

As for the hdd of the thread, the op ( or the owner ) has probably already accepted ( or been told ) that his data was lost due to head failure and is not recoverable anymore.

[jono-ats]

Turn the drive upside down.

The electronics advice you give is, in my opinion, consistently the best in the forum.

At one point you said that you don't actually "do" mechanical recoveries. Perhaps this has changed. If not, speculative advice can be harmful, because readers will assume that you bring similar expertise to that particular topic.

I suggested that you try a simple experiment to illustrate that your recommendations to spin the platters or turn the drive upside down, etc. fall short of the mark.

Most drive platters are lubricated. Particles can be very "sticky." A directed spray of 100 PSI nitrogen doesn't remove some of them. Even one particle can be fatal.

Opening the lid and performing work outside of a Class 100 facility is like playing Russian Roulette with only one empty chamber. And without experience, knowledge, and tools, there are no empty chambers.

Every drive we receive that has been opened unprofessionally requires intervention. I think your best "advice" in this case is to refer people who have taken this step to a competent facility, if they have ANY interest in the data.

Thank you.