WD Passport Ultra 2.5 1tb "SLOW PROBLEM" data recovery

[itdatagroup]

WD Passport Ultra 3.0 usb 2.5 1tb
has slowness problem
disk is recognized in win and linux
file system is visible
bogs down OS to a crawl

My plan was to apply slowness patch in HDDSuperClone or in WDMARVEL or in WDR.
USB bridge is not allowing any commands in those tools.
Bought the SATA board replacement per this link ( also Acelabs forum same list ) -->
https://www.data-medics.com/forum/threa ... -guide.13/
771961 - 771960, 771939, or 771959
The original usb adapter board was 2060-771961 001 REV B
Donor SATA adapter board is 2060-771960 000 REV A
Swapped ROM chip from original to donor board
Connecting thru VLI SATA-USB adapter cable ( working verified )

Disk with donor board is visible in win 10 disk management and disks in linux, however is not mounting in either.
Win prompts to initialize.
The file system is not visible in win or linux.

The disk is not spinning !

WDR - not connecting thru USB, bunch of red leds.
WDMARVEL - driver error.
DMDE - drive not there.
WD utilities is not seeing the drive at all.

It appears to be that the donor board + rom swap route has failed ?
that compatibility list, how reliable is it ?

Any advice ?

[drHDD]

If drive doesn't spin - pcb are bad or rom soldering are bad or rom are bad

[Lardman]

Not every WD drive you see will have slow responding issues and not every issue will be slow responding.

No spin is either pcb, rom or mechanical failure. Given you indicate it was spinning before you swapped the pcb and rom there's a huge clue as to what is wrong.

If you're doing this commercially you really should spend a little more time training before working on people's data.

[itdatagroup]

My bad, SATA cable went bad in the middle of the project, so pcb swap and rom swap worked, the disk is now working on SATA pcb, same symptoms as on the original USB bridge pcb - extremely slow response. So, phase 1 - pcb and rom swap is done.

Note: all my drives are my personal projects, not for customers, I don't do data recovery for customers with bad disks, period,
nor am I planning to do so, not my cup of tea and this is the last platter drive I'm working on my own data on it, the rest are all SSDs.

phase 2 - I need some guidance here, I plan to apply the sloweness fix using HDDSuperClone, if that don't work
then WDMarvel, if that don't work then WDR manual module edit and go from there into clone->copy or copy
using ddrescue

Question I have, this will slowness fix persist enough for me to copy/clone the disk say in multiple sessions if need be ?

"Slowness fix" as I understand it is basically clearing g-list + some additional disabling procedures, so it should be permanent,
so I don't have to fuss around with anything else to speed it up to clone it, correct ?

[sin]

Well as Fzabkar mentions, backup a day keeps data recovery away. Here, if you do not backup the original SA then data recovery can be VERY AWAY!

Slowness can be due to various reasons and its not necessary that Slow Read Fix will help.

Plus if your SA is locked then Slow read fix won't apply.

So , your next target should be to first backup the SA modules.

--

[itdatagroup]

Well as Fzabkar mentions, backup a day keeps data recovery away. Here, if you do not backup the original SA then data recovery can be VERY AWAY!

Slowness can be due to various reasons and its not necessary that Slow Read Fix will help.

Plus if your SA is locked then Slow read fix won't apply.

So , your next target should be to first backup the SA modules.

--

As I understand HHDSuperClone VSC slowness fix does module 02 and 32 backup before patch can be applied and also has "dump all modules" option.
The problem is disk goes full-on into relocation and bogs down OS, lunux has better response, windows just gets jammed.
So, yes obviously next I will do at least module 02 backup before applying the 02 module patch.

But the question is how long will this slowness fix last ? Long enough to do multiple session data recovery or do I have to do recovery immediately
after the patch in the same session ?

WDMarvel has its own slowness fix, with some extra tweaking to prevent relocation, which one should I go with ?

Anybody ?

[itdatagroup]

I ran into the next problem, need some help or advice.

OK, so conversion from USB to SATA pcb and ROM swap was successful.
Disk is recognized in WIN 10 and LINUX.
File system is visible.
After mounting the disk goes into relo loop and bogs down the OS, ie slowness problem.

I assumed that after USB to SATA pcb/rom conversion the HDDSuperClone, WDR or WDMAVERL will now be able to pass proper commands to disk with SATA interface,but it's not working.
My connection is [disk] -> {SATA-to-USB cable adapter} ( cheap bought on ebay ) -> {laptop USB port]

So, is this the problem with the cheap SATA-to-USB cable ?
Do I need special grade cable adapter ?
Or do I need to use a desktop with SATA port ?
If not, then why the commands are not passing thru ?

Seems like I wasted time converting to SATA thinking that the commands will work...
Need some basic guidance here.
Thanks !

[maximus]

My connection is [disk] -> {SATA-to-USB cable adapter} ( cheap bought on ebay ) -> {laptop USB port]

If you are using a USB adapter, why the hell did you even bother to do a pcb swap? The usb adapber is absolutely counter productive for a SATA pcb swap. The whole purpose of the swap is to be able to connect via SATA directly.

You need to figure out if it really just the slow responding issue. Since you mentioned using HDDSuperClone this link will take you to videos on using the analyze feature for diagnosis.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... Pf0crWU7Xk

If slow responding it a high percentage and a bad or weak head is a low percentage, then these videos will show how to best deal with the slow responding issue. If your drive is SED locked then you won't be able to fix the slow issue on your own (even with the SATA conversion), but you can use some settings in HDDSuperClone to maximize speed.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... 7Wnsqj4tpL

If your drive has a weak/bad head, you will not be able to do anything on your own, other than try to clone with HDDSuperClone and hope that drive survives the long recovery process.

If your data is important, ignore everything I have said in this reply and seek professional data recovery.

[maximus]

After mounting the disk goes into relo loop and bogs down the OS, ie slowness problem.

To add to my previous reply...
Why are you mounting it? You should be cloning it. You should NEVER mount a failing drive. I hope the data isn't too important to you with the things you are doing, and is just a learning experiment. Learning experiments can be fun as long as you don't care about the data.

[itdatagroup]

My connection is [disk] -> {SATA-to-USB cable adapter} ( cheap bought on ebay ) -> {laptop USB port]

If you are using a USB adapter, why the hell did you even bother to do a pcb swap? The usb adapber is absolutely counter productive for a SATA pcb swap. The whole purpose of the swap is to be able to connect via SATA directly.

You need to figure out if it really just the slow responding issue. Since you mentioned using HDDSuperClone this link will take you to videos on using the analyze feature for diagnosis.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... Pf0crWU7Xk

If slow responding it a high percentage and a bad or weak head is a low percentage, then these videos will show how to best deal with the slow responding issue. If your drive is SED locked then you won't be able to fix the slow issue on your own (even with the SATA conversion), but you can use some settings in HDDSuperClone to maximize speed.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... 7Wnsqj4tpL

If your drive has a weak/bad head, you will not be able to do anything on your own, other than try to clone with HDDSuperClone and hope that drive survives the long recovery process.

If your data is important, ignore everything I have said in this reply and seek professional data recovery.

Oh, super thank you !
that gives me a chance to clone with higher speed without patching !
If I can get the read speed up to 3Mb/s I will be very happy.

Here is what my assumption was on how to solve the problem:
Information on these types of problems are very fragmented and scattered around forums like this mainly.
So, from what I gathered and based on the symptoms:
- I had more or less classic WD Passport slow problem ( bad sectors more likely than weak heads )
- to solve needed to patch 02 and 32 ( relo list fix )
- the controller is of USB bridge type, the bridge is blocking commands to disk
- needed to convert to SATA controller, then will be able to pass commands to disk and patch the module
all videos on youtube and suggestions point to - convert to sata away from usb bridge, then you will be able to patch
( another plus is can connect directly to mobo )
- converted to SATA, moved ROM over
- however the commands to disk are still not going thru in HDDSuperClone, not even able to ID the disk or get SMART,
results are - Command Failed! as was before with USB bridge controller.

Apparently another issue is at play - the drive is likely an SED drive, SA area maybe locked, can't patch, yeah great, another thankyou ( FU ) to WD !
meaning some more steps are needed to unlock the SA area for patching, which is likely beyond my means.

At this point I need to figure out why I can't get identification or smart from the disk and how to get that info just to look at SMART, what's going on there...
Any ideas ?

[sin]

Well as Fzabkar mentions, backup a day keeps data recovery away. Here, if you do not backup the original SA then data recovery can be VERY AWAY!

Slowness can be due to various reasons and its not necessary that Slow Read Fix will help.

Plus if your SA is locked then Slow read fix won't apply.

So , your next target should be to first backup the SA modules.

--

Plus if your SA is locked then Slow read fix won't apply.

Just get a copy of Marvel or seek a professional help. If recovery services are costly then just buy a MRT for a month and recover your data with some ones help on the forum.
Idk if that would be cheaper or same as a professional service in the US.


up to you.

PS
Drive has more than 400+ modules on SA...i would not count on just backing up 02 and 32.
--

Last edited by sin on June 29th, 2023, 16:29, edited 1 time in total.

[sin]

If you can read any of the modules on the SA or in the rom via ata ...then probably its not SA locked. Just check
--

[itdatagroup]

My connection is [disk] -> {SATA-to-USB cable adapter} ( cheap bought on ebay ) -> {laptop USB port]

If you are using a USB adapter, why the hell did you even bother to do a pcb swap? The usb adapber is absolutely counter productive for a SATA pcb swap. The whole purpose of the swap is to be able to connect via SATA directly.

You need to figure out if it really just the slow responding issue. Since you mentioned using HDDSuperClone this link will take you to videos on using the analyze feature for diagnosis.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... Pf0crWU7Xk

If slow responding it a high percentage and a bad or weak head is a low percentage, then these videos will show how to best deal with the slow responding issue. If your drive is SED locked then you won't be able to fix the slow issue on your own (even with the SATA conversion), but you can use some settings in HDDSuperClone to maximize speed.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... 7Wnsqj4tpL

If your drive has a weak/bad head, you will not be able to do anything on your own, other than try to clone with HDDSuperClone and hope that drive survives the long recovery process.

If your data is important, ignore everything I have said in this reply and seek professional data recovery.

Oh, super thank you !
that gives me a chance to clone with higher speed without patching !
If I can get the read speed up to 3Mb/s I will be very happy.

Here is what my assumption was on how to solve the problem:
Information on these types of problems are very fragmented and scattered around forums like this mainly.
So, from what I gathered and based on the symptoms:
- I had more or less classic WD Passport slow problem ( bad sectors more likely than weak heads )
- to solve needed to patch 02 and 32 ( relo list fix )
- the controller is of USB bridge type, the bridge is blocking commands to disk
- needed to convert to SATA controller, then will be able to pass commands to disk and patch the module
all videos on youtube and suggestions point to - convert to sata away from usb bridge, then you will be able to patch
( another plus is can connect directly to mobo )
- converted to SATA, moved ROM over
- however the commands to disk are still not going thru in HDDSuperClone, not even able to ID the disk or get SMART,
results are - Command Failed! as was before with USB bridge controller.

Apparently another issue is at play - the drive is likely an SED drive, SA area maybe locked, can't patch, yeah great, another thankyou ( FU ) to WD !
meaning some more steps are needed to unlock the SA area for patching, which is likely beyond my means.

At this point I need to figure out why I can't get identification or smart from the disk and how to get that info just to look at SMART, what's going on there...
Any ideas ?

Update on HDDSUPERCLONE clone attemp thru settings tweaking failed.
This disk is hard to crack.
I tried different tweaks as per slow response videos, different connection MODEs, like direct usb mode is not working for me,
generates errors, I read it has to do with UAS being blacklisted by linux kernel for some controllers.
Bottom line, I can not even get SMART thru smartctl in linux on this drive.
so in HDDSuperClone - can not id drive, can not get SMART, obviously can't do any patches....
Commands to disk are not getting thru properly.
Again, the disk mounts and shows file system in both linux and win 10.

[itdatagroup]

Well as Fzabkar mentions, backup a day keeps data recovery away. Here, if you do not backup the original SA then data recovery can be VERY AWAY!

Slowness can be due to various reasons and its not necessary that Slow Read Fix will help.

Plus if your SA is locked then Slow read fix won't apply.

So , your next target should be to first backup the SA modules.

--

Plus if your SA is locked then Slow read fix won't apply.

Just get a copy of Marvel or seek a professional help. If recovery services are costly then just buy a MRT for a month and recover your data with some ones help on the forum.
Idk if that would be cheaper or same as a professional service in the US.


up to you.

PS
Drive has more than 400+ modules on SA...i would not count on just backing up 02 and 32.
--

yes, looks like its SED drive from the info I gathered on the disk, and SA is locked.
+ WDMarvel ain't communicating with the disk, throws errors.

This disk is going to data recovery: SED unlock, SA check/fix and slow patch or head tweak then clone and recover.
I'm in for about 300-500 greenbacks.

I get a sense that WD is working hard to make it harder to crack their disks...

Thank you all for your help !

[sin]

Last I heard Greenbacks were some nice speakers that came with a 1960A cabinets by marshall:)

Off topic but I still remember it was fun to clone the Mesa Rectocab. I put V30s there instead

<3

Idk if 300-500 greenbacks(assuming money) is the rate there. You know half of the story for your drive. It will be fun to talk with professional DR companies there and explaining them the fault in detail and asking for quote. Else just by MRT Should be 390 USD i guess.
--

[sin]

to conclude, this WD is not difficult if you have the right tools and move in the correct direction to solve the case...may be some data loss...may be as high as 25% or may be very less to none at all... very subjective..

Difficult is not the real deal here unless it has fallen and has mechanical issues that require more time,material and money