My Book Essential Repair

[fzabkar]

Thanks for the feedback.

[R3MiX]

Hi fellas! New in here and registered so I can post on here as I am having the same problem. I already have identified that it is a faulty PCB and I am already looking into purchasing another. I hit a bump in the road however. The link that waynehom provided is a nice find but the prices for the board I need is a bit steep. So I was wondering if I should just look for an external HDD of the same exact model and just use the board from it. So I came across this from amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0041OSQB6/re ... g=UTF8&me=

Its the same P/N model as mine WDBACW0010HBK but the last four is NESN and my model 4211D.

Amazon: WDBACW0010HBK-NESN
My model: WDBACW0010HBK-00 4211D ( just like OP who created this thread )

On one post by gwtesttest he said:
"I managed to borrow a WDBACW0010HBK-00 and it contains exactly the same board, even same revision, and everything works!!! I am creating a duplicate right now and finally the nightmare will be over."

What I wanted to know if he had a different model or same, but he never mentioned it.

So that brings me to my question. Will that model on the Amazon link I provided have the same board? It's the same P/N as mine but just different in the end.

Could someone help me out? I REALLY would appreciate it!

[fzabkar]

@R3MiX,what is the fault with your PCB? Sometimes there is an easy, no-cost DIY fix.

[R3MiX]

Thanks for your reply. It doesn't get recognized. Board led turns on, HDD spins with no other noise that would indicate damage. I've tried two other micro USB cables,and power adapter. Board turns on for both power adapters and both USB cables work when plugged to another device. When used on the board the HDD does not mount/recognized on my Mac. So I'm sure it's the USB port on the board.

[fzabkar]

Have you checked whether your drive is detected when connected directly to a SATA port? Your data won't be accessible, but the drive should be identified by BIOS.

[R3MiX]

Yes I have used a third-party enclosure and it gets recognized but it is locked.

[fzabkar]

The enclosure would have a USB-SATA bridge IC. You may be detecting this bridge IC rather than the HDD behind the bridge.

What happens if you try to detect your Essentials bridge board, or the new enclosure, on its own, without the HDD attached?

[R3MiX]

I will give it a try. Never even thought of doing that. I'll get back to you in an hour.

[R3MiX]

Actually it detects the enclosure, then when I click on it, it shows the "WD Unlock" icon.

[fzabkar]

It appears that the drive itself may be at fault.

[R3MiX]

Why would you say that? It sorta makes sense that it would be locked because it's not in the original enclosure thus resulting for the lock out when I use the 3rd party enclosure. When I use the original enclosure (PCB board) it doesn't detect at all even though it's spinning and the light is on.

[R3MiX]

"What happens if you try to detect your Essentials bridge board, or the new enclosure, on its own, without the HDD attached?"

_________________

On its own without the HDD? Nothing.

[drHDD]

NESN and 4211D most likely has same board. But If your board detects without drive most likely problem in drive. I believe it's slow responding problem and may be something else.

[fzabkar]

FWIW, the following bridge board flashes the LED repetitively when it is connected on its own. It also identifies itself to the host. Of course this behaviour could vary with different versions of bridge firmware, but I have no experience with same.

Western Digital My Book Essential bridge PCB, 4061-705094:
http://www.hddoracle.com/viewtopic.php? ... 032&p=4544

[R3MiX]

@drHDD The board does not detect without the drive. I'm really hoping NESN annd 4211D is the same board,crossing my fingers.

@fzabkar when connected on its own, it just stays lit. In exception when you first turn it on [ blinks twice ] then stays lit.

[fzabkar]

I'm not sure if I understand the situation. Are you saying that when you install the drive in a third party enclosure (not a WD enclosure), your Mac prompts you with "WD Unlock"?

Can you run a tool such as CrystalDiskInfo or HD Sentinel against your drive when installed in the third party enclosure? If this tool can see the drive's SMART data, then this would give us some confidence in the drive's health.

Even better, connect the drive to a SATA port on your Mac's motherboard. This will eliminate the bridge altogether.

Can you upload detailed photos of the WD bridge board? These boards often have solder problems around the micro-USB connector. If this is the case, then using a USB 2.0 cable rather than USB 3.0 may work. This is because USB 3.0 uses different pins in the connector.

[R3MiX]

I'm not sure if I understand the situation. Are you saying that when you install the drive in a third party enclosure (not a WD enclosure), your Mac prompts you with "WD Unlock"? YES

[img width=780 height=430]http://i.imgur.com/0qq9img.png[/img]
[img width=780 height=436]http://i.imgur.com/ogOPVsO.png[/img]



Can you run a tool such as CrystalDiskInfo or HD Sentinel against your drive when installed in the third party enclosure? If this tool can see the drive's SMART data, then this would give us some confidence in the drive's health. Do you have any suggestions for a mac? Those base on my google search are for windows

Even better, connect the drive to a SATA port on your Mac's motherboard. This will eliminate the bridge altogether. That would require me to open up my mac, remove the HDD already in there and how would I boot that up? Sorry I'm not experienced in that part

Can you upload detailed photos of the WD bridge board? These boards often have solder problems around the micro-USB connector. If this is the case, then using a USB 2.0 cable rather than USB 3.0 may work. This is because USB 3.0 uses different pins in the connector.


[img width=780 height=430]http://imgur.com/hGjHKUr[/img]
[img width=780 height=430]http://imgur.com/u5fCgEg[/img]
[img width=780 height=430]http://imgur.com/aEYVkk8[/img]
[img width=780 height=430]http://imgur.com/DzMWvAw[/img]

[R3MiX]

Waiting on admin to approve my pics. Sorry for the delayed response.

[R3MiX]

I'm not sure if I understand the situation. Are you saying that when you install the drive in a third party enclosure (not a WD enclosure), your Mac prompts you with "WD Unlock"? YES
http://i.imgur.com/0qq9img
http://i.imgur.com/ogOPVsO



Can you run a tool such as CrystalDiskInfo or HD Sentinel against your drive when installed in the third party enclosure? If this tool can see the drive's SMART data, then this would give us some confidence in the drive's health. Do you have any suggestions for a mac? Those base on my google search are for windows

Even better, connect the drive to a SATA port on your Mac's motherboard. This will eliminate the bridge altogether. That would require me to open up my mac, remove the HDD already in there and how would I boot that up? Sorry I'm not experienced in that part

Can you upload detailed photos of the WD bridge board? These boards often have solder problems around the micro-USB connector. If this is the case, then using a USB 2.0 cable rather than USB 3.0 may work. This is because USB 3.0 uses different pins in the connector.

http://imgur.com/hGjHKUr
http://imgur.com/u5fCgEg
http://imgur.com/aEYVkk8
http://imgur.com/DzMWvAw

[fzabkar]

The reported 1TB capacity would suggest that your drive is OK. It appears that WD Unlocker can't make any sense of the partition information because the drive is encrypted. That said, I would have thought that WD's tool would be looking for a USB mass storage device that identifies itself as a My Book rather than an ordinary HDD, but I have no experience in this area.

As for your other question, I don't know of any Mac utilities for retrieving "technical" information from your drive, at least not when behind a USB bridge. Sorry. Connecting a secondary HDD to your motherboard should be explained in numerous Internet tutorials, perhaps even on Apple's web site.

Anyway, ISTM that a replacement bridge board would be worth a try. Yours is based around a Symwave SW6318 bridge IC and has a part number of "4061-705089-001 Rev. AG". That's what I would be looking for, but other Revs might be OK. You'll have to ask the professionals or your PCB supplier. If the PCB is too expensive, then perhaps you could buy a used Essentials drive and ask the owner for the appropriate information.

Alternatively, there is a freeware tool which can decrypt your data, but it appears that it would be beyond your capabilities.

reallymine: WD MyBook/MyPassport decryption :
http://www.hddoracle.com/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=1488

The actual fault may be a simple one. I would inspect the solder joints at the components in the attached photo (different PCB, similar connector). Otherwise try a USB 2.0 cable.

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