Hey Guys,

The USB plug on a WD My Book Essential 3.0 USB 1.0 TB is broken. I've read on enough forums about the bad build quality of WD drives, and it seems this was inevitable.

It isnt broken all the way, only one part, while the other seems okay.




While the HDD is not detected at all(no USB plugging sound), the white light in the disk lights up as soon as USB is plugged and goes off when the cable is removed. Does this mean that one part of the USB is working/ the soldering on the PCB is intact ? Can I still make it work by bypassing the function of the broken USB part ? I need to recover the data, and a professional data recovery is a bit expensive.

There is another picture, a top-view of the PCB. Does this seem burned/ damaged ?



Please let me know if anything can be done to the existing USB plug. From what I understand, soldering on a completely new one is not easy and requires significant expertise and skill. I live in Bangalore, India and I don't know anyone here who would be able to do this.

Thanks.

Contact Amarbir from this forum in Chandigarh .

http://www.ebay.com/itm/200732641507?ss ... 1439.l2649

Loki

that part of the usb connector is only needed for usb 3.0 conenctivity, try a usb 2 cable and see if the other side works