WD50NDWZ-11A8JS1 with physically broken circuit board

[SOSdonnees]

Hello everyone,

I am awaiting a WD50NDWZ-11A8JS1, manufactured in September 2020, for diagnosis / quotation.
It comes from a WDBU6Y0050BBK-EA (5TB WD Elements).

According to the client, the hard drive has been transported in a handbag, but she can't remember shocks however.
So, although firmware or mechanical issues cannot be excluded, this hard drive still possibly has a less serious problem like bad sectors.

The client had the strange idea of trying to remove the circuit board without unscrewing it.
The result is a broken PCB, see attached picture.

WD broken PCB 2060-810035

We can see that some part of the circuit is missing in the top right corner (see image), and unfortunately this part did not remain attached to the screw still in place.

For comparison with a PCB in good condition: https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/nA4AAOSwRQ1kE4m4/s-l1600.jpg

I have read some threads about this hard drive, whose PCB should be a 2060-810035.
The compatible SATA equivalent should be a 2060-800022.
There are several revision and one has to pay attention to the amount of RAM.

Under normal circumstances I would favor getting the SATA PCB board and transfer the BIOS chip.

However, I don't think it would suffice in this case, because these drives seem having MCU encryption.

I read about unlocked 810035 USB PCB, unlocked 800022 SATA PCB, as well as this unlocking SATA board:
https://www.hddheadtools.com/product/wd-2060-810035-data-recovery-unlock-pcb/

However, I wonder if reparing the broken board is not be the best thing to attempt first, at least for an initial diagnosis (in the case the HDD has not firmware/mechanical damages). Being proficient at microsoldering, if the board is not too much stratified (multi-layers), reparing around 10 tracks around the main break seems feasible. Using a donor board to get the missing part seems also possible although somewhat more tricky, involving cutting first the damaged board more sharply.

I am worried about a possible bending of the Nanya RAM chip when the board was ripped out, but we cannot know that in advance.

So, not totally sure about the best strategy here, athough I my current preference is attempting a repair of the damaged circuit board.
What do you think about?

[pepe]

Moving the MCU to a sata pcb seems the only rational approach to this issue...
but i would first try to use a sata pcb with patient rom to check if its encryption is MCU tied indeed.

[Mikippp]

Hi,
If the drive is WD Elements, it is not encrypted
The SATA equivalent for 2060-810035 is 2060-810030

Mikippp

[digisupport]

I would visual inspect heads first, if ok the proceed as pepe said. Check with SATA pcb if MCU encryption is in use.
If encrypted move MCU to SATA pcb.

[HddDonorMarket]

Moving the MCU to a sata pcb seems the only rational approach to this issue...
but i would first try to use a sata pcb with patient rom to check if its encryption is MCU tied indeed.

Do not try this at 810035 PCB. Drive going to wrong Encryption .

[fzabkar]

Doesn't the fact that the drive is an Elements just mean that there is no SmartWare encryption in the USB-SATA bridge (with a key at the end of the user area)?

[DRUG]

Hello everyone,

I am awaiting a WD50NDWZ-11A8JS1, manufactured in September 2020, for diagnosis / quotation.
It comes from a WDBU6Y0050BBK-EA (5TB WD Elements).

According to the client, the hard drive has been transported in a handbag, but she can't remember shocks however.
So, although firmware or mechanical issues cannot be excluded, this hard drive still possibly has a less serious problem like bad sectors.

The client had the strange idea of trying to remove the circuit board without unscrewing it.
The result is a broken PCB, see attached picture.

PCB-2060-810035-damaged.jpg

We can see that some part of the circuit is missing in the top right corner (see image), and unfortunately this part did not remain attached to the screw still in place.

For comparison with a PCB in good condition: https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/nA4AAOSwRQ1kE4m4/s-l1600.jpg

I have read some threads about this hard drive, whose PCB should be a 2060-810035.
The compatible SATA equivalent should be a 2060-800022.
There are several revision and one has to pay attention to the amount of RAM.

Under normal circumstances I would favor getting the SATA PCB board and transfer the BIOS chip.

However, I don't think it would suffice in this case, because these drives seem having MCU encryption.

I read about unlocked 810035 USB PCB, unlocked 800022 SATA PCB, as well as this unlocking SATA board:
https://www.hddheadtools.com/product/wd-2060-810035-data-recovery-unlock-pcb/

However, I wonder if reparing the broken board is not be the best thing to attempt first, at least for an initial diagnosis (in the case the HDD has not firmware/mechanical damages). Being proficient at microsoldering, if the board is not too much stratified (multi-layers), reparing around 10 tracks around the main break seems feasible. Using a donor board to get the missing part seems also possible although somewhat more tricky, involving cutting first the damaged board more sharply.

I am worried about a possible bending of the Nanya RAM chip when the board was ripped out, but we cannot know that in advance.

So, not totally sure about the best strategy here, athough I my current preference is attempting a repair of the damaged circuit board.
What do you think about?

Tldr: You want to reinvent the wheel.
Just move the MCU to the donor board and you are done in 10 minutes... 5 if you are proficient with microsoldering.

[SOSdonnees]

I have read some threads about this hard drive, whose PCB should be a 2060-810035.
The compatible SATA equivalent should be a 2060-800022.

I was wrong: the 800022 (SATA) is for the 800041.

The SATA equivalent for 2060-810035 is 2060-810030

Thank you Mikippp, you're right.
Still not sure if the PCB suffix (-000) and revision have to be same.
e.g. if "2060-810030-000 REV. P1" can replace a "2060-810035-000 REV. P0".
It seems that P1 involves a different HSA chip (B2378) than P0 (B23AA).

If the drive is WD Elements, it is not encrypted

Yes, WD Elements confirmed.
I was also assuming no encryption for HDD belonging to the WD Elements product line.
Thank you Mikippp.

Doesn't the fact that the drive is an Elements just mean that there is no SmartWare encryption in the USB-SATA bridge (with a key at the end of the user area)?

Yes, I also assume that there is no encryption for this drive. Thank you fzabkar.

Moving the MCU to a sata pcb seems the only rational approach to this issue...
but i would first try to use a sata pcb with patient rom to check if its encryption is MCU tied indeed.

Do not try this at 810035 PCB. Drive going to wrong Encryption .

I think the main problem with most PCB vendors is that you don't know about the history of the board:

• if it originates from an WD Elements (unencrypted) or from a WD MyPassport (encrypted)
• if the board has been reprogrammed (MCU unlocked) or not

If means that often you don't know precicely the nature of the board and the risks that it involves.
Some words are confusing, like "unlock board": you don't know if the board was "natively without lock", "was unlocked" or is "for unlocking after modification by yourself or with an additional adapter".

By buying a whole drive (when possible), at least you know about the board origin. Else, at least you have to ask the seller to confirm things.

Just move the MCU to the donor board and you are done in 10 minutes... 5 if you are proficient with microsoldering.

For a legged controller chip, I would do it without hesitation.
For a BGA one with tiny solder balls, although having some stencils and solder balls, it is still more difficult with my current equipement.

[crashpcberlin]

Hi,
If the drive is WD Elements, it is not encrypted
The SATA equivalent for 2060-810035 is 2060-810030

Mikippp

Those 5TB 2,5" drives are "SpyGlass2 Ultra" or "SpyGlass3" and they come with encryption Keys stored in the MCU. So yes, they are "encrypted".

MCU + ROM transfer to compatible donor PCB is the only possible way in this case.

[SOSdonnees]

Those 5TB 2,5" drives are "SpyGlass2 Ultra" or "SpyGlass3" and they come with encryption Keys stored in the MCU.

Have you experienced this with also with HDD coming from WD Elements enclosures?
I am asking because historically the WD Elements are non encrypted, as opposite to WD MyPassport. Thank you.

[Eastcoast]

Those 5TB 2,5" drives are "SpyGlass2 Ultra" or "SpyGlass3" and they come with encryption Keys stored in the MCU.

Have you experienced this with also with HDD coming from WD Elements enclosures?
I am asking because historically the WD Elements are non encrypted, as opposite to WD MyPassport. Thank you.

The only way of knowing for sure is to put on a unlocked sata pcb after transferring rom and seeing if the sectors are encrypted or not. I don't think you can assume that just because all the Elements you have seen are not encrypted, then MCU encryption isn't on for these newer drives that are not branded Passport.

If it is, then it's MCU transplant onto a sata board or onto a fresh usb board like suggested is only way.

Conversely, I have seen recently Passports (Palmer)which had data visible just with a unlock board (unencrypted) despite SED being turned on, the data was visible even without the original MCU. That's weird, it's like a batch slipped through the WD factory.

[Mikippp]

Hi,
Disk WD50NDZW-11A8JS1 despite the fact that it comes from WD Elements, it is actually SED, and in fact the original processor is needed to "decrypt" the user data
The fact that the disk is SED results even from the model designation
There are also WD50NPZZ-00A9JT0 disks that are not SED

Mikippp

Attachments

2579-001028.pdf

(245.64 KiB) Downloaded 200 times

[crashpcberlin]

Those 5TB 2,5" drives are "SpyGlass2 Ultra" or "SpyGlass3" and they come with encryption Keys stored in the MCU.

Have you experienced this with also with HDD coming from WD Elements enclosures?
I am asking because historically the WD Elements are non encrypted, as opposite to WD MyPassport. Thank you.

This has nothing to do with the product line. Only with the drive family.

Spyglass 2 (newer Models), Spyglass 2 Ultra, Spyglass 3 - encryption keys are stored in MCU.

Newer Palmer and Charger Drives got the encryption in the mcu as well. Older ones not.


Read:

https://www.blizzarddr.com/wd-portable- ... ncryption/

[crashpcberlin]

Hi,
Disk WD50NDZW-11A8JS1 despite the fact that it comes from WD Elements, it is actually SED, and in fact the original processor is needed to "decrypt" the user data
The fact that the disk is SED results even from the model designation
There are also WD50NPZZ-00A9JT0 disks that are not SED

Mikippp

Indeed, but these are SATA Drives (Spyglass 2).

In some countries SED encrypted drives are not allowed. So some drives come without encrypted ROMs.

Read:

https://blog.seagate.com/business/we-ha ... we-use-it/

[Eastcoast]

Hi,
Disk WD50NDZW-11A8JS1 despite the fact that it comes from WD Elements, it is actually SED, and in fact the original processor is needed to "decrypt" the user data
The fact that the disk is SED results even from the model designation
There are also WD50NPZZ-00A9JT0 disks that are not SED

Mikippp

So if I read it right, the WD Spec sheet, if the Base Code 4 (i.e.3rd last char of model) has a D then it's SED.

WD50NDZW - yes
WD50NPZZ - no

But there will be no codes to if it's MCU encrypted. It'll just be down to experience to know which one is or not.

[crashpcberlin]

Hi,
Disk WD50NDZW-11A8JS1 despite the fact that it comes from WD Elements, it is actually SED, and in fact the original processor is needed to "decrypt" the user data
The fact that the disk is SED results even from the model designation
There are also WD50NPZZ-00A9JT0 disks that are not SED

Mikippp

So if I read it right, the WD Spec sheet, if the Base Code 4 (i.e.3rd last char of model) has a D then it's SED.

WD50NDZW - yes
WD50NPZZ - no

No, the NP Drives are SATA-Drives. ND Drives USB-Drives.

The SATA Drives comes with MCU encrypion as well. You can read that here (if you're registred):

https://blog.acelab.eu.com/pc-3000-for- ... board.html

[Mikippp]

Hi,
SATA drives WD50NPZZ-00A9JT0 are not SED, and any PCB can be used to read the user data !!!
The given article is about PCB unlocking, not data encryption

Mikippp

[crashpcberlin]

Hi,
SATA drives WD50NPZZ-00A9JT0 are not SED, and any PCB can be used to read the user data !!!
Mikippp

We definitely had SED locked NP's but it is possible, that only the ROM was locked and the encryption keys were not stored in the mcu. I can't remember exactly. If this is the case for these drives, than sorry for misinformation.

BUT - in the other cases (newer Charger, Palmer) it doesn't depends on USB or SATA, encryption keys are stored in MCU.

The given article is about PCB unlocking, not data encryption

That is not correct. Please see the video (at around minute 4). The given example is about a SATA-PCB - that was the point because i linked it.

[SOSdonnees]

In an attempt to summarize, there are three different things:

• the PCB lock, set in the ROM chip, that prevents accessing the firmware modules in the Service Area (SA), or these are encrypted.
• the SED encryption, which means that the hard drive encrypts/decrypts the data through a key which is stored in the MCU
• how we access the data : in USB or SATA

My understanding is that:

• Concerning, the PCB lock, in case of a healthy hard drive with a defective PCB, unlocking the PCB would not be necessary because one don't need to backup or modify SA modules. In such a situation, physical transfer of the ROM chip suffices if the data are not SED encrypted though the MCU.

• In case one needs to gain access to SA modules (e.g. typically because of firmware corruption), the ROM must be deciphered.
  This is typically done by dumping the ROM content with a chip programmer, deciphering it with tools like PC-3000 or MRT softwares, and writing the deciphered ROM back to the chip. The result is an unlocked board.
  This video is about unlocking a board with the PC-3000.
  One can also buy boards that were already unlocked.

• If the internal HDD model is a self-encrypted one (SED), like the WD50NDWZ, the data were ciphered by the MCU and must be deciphered through it. This is why it is necessary to physically transfer the MCU in such a case.

• To extract the data, USB is okay if the hard drive is in good condition (apart from its PCB). In all other cases, SATA is prefered, as allowing to backup the SA modules, as well as for reliability and speed.
  
• SATA connection can be achieved by either buying a SATA PCB, or by buying an adapter that bypasses the SATA to USB bridge of an USB PCB. Expensive adapters typically use Pogo pins for ease of use, and cheaper ones require some soldering work.

This video is also about the WD50NDWZ-11A8JS1.
At time 3'14'' 3'16'', it is told that the BIOS chip and the MCU are tight together.
However, is my understanding is correct, it would not be the case, ROM lock and SED encryption though MCU being two independant things.
Can someone confirm?

I also assume that drive adaptives are stored in the service area.
Else, it would not make much sense buying a board that was already unlocked.
Correct, or I am still missing something?

[crashpcberlin]

This video is also about the WD50NDWZ-11A8JS1.
At time 3'14'' 3'16'', it is told that the BIOS chip and the MCU are tight together.
However, is my understanding is correct, it would not be the case, ROM lock and SED encryption though MCU being two independant things.
Can someone confirm?

These are two independent things.

There are Models where the PCB is locked due to ROM-Lock, but the data is not encrypted via stored encryption keys in the MCU. But in the most cases nowdays, ROM is locked and data too, due to newer drive families and updated firmwares.