Hello all,
Newbie trying to learn data recovery.

sorry for the long winded comment here and please understand everything here is how I understand it and I could be wrong. Looking to earn knowledge and learn more.

I have a Western Digital easy store 4TB external drive that does not get recognized. Plugging it into a windows machine gives you an "USB malfunctioned" error.

Model: WD40NDZW-11A8JS1
PCB Model: 2060-810035-000 REV P0

I'm using this drive to learn on and from what I read these drives are very tricky to deal with. I believe the issue is caused by a faulty PCB. When plugged in the drive does spin but I do not hear any heads move or do anything I can just feel the drive spinning. If I remove the PCB and probe around with a multimeter in continuity mode there are several shorts on the board. What I believe to be the TVS diode is shorted, and several ceramic capacitors around the USB controller chip are shorted. Removing the diode does not change anything. When the PCB (not attached to the hdd) is plugged into power it takes around 0.500mA of power and the usb controller is very hot to the touch. I believe that chip is the issue and why the components around it are shorted.

My question is if it is a bad PCB how would you get data from this? If I understand correctly these are SED encrypted and encrypt the data on the fly and the decryption key is stored in the MCU and works in conjunction with the USB controller to decrypt the data.

I ordered (have not received yet) a stock replacement PCB and an unlocked PCB from Aliexpress(not sure if its a waste of money or not). Tools I have access to are a rapidspar device with USB addon and MRT with latest software. If I convert the original PCB to sata will that allow for the drive to be cloned? I assume the data will still be encrypted. If I transfer the rom to a stock replacement PCB I assume the data will not be accessible since decryption keys will be different from the MCU. What is the purpose of an unlocked board? IS the only real solution to fix the original PCB? Would swapping the USB controller from a good PCB do the trick?

This is all assuming that the issue is with the PCB.

I am currently at work but can provide pictures or anything else needed later tonight.

Thank you all for reading this

There is an inductor adjacent to the bridge IC. If there is a short between this inductor and ground, then this would suggest that the Vcore supply for the bridge IC is overloaded. Since the IC is getting hot, then it will most likely be the culprit.

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A backup a day keeps DR away.

It was once an after thought and far easier to just grab a new PCB. It's becoming more and more difficult to recover drives effectively without doing so, both mechanical and ssd. Much of the time you can get by knowing how it works with measurements from other drives or online posts but there's no substitute for knowing why it works. A pile of donors and an hour on google each day is how I'm trying to up skill.

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Data Recovery Services in the UK.
https://www.usbrecovery.co.uk/

Thank you for the information. I've attached a picture of the board as I am not exactly sure which component you mean?



Thanks for your comment. Yea, I'm trying to absorb as much information as I can. I try to get faulty drives to test and learn on whenever I can. Sometimes I fear that I may be starting too late because a lot of the newer drives just seem like a huge headache. I'm going to keep learning though and I'll get there eventually.

I don't believe there is but I am also not 100% sure I tested the proper component. I've attached a picture of the PCB. If you wouldn't mind pointing out the inductor you mentioned.

This drive is a Spyglass2UL.
I don't think this is the best choice to get you started in DR.
It's a challenge for most DR professionals...

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SandForce SSD Recovery
Ransomware Reverse Engineering - NoMoreRansom! partners

Agreed. I will most likely come back to this as I learn more about DR. Thank you for your comment.

Here is the inductor.

_________________
A backup a day keeps DR away.

All three of those components are shorted to ground. The pads are still shorted even if the components are removed.

If you're trying to understand more:

Only 1 side of the caps should be shorted. There's no path to ground on an inductor, if it's shorted to ground the track is shorted. Trace the tracks for the inductor it looks to be fed directly from the bridge IC if you post the ID from the chip we can look up the data sheet this will give you the pinout and you can check what's going in and what's coming out.

If you're just looking for answers :

_________________
Data Recovery Services in the UK.
https://www.usbrecovery.co.uk/

This is a typical circuit layout.

_________________
A backup a day keeps DR away.

Thank you all for your responses. I have learned more and appreciate you guys sharing your knowledge. for now I am going to shelf this drive and find older hard drives to learn on. However, assuming all that is wrong is the USB IC bridge If I were to replace that chip from a donor drive (witch same chip) would it be enough?

Does the drive spin and then it stops spinning within a couple of seconds? Or does it continue spinning?

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Hard Disk Drive, SSD, USB Drive and RAID Data Recovery Specialist in Massachusetts