I have a WD400BB-00aua1. Last night when I turned on the PC it did not recognize the drive. I tried drive in a different computer and it still was not recognized. I don't hear or feel any spinning from the drive like I do on other drives. I think it is dead......Is there anything i can possibly do to recover files from it? Like a fool, I did not have a backup........Or will I have to send it to a data recovery service. And how much does that cost? Very thankful for any help that is offered. The data is very important to us but I don't want to mess with it if there is a chance that I will loose all data. But I don't have alot of money for a data recovery specialist.

I am having the same problem with one of my customer`s HDD. WD4000AAJS. I think WD has the worst/highest faliure ratio in the market compare to other brands. I am a PC tech, and my lab is full of DEAD WD HDDs. Data recovery through SEAGATE lab is CAD$799.0. for internal and CAD$1249.00 for external HDD. Good luck.

@neximile,
Your case looks like a pcb case , it can be done under 200$ by a professional , Or you can get this pcb from this forum .
If you are interested in buying the pcb you can PM me.

Upload a detailed photo of your damaged PCB.

@ETF
Not only do WD drives fail all over the show - they are the most complicated to do recovires on aswell.
A recent survery and allot of comments from people who work with hudnreds of hdds daily.
Hitachi is the most relaible! and the easiest to fix. I know this from experience too.
5 years ago i would have not said this about hitachi. And seagate is also becomming dissapointing.

@neximile
like the others say- its going to be a pcb fault- or maybe not- difficult to say really. maybe something seized inside, overheated (over 40deg celcius is already bad for some WD) - best thing to try a new pcb see if it spins up without any changing of IC's- then you will know if PCB or INSIDE. and decide recovery pro or diy...
Rameez has something- use google and ebay too.

Good luck

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Hitachi easiest to fix - my arse. From glass media to invisible media damage that kill new headstacks in nanoseconds, to techno commands ever changing. Probably all the easy case came all to you.

Hi pumpkin,



Mmmm, this does not match my experience.

Now you learnt somethink as well.

Ill have to agree with BlackST and Coffe. Hitachi 2.5s coming in our shop have media damage 90 percent of the time. I hate them with passion. WDs fail a lot , granted. Yet PC3k has a lot of play room with WD drives , in comparison with some others.

The easiest drives i found where toshibas and samsungs.

Thanks much for your comments. I am going to try to find a comparable PCB and replace it. Hopefully I get a matching one and it works. Also hope this is not heat seizure problem as ppumpkin sais. Question. I heard that I might have to resolder the eeprom from mine onto the new PCD. Is this correct?.

Nex, ur PCB photo is bad =) 1st u need to unscrew it and put a nice picture with components visible to us.
And yes u will have to take the eeprom from ur patient board and put it on donor board. However , i remember some members of this forum saying that with this particular model , if u can aquire a drive with exactly same model , u wont need to swap the eeproms.

Sorry for the bad Pic Alexii. Left my small torx bit at home so I will post better pix tonight. Appreciate your input on PCB. Hope getting board from same model drive works easily. I'm not that good at soldering.

This is not totally accurate. The ROM does not contain adaptive information, so can be replaced, but is still dependant on a match of ROM version. You cant get this match based on model alone. Buying a new PCB may work, but only if ROM versions match.

@Alexii
Sorry. Couldn't do better pix last night. Will get to it tonight.

@hddguy
So can I request a specific Rom version. Or do I have to trust to luck?

Here are pix of PCB.

To buy a pcb you will need to be lucky. You could get specific rom version from members of this forum, but will be no use without proper tools to write to your pcb.

如果一点儿声音都没有的话，很可能是电路板烧了。可以更换电路板，但很可能需要同时更换原ROM，否则会敲盘或者不认。如果原ROM损坏了，需要匹配其他固件才能正常识别。

[quote][/quote]If not, then a little voice is probably the circuit board burned. Can replace the circuit board, but it may need to replace the original ROM, otherwise they will hit or not recognize disk. If the original ROM corrupted and needs to match the other firmware for proper identification.

Thanks qqlove008, sounds like I need a lot of luck.

Nex, get a donor PCB with exactly same model number. Preferably close date as well. And just swap the PCB. If the drive works - grats. If all u hear is the drive spining up and the heads clicking - meens u need to take the ROM from ur original PCB and put it on ur donor board. If u are not comfortable with it - find a tech shop. It takes a minute to swap it , so ima sure for like 25-50$ some bored techi is going to do it =)

The ROM chip is not standard 8 leg chip, and will definately be more difficult for the OP to attempt. If replacement PCB does not work, he should seriously consider getting it done professionally.

I should have looked closer at the PCB on the picture =( Hddguy is right.