Hi,

I have a problem with a MY Passport USB 3.0 which contains a WD5000BMVW-11AMCSO.

This drive on first appraisal was not spinning up but the PCB was receiving power (led on).

I acquired a replacement PCB from HDDZONE (2060-771737-000) rev P1 and was advised that the serial ROM for the SYMWAVE at U8 and the serial ROM for the firmware at U12 would need swapping.

I tried the replacement PCB just to see if the drive did spin up and this was successful. I then got U8 and U12 chips transfered via a third party , which appears successful, however on return the replceement PCB displays the same symptoms as the original.

Although the the drive does not spin up it is detected as a generic WD mass storage device and displays the following

in USB viewer

iManufacturer: 0x01
English (United States) "Western Digital"
iProduct: 0x02
English (United States) "My Passport [#]"
iSerialNumber: 0x03
English (United States) "158744C3158745DF"
bNumConfigurations: 0x01
..

What does "however on return the replceement PCB displays the same symptoms as the original." mean in regard to the first part of the sentence. Seems confusing.

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Hard Disk Drive (HDD), Solid State Drive (SSD, SATA, NVMe, etc), USB Flash Drive and RAID Data Recovery Specialist in Massachusetts

I think he means the drive doesn't spin up.

In this case, assuming "third party" did transfer the chips correctly, and assuming everything else has been done properly, possibly a corrupted ROM is preventing drive from spinning up.

_________________
http://www.northwind.gr
SandForce SSD Recovery
Ransomware Reverse Engineering - NoMoreRansom! partners

PS.


This is caused by the usb controller, it has nothing to do with your actual drive.

_________________
http://www.northwind.gr
SandForce SSD Recovery
Ransomware Reverse Engineering - NoMoreRansom! partners

I've seen this a few times before.

_________________
Death is nothing, but to live defeated and inglorious is to die daily.
Data Recovery Cape Town

Ok, I read few more times. Now, I understand.

Are you sure the drive does not emit any sounds if listening to it closely? Like buzz or a hum?

_________________
Hard Disk Drive (HDD), Solid State Drive (SSD, SATA, NVMe, etc), USB Flash Drive and RAID Data Recovery Specialist in Massachusetts

The drive does spin up and emits no noise.

I have read a description which said the PCB MCU first does a check of the U12 rom and if corrupt does not spin the drive up.

SORRY PREVIOUS POST IS WRONG.

THE DRIVE DOES NOT SPIN UP NOR EMIT NOISE.

_________________
http://www.northwind.gr
SandForce SSD Recovery
Ransomware Reverse Engineering - NoMoreRansom! partners

How do you repair these with USB 3 connectors???

I have heard of 2 ways either get a replacement SATA PCB and swap U12

or
rewire the USB3 by taking of some capacitors and some additional soldering?

Both won't help.

Just for Info:

That way is for attaching a SATA connection to the PCB to bypass the symwave, JM or initio encryption chip either way the data will still be encrypted.

If your accepting DIY & the RISKS involved then you could try reflowing the USB soldering connections - could be a bad joint
or you could try something like this wd10tmvv-t16204-180.html?hilit=wd%20usb%20loki%20cable#p156543 but you would have to work out the correct points to connect to.

But if the data is important then I would advise to take it to a DR pro


Loki

PS Why are you jumping to the USB connection? As previously mentioned it could be corrupt ROM
Proper diags is required not guess work. its simple to test the USB connection just use a multimeter.

What is the method to fix then?

The method beyond normal user abilities. You will need a pro assistance to fix your drive with special tools and knowledge.

Can you describe what needs to be done. I am more than happy to take it to someone who says there a pro as long as they can tell me otherwise I cannot tewll if there a pro.

I am guessing we need to reflash the ROM but can this be done without desoldering.