Hi

My WD 1.0TB Passport Essential SE does not show up in my computer.

It was working fine one day while transferring 80GB of files from it to a 3TB drive, but the drive disconnected somewhere halfway during the transfer, and now won't work anymore.

It shows up in Device manager as "Western Digital 0740" and listed in
My computer as D: drive, but it does not access the drive when I open
it.

Disk management shows up as 0kb capacity, not initialized. I cannot
initialize it because of an I/O error.

The drive makes a faint spinning sound, so I presume it is spinning.

WD10TMVW-11ZSMS5 (USB interface, no SATA).
Model: WDBACX0010BBK-PESN

Should I order this PCB from hdd-parts and ask them to transfer the BIOS for me, assuming the PCB is at fault?
http://www.hdd-parts.com/12103612.html

How many chips on the PCB need to be swapped? I've heard of U12 / U14 chips?

Could I just take it to an electronics shop? As I live in Hong Kong, I could buy the PCB locally, but I wouldn't know which chips to tell them to swap for me?

And finally: Is the data encrypted? Would replacing the PCB with a donor BIOS swap work and allow me access to my data?
I've heard some people say WD drives are encrypted.

99% NOT a PCB problem

_________________
PC Image Data Recovery
http://www.pcimage.co.uk

New!! HDD-PCB.COM for all your PCB and donor HDD requirements!

Is it still even worth a try? It's only $50 for a PCB vs. $500 for data recovery.

The problem is I don't even know what documents /files were on the drive, to decide if it's worth recovering.

Why do you say it's 99% not a PCB problem? I've heard that sometimes with a faulty PCB, the drive still spins but recognises as 0kb capacity.

It now doesn't even show up in disk management.

Over the past 1 year, it would stop working (same problem) then randomly start working again.

I have the exact same problem as this guy:
www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=700240

This is the sound that it makes:
http://www.sendspace.com/file/sxfvkb

Hi friend,
Please explain what is "busy problem"?
How can I fix it?

The drive is detected in WD Lifeguard Tools at the correct capacity,
and has green ticks for all the SMART tests.
Does this mean the PCB is just faulty and the drive is fine?

It is busy running the "Quick Media Scan test"

At a reserved area of the surface is a set of firmware modules, each has a specific set of instructions that the HDD depends on for functionality. When one or more of these modules become erroneous for any reason, functionality of the HDD is affected. In this case, issue seems to be common in this series and relates generally to the relocation defects list. As this information is stored on the media surface, PCB change will not help, if anything it will make it worse. You need specialist recovery equipment to gain access to the surface, and you need at least some level of understanding of the service area and how it works to rectify the problem.

As you dont have the specific knowledge or equipment needed, this is something you can not resolve yourself.

It is under warranty but I have sensitive data on the drive, how can I erase it before I RMA it?
What does WD do with RMA drives anyway?

If I decide to keep the drive & destroy it, what's an easy way to make sure the data is unrecoverable?

easy and fun way.. open it up and have a look.. at least you might get the satisfaction of seeing whats wrong. Then grab some pliers and bend stuff. break the circuit board in 2. scratch the living daylights out of the platters. dispose of the parts in different trash lots if you are really paranoid. . Good luck recovering off that.

last drive I RMA's was a $120 drive. postage cost me $30, by the time I got the new drive, they were costing around $100 I put the whole thing down to a waste of time.

You can even break the platters since they are made of glass. No recovery possible after that.
Be sure to wear glasses when you do that because the splinters will fly everywhere.

_________________
Murphy was an optimist

Datarecovery in Belgium, Holland, France and Germany
Datarecoverytools http://www.drtools.eu

Where do I get the SD / DFL software?
How much is it?

its hardware as well..
SD = Salvation Data http://www.salvationdata.com/
DFL = Dolphin Data Lab http://www.datarecoverytools4u.com/

hmmm...$610 for the toolkit. I think I'll just trash the drive and stay far far away from Western Digital. Seagate for the win.

You cant go by just your failure and make any assumptions.

In Australia we have a saying: "Fords and Holdens"
it means basically they are all the same, just a personal preference to the name.

maybe start a thread and ask what the pros think a good drive would be based on a certain budget. I bet it will be a "X v Z" type deal though as well.

best solution is to have a good backup system, this way you take the quality of the hard disk out of the critical loop.

islamm3rouf are you sure for the number of compatible SATA PCB? I can-t find it anywhere, and i need SATA compatible PCB for USB 2060-771814-001, if anyone know which is compatible i really appreciate, tnx..
Or at least what capacitors i need to remove it-s hard to see.. tnx

both of this pcb work for you, tested my self

PCB 771820 (SATA)
PCB 771812 (SATA)

but it will be encrypted, i had the luck once that i could see the data.