garymon wrote:
Well i would just like to say thank you to Franc and ciccillover. You have helped me tremendously. I've learned a lot and with persistence and determination for 1 week, I'm happy to finally say that i was able to recover my irreplaceable data!!!!!
Just to recap. The issue as i suspected from the beginning was a faulty USB connector to the main board. The main symptom was that the drive would never mount (only once, with a bit of force) however the drive would get power and spin up and it didn't sound as if it had any internal issues. I ended up removing the mini-USB connector from the main board (thinking i would solder the USB cables in the same spot, bad idea) then attempted to locate the USB pins on the back of the PCB myself. With the help of ciccillover i was able to know for sure the 5+ volt and GND pins. As for the D+ and D-, i had to search for them myself with a bit of trial and error, I found them with a bit of luck!
I've attatched an image of my PCB (WD1T0MVV-11A27S2, 2060-701675-001 REV P1), which is a 1TB Western Digital Passport SE. If anyone has this exact drive model the pins i marked should work for you. Thankfully i was able to go this route since this PCB has an encryption chip on it. It would have been a complete nightmare or almost impossible trying to replace the PCB due to this!
Anyway, i'll recommend to everyone else to bypass the USB connector by going directly to the main board, before attempting a PCB replacement or converting to an SATA drive, if you suspect a faulty USB connector, as it seems this is the majority of everyone's issue.
Last but not least, this is the last time i will purchase one of these good for nothing drives! I highly advise everyone else to avoid these things, you could be in a very unfortunate situation where you risk losing a lot of important, meaningful data. I can't wait to go smash this thing with a hammer!!
Thanks again guys!!
I have just been testing the same idea with the WD Passport Essentials USB3 500Gb & 1Tb 2060-771761-001 REV A
Attachment:
image.jpeg
To find the pcb connections I just cut the usb end off the cable that goes to the pc & then plugged it in to the usb drive & tested continuity from the usb wires which i stripped to the connections points on the pcb.
Red = 5v
Black = Ground
Green = D+
White = D-
Just got to practice soldering the little buggers
Loki
Sorry to disturb you on that: did it work after soldering? I have same identical board and I absolutely need to get my data back. When i plug the drive on a USB port it starts to spin (like normal), led is blinking but drive is not recognized. If you tell me that it works with the soldering of the cutted USB cable on the board I will try that.