Help in recovering my data WD MB 3TB Lost partition & data

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Strays

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Jan 7, 2013
4
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10,510
Hi,

WD my book essentials 3TB (was used as one partition 2.7 TB), the card in its rack started to fail (the card had some black smoke on it like something was burned, it was working on & off so I could not copy my data from it which was about 2.2 TB the data was sometimes there and sometimes most of the directories are empty), so:

1- I attached it to the PC internally, the disk was not recognized by Win7 in my computer, but was visible from the win disk management in the control panel.

2- I have used it to unpartition then repartition to MBR (but found that it had split to 2 disks - Max partition size was 2TB in MBR so then I repartition it to GPT (probably done this step twice) then formatted it.

3- Normally I thought that I can retrieve the data from Linux boot disk with ddrescue or recuva but it failed, because I have never done it with a HD that was that large and didn't know that the disk was formatted in a different way.

4- I did not write anything on the file ever since.

5- I have tried to recover the partition & the files via Hanyrecovery, R-Studio, EASEUS Data Recovery, Stellar Phoenix, EasyRecovery, photorec and Test Disk, but all failed to see the old partition & they see only the data from the new one, and get gibberish results (like an image with 1.5 GB, which I know that was originally an ISO file).

Note: the program TestDisk had so many promising options but I didn't want to mess with something I did not know so that I would not reduce my probability in getting my data more than it is.

I've been trying for the part 3 weeks, can someone please help (The HD contained very essential data for my & I know it is till there but the problem is getting it out).

Thanks

 
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T

tibosee

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Dec 17, 2014
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I have the same problem with a 3TB Wd mybook that i forgot to remove from a computer where i reinstalled windows XP. I used the Drive to backup data. When the partition was created using the recovery cd from HP, IT only showed one Drive, i erased it, clicked Next, restarted and that was it. Now I have a unformatted 400GB MBR partition and 2.7 TB unallocated. Should i remove the hdd and attach it to my desktop and use the DMDE program or leave it in and try using recovery software. I have to get the data back by tomorow, there were many Image files, made with symantec System recovery..
 
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WestDonovan

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Jan 5, 2015
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Wait a minute! I was given wrongful information about these drives.
So I have WD MyBook 3TB HDD purchased in the year 2014 which first became available on AmzUK on the 22nd Oct 2013.
Does the data encryption affect the newer 2013 model range or is it just with the older versions of the WD Mybook?
 
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WestDonovan

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Jan 5, 2015
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On the webpage link below, hardware encryption for the "My Book" models and NOT the "Elements". So retrieving data is possible on Elements.

http://www.wdc.com/en/products/external/desktop/
 
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Ilovesports22

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Feb 18, 2015
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Hey fzabka, Ive seen you post great advice! I'm in a similar situation, I had no idea the drives were automatically encrypted. I have a WD My Studio LX, and when I tried to clone it, or a generic enclosure it wouldn't show anything.

I quick formatted it to see a drive letter, but I haven't saved any data on it. If I can fix the broken USB on the original PCB, will my data possibly show?
 
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Ilovesports22

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Feb 18, 2015
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Your a HUGE fzabkar help!! Thank you so much. I was able to fix the firewire port and use it instead. I can see all my original folders and names, with EaseUS data recovery and even recover some.

Is it away to recover my original partition, so my external will have a drive letter? All my files are in the right folders with proper names.

I am using EaseUS partition recovery but it hasnt found anything thus yet. Should I try complete disk scan with it?
 
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Ilovesports22

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Feb 18, 2015
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I have the program but never used it! Whats the first step in using it? Is it a scan button I press? Please give me the proper instruction on how to use it.
 
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fzabkar

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Sep 22, 2010
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@Ilovesports22, DMDE's partitions window is showing that sector 0 has no partition table (which is expected), but sector 63 also has no boot sector. You can easily "Restore the Boot Sector from Copy", but I suspect that there will be additional problems. In any case I wouldn't change the boot sector without examining it first.

You can view the current boot sector as follows:

Mode -> Hexadecimal/Text
Editor -> Goto Offset
Sector = 63
Sector Offset = 0
From Start/End
Dec

If you double-click $Root or "All Found + Reconstruction", then that should show all the files and folders that DMDE has found with a simple search. I suspect that you will only see a few files. If that is the case, then you could perform an NTFS Search on the selected partition. This will cause DMDE to scan the drive for NTFS related file system components. You can Start/Stop the search at any time and then view the results with Open Volume. DMDE should find the MFT and other file system components within a few GB. If you don't see all your files, then you can resume the NTFS search, provided that you have saved a log of the previous search.
 
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Johan Grannas

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Mar 7, 2015
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I hate the kind of advice that basicly tell you that you are stuffed.. Just encountered the same problem when i changed two disk positions physically. The disk is a standard WD3TB green.
Guess if i shouted when i thought ive lost 3TB?? However i found this great piece of software and got away with just a hickup.
http://www.minitool-partitionrecovery.com/ <-- free software. It was easy to use and did the job in 5min.
No need to run a timeconsuming AND double the space requiring datarecovery program if you can just recover the partition info where it is.
No need to spend every day as if it is doomsday..
Hope i can make the day for some fellow computer users.. google did it for me.
 
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fzabkar

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Sep 22, 2010
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I don't use MiniTool, but ISTM that it is intended for reconstructing partition tables. AFAICT it would be of limited use in the current situation since the boot sector of the first volume is missing. That doesn't appear to be something that MiniTool can fix.
 
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Fuchur86

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Mar 31, 2015
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Hey everyone,

I've encountered a pretty similar problem Strays originally had.
My 3TB WD MyBook Essential simply wouldn't mount a couple of days ago. I can't say why that suddenly happend. No physical shocks or falls, no (as far as I know and everything else on my system still works fine) voltage peaks or anything. I tried the drive with different cables on different computers but just couldn't get it to mount. The Power LED lit up, but that's about it.
So I opened the encasement, took the HDD out and plugged it to the SATA port on my PC.
The drive showed up in the Windows HDD Manager as an unidentified drive.I then did something terribly stupid, which is identifying the drive, setting it to GPT. BUT at least I didn't format.
So when I look at it now, it says "RAW".
I tried running a recovery tool, that after 9 hours of searching only spat out weird files - again as in Stray's case - jpegs, that are huge and where never on the drive for example
I've since learned, that the PCB seems to do a hardware encryption, which is why I couldn't recover anything.

This is whre I can't follow your advice anymore. You tell him that he could buy a new PCB, but since he trashed the partition table (as did I) he still would probably find nothing on the drive, even if the PCBs matched.
So should I plug in the drive via SATA straight into the computer and run DMDE to search for boot sectors, or do I have to connect it to the computer through a (matching) PCB?
Or are you talking about finding the (matching) replacement PCB without a HDD connected to it with DMDE to find some backup NTFS partition table?

I'm a little overwhelmed by the whole topic, so I'm sorry for any possibly stupid questions, that I'm throwing your way here.
But any help would be greatly appreciated!
 
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fzabkar

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Sep 22, 2010
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@Fuchur86, ISTM that you should begin by confirming the physical state of your HDD. To this end I would connect it via SATA and examine the SMART report with a tool such as CrystalDiskInfo.

http://crystalmark.info/software/CrystalDiskInfo/index-e.html

Look for reallocated, pending, or uncorrectable sectors.

Next I would reinstall the drive inside its enclosure and confirm whether it spins up. If not, I would first check your AC adapter and then I would examine the USB-SATA bridge PCB. Connect the bridge PCB on its own and confirm that the OS is able to detect it. You can use tools such as UVCView or USBDeview:

http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/usb_devices_view.html
http://download.microsoft.com/download/e/b/a/eba1050f-a31d-436b-9281- 92cdfeae4b45/UVCView.x64.exe
http://www.users.on.net/~fzabkar/USB_IDs/UVCView.x86.exe

If the bridge is detected, but the drive doesn't spin, then there is an 8-pin dual MOSFET chip which would be suspect. There is a relatively easy DIY fix if this is the case.

As for my previous statements, they do appear ambiguous. Sorry. What I meant to say was that, since the data in sector 0 (the partition table) had been reinitialised, then one would not be able to tell immediately whether the replacement bridge PCB was mismatched, in which case one could scan the whole drive and not find anything. That's why I suggested scanning for a backup boot sector at the end of the drive. This sector would not have been touched by the OP's misadventures and would quickly confirm whether the PCB was a match. Such a reverse scan would require only a few seconds.
 
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Fuchur86

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Mar 31, 2015
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4,510
Thank your for your quick reply!

I connected the drive via SATA and ran Crystal DiskInfo. It says the Health Status is "Good"
Unbenanntes_Bild.png


With the HDD connected to the PCB the drive won't spin up. The LED is lighting up, but it's not blinking, as it normally does, when there's some kind of activity.

I connected the PCB Bridge alone to the PC via USB and couldn't find it with UVCView. I tried a different (also from an external WD HDD) AC Adapter that normally works. Still nothing.

I guess this is the point, where I try to get a replacement PCB, right?
I'm in germany, so it might take while to get shipped here, since the only ones I can find are on US eBay or in Hong Kong.

Once I get the replacement PCB, I hook that up to the drive, connect it with the computer and hope it spins up and shows in Crystal DiskInfo, right? I then run DMDE to search for back up boot sectors at the end of the drive?

I'll report back as soon as I get the replacement PCB.

Thank you for your help!!!
 
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fzabkar

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Sep 22, 2010
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I'm not sure whether WD's bridges all behave in the same way, but I have a WD bridge that flashes the LED and identifies itself via USB in the absence of a drive. However, I know that some non-WD bridges can be configured to remain silent when they cannot detect a functioning drive.

Western Digital My Book Essential bridge PCB, 4061-705094:
http://www.hddoracle.com/viewtopic.php?f=112&t=1032

Many WD users report problems with the flimsy USB connector, so that may be something to check. You might also like to try a USB 2.0 cable rather than 3.0. These use different pins.

If you need to purchase a replacement PCB, I have been told that the firmware version has to be later than or equal to the one printed on the barcode sticker. In my example it is "Rev. AE".
 
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Fuchur86

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Mar 31, 2015
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I had no idea, you could plug a micro USB 2.0 cable in a USB3 port!
But unfortunately without any affect in my case here.
I also can't identify any faulty pins or connections of the USB connector on the board.

I ordered a replacement PCB on eBay the other day. It should arrive in about two weeks. If that doesn't work I could backup a WD Essential drive I have lying around, that's newer than the one that's damaged, pop that open and try with the PCB of that drive.

Thanks again for your invaluable help! I'll report back as soon as I have the new PCB!
 
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Ekattan

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Apr 7, 2015
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Ekattan

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Apr 7, 2015
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Hi Fzabkar, i have the same problem, my ebook Essential 3tb i can go into my data, its supossed to be there but i cant access, light is blinking. I already download the drivers and reinstalled and nothing change, i cant recover from any recover program because it doesnt show me the disk, I dont know what to do maybe you can help me, i will aprec
 
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fzabkar

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Sep 22, 2010
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@Ekattan, you need to first determine whether your drive has physical problems. To this end I would examine the SMART report with a tool such as HD Sentinel or CrystalDiskInfo.

http://crystalmark.info/software/CrystalDiskInfo/index-e.html
http://www.hdsentinel.com/

Look for reallocated, pending, or uncorrectable sectors.

You may need to do the above with the drive connected directly to a SATA port on your computer's motherboard.

 
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Ekattan

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Apr 7, 2015
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Ekattan

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Apr 7, 2015
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Ekattan

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Apr 7, 2015
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ok, i downloaded hdsentinel.com and his is what it shows me: performance: ? Unknown Health: ? Unkown The status of the hard disk is unknown.
This USB storage device does not provide more information about itself. Anyway, it can be tested for problems by Disk -> Surface test function.
 
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Ekattan

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Apr 7, 2015
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