Question My WD Elements has a broken USB pin, I shucked it but now the PC will not recognize, what to do?

[MutantMike]

OK, had the same issue 3 years ago, bought a new controller board that pretty much matched the number on the old PCB that had the broken pin, and the HD gets used almost daily.


Same issue, same HD except this one is 5 TB, old was 4 TB, and not it shows unrecognizable when I use my powered SATA/USB to hook it to the PC


Is there anyway I should attach this to see or recover my data? I just cannot find a new controller board that matches the number of this one anywhere

The model on the old controller board is 4061-705094-301 REV. AD

 

[Viking2121]

I would try and recover you data just in case, Maybe use a different USB to sata controller if possible or hook it up internally.

You can bypass the stupid little requirements on them WD element boards, I've done about a dozen of them when I use to shucked drives, I use them controller boards for other HDD's, You just have to cut the power leg off the Winbond chip on the controller board right behind the power jack, void warranty of course if you do find another WD board for cheaper anyway but will allow it to work with any HDD.

Good Luck!

 

[MutantMike]

I would try and recover you data just in case, Maybe use a different USB to sata controller if possible or hook it up internally.

You can bypass the stupid little requirements on them WD element boards, I've done about a dozen of them when I use to shucked drives, I use them controller boards for other HDD's, You just have to cut the power leg off the Winbond chip on the controller board right behind the power jack, void warranty of course if you do find another WD board for cheaper anyway but will allow it to work with any HDD.

Good Luck!

Thanks!

So to get this drive to work, or at least recover, should I look for a board with the exact same number? I cannot at the moment. I found one with the same number except the last 3 are different

So to use my other controller board that I purchased to fix my other drive, I would have to cut power from a board? Not sure I follow with this but I HAVE TO FIX this drive or recover at least

 

[Misgar]

Some USB to SATA controller boards in USB enclosures perform 512-byte to 4096-byte sector translation. When you shuck a drive and fit it in a computer or another USB enclosure, the data may become invisible. The data isn't lost, but the new controller is not performing the necessary sector translation. Similarly, when you remove a hard disk from a computer and fit it in a USB enclosure, the data may become invisible.

If a shucked drive from a USB enclosure cannot be accessed, find an identical USB enclosure and keep your fingers crossed. As you've discovered, USB to SATA controllers in some enclosures do not perform the same translation.