Need to save early yrs daughter's Photos/Vids, help! WD 3tb mybook essentials

[Ben_87]

Any help would be appreciated, I've look all over the forum and online but haven't found a solution or the exact set of issues.
I have a 2 yr old western digital 3tb mybook essentials external hd that while I was away on a trip stopped working.
on pc start, the hard drive spins up fine, I hear 6 or 7 movements inside the drive, sounds like just trying to read something, not loud physical clicking. it hangs there though at the "press del to enter setup"/"f12 for boot sequence" screen and the boot order will not start. I tried on a laptop also, same hard drive sounds, does get to boot order, just hangs and then laptop restarts.
If I connect the hard drive after the computer has booted up, it shows up in device manager as ok. It also shows up in the "safely remove hardware and eject media" list, however the icon is now black and I think it used to be grey (I'm not 100% on that).
It sometimes shows up in disk management and sometimes doesn't. I think if it is connected long enough, it eventually always shows up, but I'm not sure on that. when it shows up, it shows as 2.8gb hd, unallocated/uninitialized. it asks if I want to allocate/initialize, mbr or gpt, I have NOT done this as I read I will lose all data on the drive.
I've run western digital disk utilities but it will not even start because it doesn't detect a western digital drive at all. I've install Western Digital SES drivers, did not work.
I read that a common problem is failure of the USB sata bridge board, so bought a replacement, it is the exactly model and revision, but the problem still exists so I think that's not the problem (I guess it's possible that the replacement board could've been damaged as well, but I have no way to know that right now).
This is where I'm currently at with it and I'm losing hope. I will go to a wd approved data recovery centre if I have to (one with the proper wd hardware encryption key, this encryption by the way is why just connecting it as an internal drive won't work, unless somehow someone knows how to decode this encryption), but that's a last resort for me as really can't afford to spend $1000 or more to do this... but I will if I need to.
please help!

 

[junkeymonkey]

well thing is for things like kids photos I would first look at what give the best life span you hate in a few years to find what you stored them on failed ?? [like your finding out with them portable drives ]

http://www.storagecraft.com/blog/data-storage-lifespan/

thing with the dard drive anything could of went on maybe a older drive has a now firmware issue on newer motherboards ? some one droped it or it got bang around some how ? everyone thinks digital is so great but now think how long film pictures has lasted I know I got some pictures of my grand parents when they were young and I'm 60 years old so so that's a good 100+ years ??? a dvd with digital pictures look to last if you don't scratch it up [20 maybe ? ]

 

[Ben_87]

I appreciate you taking the time to read my post and give your two cents, I really am just looking for help solving the problem, not advice to stick to film photos.
I wasn't home when the failure occurred but my wife assures me there was no physical impact of any kind to the drive. No update was made to any kind of hardware firmware, unless there was some automatic update to the firmware on the external hard drive that I did not know about.
Thanks

 

[junkeymonkey]

I see I thought you wanted to ''save'' not recover why I said like a harddrive is subject to failure at any time just like that . and why I posted like I did above to help save you from this down the road

could be 100's of reasons and I guess google ''mybook essentials external hd failed '' and see all the info that comes up on it and hope one resolves your issue ? out side of that its all nothing but guess work


''not advice to stick to film photos.'' just think with them you would be enjoying the photos now not hoping there not 100% lost forever
sorry I was not better help..

good luck


just to ask on this part '''while I was away on a trip stopped working. ''

did you have them with you and did they pass through like airport security scanning like some kinda of x-ray that may of corrupted data or tried to erase the drive ??

but then you think you laptop would be affected the same way ??? I see lots asked on that but no solid answers

 

[Ben_87]

I wasn't present when the failure occurred at home, the external drive has always been connected to my home pc, it has never left the house.
According to my wife, the computer froze up and was unresponsive so she held the power button until it shut off, and then started the inability for the pc to boot up with the drive attached.

I see I thought you wanted to ''save'' not recover why I said like a harddrive is subject to failure at any time just like that . and why I posted like I did above to help save you from this down the road

could be 100's of reasons and I guess google ''mybook essentials external hd failed '' and see all the info that comes up on it and hope one resolves your issue ? out side of that its all nothing but guess work


''not advice to stick to film photos.'' just think with them you would be enjoying the photos now not hoping there not 100% lost forever
sorry I was not better help..

good luck


just to ask on this part '''while I was away on a trip stopped working. ''

did you have them with you and did they pass through like airport security scanning like some kinda of x-ray that may of corrupted data or tried to erase the drive ??

but then you think you laptop would be affected the same way ??? I see lots asked on that but no solid answers

 

[junkeymonkey]

that's the thing what did happen when your back was turned ?? power serge [not to say she did knowingly wrong ] she used computer and hit something by accident on the computer ? see like you said something went on and she did not know what or what to do

theres a wd rep here at toms maybe private message him and see what he got to say ??

[funny thing the first post I pull up that he was last on to give you his info is a passport thread ]

http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2999867/passport-external-fails.html

I'm sorry about all that loss but this is why I posted what I did at first digital storage is high risk if you don't do a lot of and regular backups - as you see all it takes is that one little thing to loose it all and it maybe gone for good ..

also look how many passports drives show up here as well

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/all.html?refine=WD+


lol....

''MacFixIt reader who wrote in with a fix he found for his Western Digital MyBook external hard drive that had stopped working. The drive would appear to start mounting or otherwise be recognized by the system, but then seem to hang and not be recognized.''

http://www.cnet.com/news/mybook-not-working-smack-it/

 

[Ben_87]

Thanks, I'll try messaging one of them

 

[junkeymonkey]

may look at that article on how the power button may get stuck I linked above ??

that rep is on now and just posted here

http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-3002918/mybook-live-duo-inaccessible.html

matter of fact theres 2 of them on now

http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2998862/problem-windows-installation-ssd.html

 

[Ben_87]

I've already replaced the bridge board which contains the power button. it's not a casing issue. I'm currently searching for an alternative power source as someone I'm getting help from suggested the drive might not be getting enough current.

 

[junkeymonkey]

don't know? I mean if it was working fine before the deal you said ''the computer froze up and was unresponsive so she held the power button until it shut off, and then started the inability for the pc to boot up with the drive attached.''

seems more to it then that , but then what do you have to loose and it may work?? you pretty much drawing straws and hoping

have you tried the drives on another computer to see if it does the same with them ??

 

[Ben_87]

The troubleshooting I've done so far has been pretty extensive, all the questions you've asked so far are answered in my original post if you didn't take a look at it yet, also all the steps I've done so far. The failure after a unexpected pc shutdown/after power was cut is consistent with a lot of issues I've seen others have with these Western Digital drives while trying to find someone who has had the same exact issues I have. The fact that the computer boots up with the drive attached internally, and doesn't boot up when it is in the external hd case, leads me to believe the drive itself is ok and there is just a problem with either the casing or the power adapter. once I find someone who has a power adapter they can lend me, I can test and see if it's just an issue of not getting enough current

 

[hang-the-9]

Hard drive failures are not uncommon. #1 thing is not to store single copies of anything on a single drive, especially an external one if you want to avoid issues. Backup, and backups of those backups don't hurt either.

I don't think those WD external drives are encrypted with the enclosure electronics, if they are not, then viewing the drive attached directly to a desktop with power should have worked. Since you saw the drive in the system but it told you that it was not formatted or initialized means that either the file system is corrupt or there is physical issues with the drive. There is a program called teskdisk you can run and see if it can recover the partition info. Past that, with what you tried already, if you get a drive letter you can try to use Recuva to scan the drive. Did not see you use any type of recovery software. If you are afraid it may damage the data, which it may, then bring it to a repair shop or send it to get looked at.

 

[Ben_87]

I will definitely be backing up multiple copies now, however that doesn't solve my current problem .

I've been able to confirm that this model 100% does use hardware encryption through the usb/sata bridge board. I will run a disk health utility tonight just to be sure, but I don't think it's an issue with the actual drive. when plugged in internally, it boots up fine and shows up in disk management.(shows as initialized, however everything I've read about this model and other similar ones is that this is what a board encrypted external drive will show as if connected internally.) When plugged through the bridge board into a usb port though, it just hangs there forever without allowing the pc to boot up (checked on multiple systems). I'm private messaging with a board member who had a similar issue a couple years ago and he thinks it might be the power source. I'll be checking that soon, fingers cross, i'll also try replacing the cable but I doubt that is the issue.

Hard drive failures are not uncommon. #1 thing is not to store single copies of anything on a single drive, especially an external one if you want to avoid issues. Backup, and backups of those backups don't hurt either.

I don't think those WD external drives are encrypted with the enclosure electronics, if they are not, then viewing the drive attached directly to a desktop with power should have worked. Since you saw the drive in the system but it told you that it was not formatted or initialized means that either the file system is corrupt or there is physical issues with the drive. There is a program called teskdisk you can run and see if it can recover the partition info. Past that, with what you tried already, if you get a drive letter you can try to use Recuva to scan the drive. Did not see you use any type of recovery software. If you are afraid it may damage the data, which it may, then bring it to a repair shop or send it to get looked at.

 

[junkeymonkey]

'' when plugged in internally, it boots up fine and shows up in disk management ''

so with that you cant open the drive and get to any files ?? will the drive show up under ''computer ''

maybe look in to something like this ??

''Solution:
I installed EASEUS Partiting Master (Free edition), select the unallocated space (missing partition), then resize the drive. After that, giving a letter to the drive (e.g D), then it will be shown in My Computer, and get all my files back without format the drive!

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/280928-32-hard-drive-showing-computer

and this ? '' Method 2: Make sure that the drive has a drive letter assigned in Disk Management''

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/330140

[number 6 ]
https://community.wd.com/t/faq-external-hard-drive-no-longer-shows-up-in-my-computer-and-data-can-no-longer-be-accessed/1574

 

[SuperSoph_WD]

Hello there, Ben!

Thank you for reaching out to me and letting me know about your issues! Unfortunately, I really can't recommend you any specific third-party software, especially if there are noises coming from the HDD. @junkeymonkey (Btw, thanks for the referral) & @hang-the-9 provided you with some pretty good troubleshooting steps and possible solutions, however, it's almost impossible to determine the severity of a physical damage.

Indeed, the WD My Book external drives incorporate a hardware encryption as well, so you won't be able to access your files without the original enclosure. The best bet you have on getting your daughter's photos and videos back is to contact one of our Data Recovery Partners. I'd definitely NOT tamper with the external HDD any further as you might make things worse.

I totally understand your frustration! I truly hope you get your precious data back! Can't say I haven't been in your shoes as well! The most important thing to keep in mind in the future is to always have at least two copies of your files stored in different storage locations (HDDs/ DVDs/ cloud storage/ etc.). Better safe than sorry!

Keeping my fingers crossed for you & your daughter's photos & videos!
Best of luck!
SuperSoph_WD