Wd 500gb external hard drive wrong power supply

[kase]

Oh boy am I in trouble! I used my laptop power supply on my WD 500 gig external HD- It was juiced for about 10 to 20 seconds- apparently enough time to short it out- I have read several walkthroughs about this issue and am willing to try them - but need help- I am an auto mechanic and have several tech manuals and project info on this drive and would really need to salvage it for my business- If someone can help I would greatly appreciate it in advance and in the future- I have the case apart and need to buy a the small torx head to remove the board - i am will to post pictures of the parts if that helps-

My questions are, aside from the snipping of the overload diode, that I have read about - is there any other may of repairing this Hard Drive?

Again thanks to anyone who can help
KC

 

[PhilFrisbie]

External hard drives are simply regular hard drives in a case with a USB adapter board installed. I would first remove the drive from the external case and connect it inside a PC to see if the data can be accessed. If it can I would still purchase another USB drive and copy all data to the new drive. I would NOT continue to use the old drive in case its life was shortened by the incorrect power adapter.

 

[RetiredChief]

(1) ^ has a good point, the problem could be the enclosure, or the HDD. However I would be reluctant to connect it to my computer directly. Could use a DVM to verify that the HDD is not shorted first.

(2) what I would do is buy a cheap USB enclusure and R&R the enclosure. You did not mention the type of drive. Is it one of the small "notebook" 2 1/2 In drives or is it the larger 3 1/2 in drive. Anyways: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=usb+enclosure

(3) If you have a DVM, this is what I would do, I would first measure all the pins on the two connectors (power and Data) and compare them to a set of readings from a known good drive. Then if readings look OK then try the drive in a new enclosure, or directly into a PC.

Added: Pinout for sata Power (15 Pin): http://pinouts.ru/Power/sata-power_pinout.shtml

Drive upside down, looking at pins. Pin 1 is closest to the Data Connector (7 Pin).
Ohms check, Black meter lead to a screw hole (ground).
Ref: 3 1/2 in drive.
Pins 1 - > 3 Open
Pins 4 -> 6 0 Ohms
Pins 7 -> 9 Approx 10 K (May be higher)
Pins 10 & 12 0 Ohms
Pin 11 58 K ( this is an optional pins so may vary between brands/models)
Pins 13 -> 15 160 K ( for a 2 1/2" drive should be an open)

* open => 20 megohms.

For 7 Pin Data Connector: http://www.allpinouts.org/index.php/Serial_ATA_(SATA,_Serial_Advanced_Technology_Attachment)
Pin one is farest away from 15 Pin Pwr connector.
Pins 1, 4, & 7 = 0 ohms
Pins 2,3,5,& 6 = Open (=>20 Megohms.

 

[fzabkar]

The most common result of an overvoltage on a recent model WD external drive is a shorted 12V TVS diode.

Remove the HDD's PCB and examine D4, D3, R67, and R64 near the SATA power connector. D4 will most probably be shorted, and R67 may be open circuit. If so, then remove D4 with flush cutters, and flow a blob of solder over R67.

See this FAQ:
http://forums.seagate.com/t5/Barracuda-XT-Barracuda-Barracuda/HDD-TVS-diode-FAQ/m-p/118908#M25521
http://community.wdc.com/t5/Desktop/HDD-TVS-diode-FAQ/m-p/250274#M6826

If you need help in identifying the components, upload a photo.

 

[kase]

Thanks for all the suggestions- All sound logical and sound- I will upload a photo ASAP of the components ID as suggested by Fzabkar- but I would like your opinion regarding the simpler suggestion that this hard drive be separated from the power source and placed as is in a PC without your modification - I am trying to salvage the information to place in a fresh hard-drive and not necessarily interested in using the "damaged" external hard-drive-

I sincerely appreciate your help and everyones- suggestions as I have seen this issue come up several times and know that you have helped many people

Thank you in advance- And look for the pictures of the drive enternals soon
Kase

 

[fzabkar]

It's the hard drive's PCB that has most likely sustained the damage, not the USB-SATA bridge board in the enclosure, although it, too, may be faulty.

I agree with RetiredChief in that you should test for short circuits at the HDD's SATA power connector before powering it up again. If you don't, then you could do more damage.

As for a replacement enclosure, be aware that some WD products incorporate hardware encryption, which means that your data may be encrypted, whether or not you have set a password. In such cases you will need to repair the bridge board, or replace it with one from an identical product of the same capacity.

You can tell whether your data are encrypted by examining the bridge IC. For example, if the largest chip on the bridge is an Initio INIC-1607E, then that would suggest 128-bit AES encryption. OTOH, an INIC-1607P does not support encryption.

Another way to confirm whether your data are encrypted is to examine sectors 0, 1, and 63 with a disc editor such as HxD or DMDE. If sector 1 contains a repeating pattern of 16 bytes, then these will be encrypted zeros.

HxD - Freeware Hex Editor and Disk Editor:
http://mh-nexus.de/en/hxd

DMDE (DM Disk Editor and Data Recovery):
http://softdm.com/download.html

See this thread for more information:
http://community.wdc.com/t5/External-Drives-for-Mac/Power-controller-died-on-2TB-Drive-Can-t-mount-filesystem-in-new/m-p/236954#M3794

 

[kase]

Sorry it took me a while to reply - Again thank you in advance for your kind help. To complete the background- I have a Western Digital Elements 500GB External Hard Drive -serial number WCAV54862997. I accidentally plugged in my laptop power supply to this Hard Drive- I estimate it was there for maximum 25 seconds(probably less) I did not smell any burning - I just unplugged it when I realized the mistake- I then powered up the laptop. I then used the correct power supply in the WD hard drive and attempted to see if it would work- It did not. It did not make any noise , warm up or anything other than a flickering LED indicator near the power supply- Total time of the "test" of power -less than a minute.

I then started looking on the net for info regarding this issue and found many references ( also alot of high praise for Fzabkar) and some hope.

As I said before I am not a computer guy and may need some help in finding and dealing with the various fixes-

I have to deal with your collective help one item at a time- so I may ask many questions- I hope you have great patience-

I have taken photos of the circuit board- But am not sure how to upload them to the site

Please advise

Thank you

 

[fzabkar]

You can upload your photos to an image hosting site, eg ImageShack.

We need to see something like this:
http://img651.imageshack.us/img651/3743/dsc04982nn.jpg

Could you please post a direct link to the image? This will avoid the ads, banners, popups, etc.

BTW, it's D4 and R64, not R67 that are the usual culprits. D3 and R67 protect the +5V supply. Sorry for the error.

 

[kase]

Hi Again took me a little while to get back to this project--I opened an imageshack album-and took the best photo could -I hope this will work--As always thank you in advance for your time
Kase


http://img31.imageshack.us/img31/3863/bigcircuitboard.jpg

 

[fzabkar]

I can't see any visible damage. However, I still suspect D64 and R64 at the far LHS of the photo. You need to measure their resistances with a multimeter.

See http://www.users.on.net/~fzabkar/HDD/TVS_diode_FAQ.html

If the drive spins up when directly connected to a SATA port on your motherboard, then the bridge board inside the enclosure will be the next suspect. Otherwise, if the drive doesn't spin, and if the fault is not restricted to the TVS diodes, then you will need to transfer the 8-pin serial flash memory chip at location U12 to a donor PCB. Some board suppliers include such a transfer service for US$10-$20. Otherwise your local TV/AV repairer should be able to do it.

 

[kase]

Back to this project- I have included a new photo because I am able to find the R 64 but not the D 64 you noted as circuits to test.

I hope that you can still help on this project- I am going one step at a time

Thank you

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/708/bigcircuitboard.jpg/

 

[fzabkar]

The circuit reference for D4 is obscured.

I hope this helps:
http://www.users.on.net/~fzabkar/HDD/bigcircuitboard_diodes.jpg

 

[kase]

The circuit reference for D4 is obscured.

I hope this helps:
http://www.users.on.net/~fzabkar/HDD/bigcircuitboard_diodes.jpg

You go above and beyond my friend - Thank you again-- I will follow your instructions and will hope for the best- until next time THANK YOU!!!

 

[kase]

I have been hesistant and did not want to annoy you with constant questions- so I shelved the drive for a few weeks-

I have now performed the resistence test on the diodes that you suggested

D-4 reading 9.7

R-64 reading 1.1

The multimeter is set to measure 200 ohms

Any further is advise is greatly appreciated

Thank you my friend

 

[RetiredChief]

To check a diode, you use forward to reverse measurement should be a min of 10 to one, but is normally a higher ratio - this only applies if the DVM can forward bias the diode.. If the DVM has a diode test, for a normal diode it will show the break down voltage, ie 0.7V for Si and 0.3or .4 V for Ge. DVM out put voltage is not high enough to check a zener diode this way.

To do an ohms check you would probably need to remove one end as the mete3r would read all parallel component resistance.

For the resistor if it has color bands, then you can compute the value it should be "Just google resistor color code.
More politically correct way to remember it, but forg, think it uses rum
Bad ........0
Boys ...... 1
Rxxx....... 2
Our ........ 3
Young .... 4
Girls ..... 5
But ........ 6
Violet .... 7
Gives .... 8
Willingly ..9
Silver 1/10 or 10%
gold 1/100 0r 5%

If not allow, mod please delete, hat to violate any rules

 

[fzabkar]

The load resistance on the drive's 12V rail is around 9 ohms. That's not quite a short, but it's definitely much too low. Snip the pins of D4 with flush cutters and then measure the diode out of circuit. Also measure the resistance between the copper pads on the PCB. This will confirm whether the diode was the culprit. Resistor R64 is measuring OK.

If D4 was the reason for the low resistance, then the drive should work without it, provided there is no additonal damage on the PCB.

If the drive still doesn't spin, then connect it to your motherboard and try again. You may not have access to your data (due to encryption), but at least you will isolate the USB-SATA bridge board.

 

[kase]

I snipped out the D4 diode the mount base measures on the DMM 1 . I am also measuring the removed D4 diode the readings for the D4 diode are in one direction 10.2 and with the dmm probes reversed 10.2 ( I read the the juice should only flow in one direction- not sure if that indicated a bad diode)

I also reassembled the hard drive with the D4 removed ( nothing in its place) and powered it up using the correct power supply- The led light flashes once and then goes off It does not activate the hard drive-

So there I am - I am still a novice at this and appreciate your advise

 

[fzabkar]

The diode is definitely faulty. Either your drive has additional damage, or there is damage on the USB-SATA bridge board. To isolate the latter, you need to connect the drive to a desktop motherboard and PSU, or install it in a third party enclosure. AIUI, Elements drives are not encrypted.

Before you do anything, confirm that there is no short (or low resistance) at the copper pads of D4 on the PCB. You could also check whether +12V and +5V are appearing at the SATA power connector in your enclosure (with the drive removed).

See http://pinouts.ru/Power/sata-power_pinout.shtml

 

[kase]

The diode is definitely faulty. Either your drive has additional damage, or there is damage on the USB-SATA bridge board. To isolate the latter, you need to connect the drive to a desktop motherboard and PSU, or install it in a third party enclosure. AIUI, Elements drives are not encrypted.

Before you do anything, confirm that there is no short (or low resistance) at the copper pads of D4 on the PCB. You could also check whether +12V and +5V are appearing at the SATA power connector in your enclosure (with the drive removed).

See http://pinouts.ru/Power/sata-power_pinout.shtml

Ok,

I believe that I have tested the "copper pad of D4 ( I have used the DMM on either side of the connecting points of the D4 diode that i snipped from the PCB-) The reading I got from these points were 1 .

I am unclear what you mean by the second suggestion to "check whether +12V and +5V are appearing at the SATA power connector "

I do not have accesss to a desktop computer at the moment (that will change wityhin a week) . But could I accomplish the testing in a third part enclosure ( could you eloborate)

Also what do you mean by AIUI , Elements drive are not encrypted-- does this mean that I may be able to swap parts toa fresh Elements drive and get the harddrive to work? without losing the material on the old drive

I appreciate you time and help more than you know

Casey

 

[fzabkar]

If the reading is "1" rather than "1.0", then this means that the meter has overranged on that scale. This means that there is no additional short circuit.

The USB-SATA bridge board has a dual transistor switch, usually in an 8-pin IC, that switches +5V and +12V power from the bridge board to the drive's SATA power connector. I'm asking you whether the switch is working. That is, I'm asking whether you can measure +5V and +12V at the input to the drive.

Here is the SATA pinout:
http://pinouts.ru/Power/sata-power_pinout.shtml

Essentials models have an Initio INIC-1607E bridge IC on the bridge board. This IC is responsible for 128-bit AES hardware encryption, whether or not you have set a password. If you connect a bare Essentials drive to a SATA port on your motherboard, then all you will see will be gibberish. Elements models don't have AES encryption, so your data will be visible.

 

[kase]

[Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday- to all that have helped me on this project- I am slow at getting back to it - I try to decifer the responses before asking for more clairity- so it takes me a little longer-
But I wanted to wish everyone a great holiday, in the meantime!

 

[jb0756]

The most common result of an overvoltage on a recent model WD external drive is a shorted 12V TVS diode.

Remove the HDD's PCB and examine D4, D3, R67, and R64 near the SATA power connector. D4 will most probably be shorted, and R67 may be open circuit. If so, then remove D4 with flush cutters, and flow a blob of solder over R67.

See this FAQ:
http://forums.seagate.com/t5/Barracuda-XT-Barracuda-Barracuda/HDD-TVS-diode-FAQ/m-p/118908#M25521
http://community.wdc.com/t5/Desktop/HDD-TVS-diode-FAQ/m-p/250274#M6826

If you need help in identifying the components, upload a photo.

Same Issue, I removed the diode d4 and still doesn't power up. Is it really necessary to place some solder over r67?

 

[fzabkar]

In other brands (Seagate/Maxtor, Samsung, Hitachi, Fujitsu/Toshiba) there is a device (eg fuse, resistor, polyswitch, inductor, zero-ohm resistor) in series with the diode. When this device goes open circuit, then power to the board is interrupted. I always thought that WD boards were the same, although the resistor is at the ground end rather than the supply end. But now I'm not so sure. I have seen one WD board with both TVS diodes and zero-ohm resistors vacant (from the factory), and it still functioned as normal. However, this board was a different design.

All may not be not lost, though. If your board has a chip at U12, then simply transfer it to a donor PCB. Otherwise, if U12 is not populated, and if the MCU is not dead, then the following PCB supplier may be able to transfer the "adaptive" information for you:
http://www.donordrives.com/blog/pcbswapguide

"If you cannot find a ROM chip, and are working with a Western Digital hard drive, then it is likely imbedded in a main controller Marvell chip. That chip is extremely difficult to solder, and most of the time experts do not have success with it. Our company offers Free PCB Adoptation Service to customer who have made a purchase from our store. The new PCB will be reprogrammed to work with hard drive, with no soldering including in the process, whatsoever."

 

[kase]

This Kase again-

I have not proceeded with further testing on the WD Elements 500 gig Hard-drive- because of confusion over the last suggestion-also I did not have access to a PC - to test the device-

Would you still be willing to give me suggestions?

As always I appreciate your kindly help.

Kase

 

[fzabkar]

@Kase, since you have removed the short circuit and the drive still doesn't spin, then you need to eliminate the USB-SATA bridge board as a potential culprit. To this end you should connect the drive to a SATA port on your computer's motherboard, or install it in another (third party) enclosure. If the drive still doesn't spin, and assuming it is not programmed to Power Up In Standby (PUIS), then you will need to replace the board and transfer the serial flash memory chip (U12), if your board has one. If PUIS is enabled, then the drive should still be visible in BIOS, but you may not see its full model number and capacity.