WD harddrive esata problem

[maxxr]

Hello,

I have a Western Digital My Book External harddrive. The usb port is broken and I have been using the esata port. Its been giving me propblems the the day I have been using that port. It never seems to recognize the harddrive and it always loses the connection.

Is there anything I can do to recover my data from this harddrive? Perhaps a eSata to USB cable of sorts? Or should I just tear the harddrive apart and use some sort of external harddrive enclosure to recover my data?

thank you

 

[hybird9012]

The USB also supplies power to the Hard Drive. The eSata port doesn't provide power to the unit.

Your hard drive is fine, just not enough power to function properly. You can try plugging in your USB and eSata cable.. If not, I recommend getting a new enclosure by taking the hard drive out.

 

[maxxr]

The harddrive has a power cord so it is powered on. The harddrive lights indicate that its looking for a connection but never seems to find a connection with the laptop. If I were to take it apart is there a good external harddrive cable/reader/convert you suggest? Something reasonably priced?

Thank you for you reply. I really appreciate the help.

 

[photonboy]

You first need to find out WHERE the problem is. Your eSATA issue problem is in one of three spots:

1) DRIVE
2) eSATA cable
3) PC

If the DRIVE itself is defective you can't do much (by which I mean the circuit board/connectors not the hard drive portion inside the external unit). Since you also have USB issues I wonder if the drive isn't problematic?

You can try a different eSATA cable.

*My best advice is simply crack open the plastic case, take out the hard drive, and mount it inside your PC if you can't easily troubleshoot.

Other:
- USB is meant to power 2.5" drives. 3.5" drives would have their own AC adapter for power.
- eSATA provides both power and data if needed (eSATA external devices which include AC adapters may use the AC adapter only for power, not the power on the eSATA cable)

 

[photonboy]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153066

I've had the above product for YEARS. You can use a single 2.5" or 3.5" SATA drive. It just slides in.

*I had a WD Elite drive that stopped working. I cracked open the case and inside was a 3.5" SATA drive. I just slid it in this BlacX device.

(FYI, eSATA is better in some ways, but the cable seems prone to break at the end. After my cable broke I went back to using it as USB.)

 

[fzabkar]

Some My Books are encrypted, others are configured with 4KB sector sizes. If you remove such a drive from its original enclosure, you will not be able to access your data.

 

[photonboy]

Some My Books are encrypted, others are configured with 4KB sector sizes. If you remove such a drive from its original enclosure, you will not be able to access your data.

Good point.
Breaking the case open should be a last resort, however you can do it without damaging anything vital.

 

[maxxr]

Is this model encrpyted western digital my book home edition 500 gb usb 2.0/eSata/Fire 400

Model # wd500h1cs-00

thank you

 

[fzabkar]

I'm not completely certain, but I don't believe the My Book Home is encrypted. However, IIRC it may have an embedded Linux OS and Linux file systems, so if you connect it to a Windows box, you might need the following:

Freeware Linux Reader for Windows:
http://www.diskinternals.com/linux-reader/

 

[photonboy]

My WD ELITE died, and I ripped it open and had no difficulty accessing the drive.

If you crack open the case, but don't damage the main little circuit board the device will still work as it did before (which may be broken anyway).

At some point you need to try something.