WD My Book 3TB External to Internal

binkz1337

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Oct 6, 2013
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Hello, I own a WD My Book 3TB External Hard Drive Storage USB 3.0 File Backup and Storage. This one to be exact:
http://www.amazon.com/Book-External-Drive-Storage-Backup/dp/B0042Z55RM/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

The problem is the flimsy usb connector they all have (you can google it), mine got worse and worse, sometimes it read sometimes it didn't, until it finally stopped working.

I have gutted the case(the warranty was over), and would like to use it internally, losing the data is not a problem for me. I have connected it up by sata, just like my other drives. When I boot up, I see the following message:
http://i.imgur.com/1lZs390.jpg

I have tried putting it in different sata ports, it doesn't matter, same error with the sata # it is in.
The drive shows up in the BIOS.
The drive does not show up in device manager, or disk management.

I have updated all my motherboard drives, especially SATA, flashed the BIOS, etc.

I have searched around, some people seem to say it has some kind of encryption if so is there a way around it? Is there a tool I can use to dig deeper? Or am I just missing something?

Thanks in advance for any help.
 

PyjamasCat

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Mar 20, 2013
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I am curious. I recently installed a 3TB drive which wanted me to format it to a GPT partition because it is larger than 2.5 TB or something, but because it was in an enclosure and these My Books are intended to be secure, I would not be surprised if they used some sort of encryption. When you gutted it, what was inside? Could you not replace the USB cable?

Edit: Read a bit more and these things do have an encryption method. Can you boot the PC at all? Can you view the drive in Easus Partition Manager? If you can, try reformat the drive (you will lose data).
 

binkz1337

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Oct 6, 2013
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When I gutted the drive, there was the HDD, which just looks like any other, but a small board on one of the corners which attached to where the USB part connected to. I am unsure of the specific name for the parts, but I could track it down in the morning and get a picture of it, if that is further help.

I have installed Easus Partition Manager, and the drive is nowhere to be found. Is there something I can do inside of that program to search for it?

The computer runs like a charm, it runs off a 512gb SSD drive, and has another internal 500GB drive. I also have a 1.5TB external drive attached.
All other drives show up and work fine (this one did too before the usb connector broke), it is not necessary for me to have the drive, but I figured why waste a 3TB drive if I don't have to.

Here are my computer specs if that helps anything:
http://i.imgur.com/6hAvhvb.jpg
 

Aron Goldstein

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Nov 17, 2013
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I had today an identical problem , (but w/o the message) with a 3 Tb external WD My Book. I did the same things as you did and I don't know what to do now.
I can add only one, maybe interesting thing. A week ago, I managed to break the connection of an old 1 Tb Seagate external hard disk. I had by chance, at home an external box (Agestar). So I opened the broken box and I put the disk in the new one. It works fine. After this success I tried the same procedure with this WD 3 Tb
It didn't work, not as internal and not in this box.
AG
 

supertech-it

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Jul 23, 2011
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Please be aware that whether you set a password or not, it always encrypts the data.
This means that if the USB to SATA interface becomes defective in any way, you can't just rip the drive out of the case and put it in a docker or into your computer and hook it up directly and be able to read your data.

So far Western Digital's stand point on this is that they don't care. If it's under warranty, they won't replace the board, they will only replace the whole unit - guaranteeing that you don't get your data back.
They won't sell you the board so that you can get your data back.
They have no software decrypter that will allow you to get your data back.
If you send your drive to any data recovery house other than the ones that pay them to be authorized, you void your warranty.
If you send your drive to an authorized data recovery house, be prepared to pay $600-$1400
Basically, WD doesn't want you to get your data back unless you are lining their pockets - and they make sure you can't get it back as much as they can without blatantly doing it in a way that makes it look as criminal as it should be.
Also, if you DO put a password on the unit - the password is stored on a sector of the hard disk you cannot normally read.
This means that if the password sector becomes corrupt - if you had no password, it will suddenly be asking for one, and if you did have a password, yours will no longer work.
Western digital has no way to blank out the password, reset it or retrieve it (and if they do, they aren't telling us).
So in the case of password sector corruption, you are screwed again, since even if you didn't have a password, the data is still encrypted, and you can change every board on your drive, but it will still look to that sector, and want the password that you cannot possibly guess anymore.
Basically, the drive is designed to prevent you from retrieving your data in the event of any kind of failure whatsoever unless just the drive's own interface fails - in which case getting an exact match down to the firmware revision may save your drive and data.
The likelihood of this of course is fairly slim.


UPDATE - Western Digital REALLY doesn't want you to have your data!!!
Test scenario - 2 3TB drives removed from My Book Essential cases. Both perfectly working.
We are only going to use 1 of the USB 3.0 interfaces. IMPORTANT - ALL data suggests ALL their USB 3.0 interfaces or security enabled interfaces work this way

In drive A everything is working fine. Drive B works fine with it's interface.
Move USB interface to drive B - system now wants you to initialize the drive - all partitions are gone.
Power down - do NOTHING
Move the interface back to drive A
system wants to initialize Drive A - All partitions are gone !!!
Yes, you can reformat the drive, and it'll work as long as the USB interface never meets another drive.
This means if you are unwise enough to take your interface off to try to recover data from a friend's drive, you just lost everything on your drive along with not being able to recover his.
The short answer here is - IF you want your data back, you MUST repair the original interface, or you're toast!

I am recommending anyone with external USB 3.0 or security capable interfaces to screw the warranty, and remove the drive and put it in your PC if you want to have any realistic expectations of getting your data back in the event of a failure.
I am HIGHLY recommending that NOBODY buy these drives AT ALL if you have ANY concerns about ever possibly losing the data on them.
 

MicroM

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Dec 8, 2013
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Hi supertech-it,
From your answer, i'm wondering if by changing the usb interface board will it help or not...? As i'm thinking to buy a new WD MyBook Essentials 2TB, take out the usb interface board and put on the undetectable hdd that i have... And wondering will it works or not before i dump in the $$$...???
 

supertech-it

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Jul 23, 2011
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Nope - sounds like the drive itself or the control board attached to it is pooched. From what you have said, I don't think any USB-sata board in the universe will help. If the data isn't important, I suggest you shred it and move on.
 

MicroM

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Dec 8, 2013
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Finally fixed the issue and get back all my data...
It turn out to be the USB interface board which housed the encryption chip get kaput... After I hooked it with another USB interface board which is the same rev as per the kaput board, the HDD is back, detectable and I can see all my data...!!!
 

Beauinfamous

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Jun 13, 2014
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I apologize but what do you mean by "which is the same rev as per the kaput board" in layman's terms as i am in the same situation.
 

Fizbin69

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Jan 9, 2014
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Does anyone know if Seagate or other USB hard drive manufacturers use encryption as well? In other words, if I if I cracked open a Seagate external casing, and put it in my PC, would I run into the same problem?