My Book recently stopped working. Its under warranty so WD will replace, but I have about 300 GB of data that I need off the drive and can't access it. So I tried to open the case so I could connect it directly. I could get it out of the case fine, but mine doesn't look like any I've seen posted. It has a metal bracket holding the circuit board inside and has a little flat screw that will not come off. I can send a pic if interested, but without removing that screw, you can't get it off
I tried this with my 'my book' and it will not work 'read' when I plug the USB in...I tried it on many different machines too... it only works when I use the original 'my book' bridge circuit.... im confused... I tried other hard drives and they work in my new external case.... so im thinking there is something weird going on with the drive from my my book...
@Me4SummerTime There is nothing special about the drives used in these full-size enclosures. (The 2.5" models appear to use a specialty drive with a USB port right on the logic board.)
If you have one of the newer drives models with SmartWare, that may impact operation when attached to anything other than the WD bridge board. If your other systems have VIA chipsets, you may need to set a jumper on the drive to force the 1.5 gigabit link speed.
I myself prefer WD Drives as i have Seagate drives and am using one in one of my computers its a 320GB model and one thing i noticed is Seagate drives not only have a HIGH failure rate ever with proper cooling but also run BURNING HOT Seagate Barracuda 7200 drives are so hot you can fry an egg on em you need a HDD fan with any Seagate Drive or it wont last i have even found that Seagate IDE HDDs have the same problem so i am no longer a promoter or fan of Seagate WD runs cooler and lasts longer
i have found that is is much cheaper to get HDDs by buying an external and taking the HDD out of its case and then into your computer as the price of Internal HDDs have skyrocketed and External Drives are much cheaper
Achtung WESTERN DIGITAL !!! Bitte lesen. Die Firma ist mit Abstand der sruppellosesten Festplattenhersteller weltweit. Fingerweg von WD Platten, es ist festgestellt worden, dass einige Platten vom Werk her so eingetsellt wurden, dass die Leseköpfe ständig parken, und nach ca. 300 000 mal ist die Platte im Arsch. Ich bin ein geprellter Kunde und werde diese Warnung über all verbreiten in der Hoffnung, dass diese Betrüger Firma dadurch an Umsatz einbüßt. Skrupellos !!!!!
Don't know if it has been mentioned, but the PATA model has a screw on the outside of the enclosure. It's covered by a black sticker in the upper right corner of the right side of the enclosure.
Wow, thanks for the video! I just got off the phone in a 46 minute 33 second conversation with the bozos at WD tech support about how to open the external drive case, and got nowhere. I should have gone searching online first, because then I would have discovered (thanks to your video) that it is such an annoying and frustrating task that is best avoided altogether. I will NEVER buy WD again!
I saw them at Newegg but most of the ones on their site don;t have a fan. What model number in the Newstar do you mean? I did see the Rosewill RX-358 V2 BLK (Black) 3.5" SATA to USB & eSATA Ext. Enclosure w/Int.80mm fan for $29.00 that looked good with a fan....Bang for the Buck/ Let me know what you think Please Thanks again
Where do you order or get the better inclosers? I am all for runnung the hd cooler but I don't know where to get the incloser. Thank you noncic1@yahoo.com
@1ncic Almost anywhere computer parts are sold...eBay, Newegg, Tiger Direct, many other places. I have had good results with the Vantec NexStar 3 series of enclosures lately. I recommend the USB/eSATA/Firewire one the most, even if you don't want or use Firewire. It has an Oxford bridge chip and those work very well.
@uxwbill So I got an enclosure from this Geek dot come website or something like that for $20 it's by Element, a 3.5" hdd external enclosure.. and I was able to connect my hard drive to the cables and wires that came with it, but it had no assembly instructions in the manual ... there is one big yellow strap of ribbon or something that connects to the electrical/usb outlet part of the enclosure but fits nothing on my hd & power comes on but no computer recog of a device. I don't know ? to do?
Very helpful. I removed my wd6400h1u-00 640 GB drive to use in a Vantec eSATA dock. Now I have blazing transfer speed! USB 2.0 is going the way of the dodo bird.
Dude, you saved my life :) It wasn't the same model as you show here but it was same procedure! Now I have an internal hard drive I can use for my sister's computer. Thanks!
hey man great video i have a i hope not a major problem but i have a drive like yours but just yesterday i went and trying to do a back up from my computer but anyways it was plugged in and it just stopped working so when i try to plug the power cable back into the drive it starts up but doesn't stay on which the power connector is kind of lose so im thinking its losing power to stay on, do you think i should just take it out or resolder? thanks
Thank you for the tutorial- my case is not sliding off. There seems to be a metal connector joining the case to the drive on one corner and I cannot figure out how to detach it without risking damage. Have you ever seen this or heard of this before?
Grrr!!!!!! Angry comment!!! Just kidding dude, mine wasn't exactly like yours, easier in fact. Thanks for the turtorial, very helpful and saved me from having to buy a an internal drive for my comp. Great video.
You say it runs cooler and has a longer life, but what about quicker? Are the drives crap and slow or are they good drives bottlenecked by USB? I'd like to know before I open up mine and throw it in my Desktop as an internal.
@Ruflcopta If your computer can extract more data over a faster data bus, yes. At the time this video was made, the drives were nothing but regular Western Digital desktop hard drives. I'm told that some of the Passport and portable models are a special drive with a USB port directly on the drive's PCB.
@Ruflcopta If the drive is a Serial ATA (SATA) drive, then the short answer is yes. A SATA II (the last generation version) will even outperform a USB 3.0 when it comes to read/write speeds.
3:04, help please, that usb port inside it the small plastic piece is broken, what can i do to fix it? i tried carefully putting it back together but my laptop wont read it : (
Thanks for this! I had a customer with this drive and I was able to open the unit and determine that the actual HDD was the issue and rule out the enclosure. And I didn't damage the case, even though I usually gorilla-ize them without instructions. :)
@SICILYTV2 Absolutely you can. Just take out the drive and connect it to your mother board by a sata cable and pull an sata power connector to the drive. Cautions! most hard drive manufacturer will decline warranty service if you disassemble or dismantle the encloure. The serial number shows they are one set not seperate. So be careful when you take the drive out of the enclosure.
@juniorbsd Early drives are conventional PATA types with regular power and data connectors. Later drives are SATA types and also have conventional power and data connectors.
Unless you can get a screaming deal on one of these, it's usually cheaper to just buy the internal drive.
I have a 2tb wd model and that hard drive looks more solidly made than that one the
new one are evenly more cheply made the one i have has no screws holding it together ecept two screws holding the sata to usb board on it they look like if you droped it it would break i took mine out of the case and use it that way
Thanks man! Mines got zero screws to the case! it got like anti shock rubber boots and that's it. The rest of the screws were not tight at all. Did this because the power stop working (maybe the controller board?) Thanks again, I always fail at making a good pry open (I destroy the cases 90% of the time), and this video really helped.
thanks! mine was powering on but was not recognized by my computer, so i needed a video to show me how to take it apart - im sticking in my machine to see if i can save the drive
Mine looks just like the one in this video . Only mine is 230gb i think. I want to open mine and just put the drive into the computer... But i dont know if its worth the trouble. But sometimes it takes my computer up to 1 hour to finaly recognize the HDD. Or it takes about that long for the stupid thing to boot up. Like i can hear the HDD working all of a sudden then the comp finds it. Would it be worth taking out and making it internal..?
Western Digital and Seagate Hard Drives have the highest failure rate statistically in my experience and that of the Data recovery guy I sent mine to. Get a Hitachi or Toshiba drive or even a Samsung.
@TheMrbum i found a drive by toshiba samsung storage company in a toshiba laptop and my worst seagate lasted 1 month and sadly seagate bought maxtor which was one of my favorite brands
@TheMrbum That's weird. I have been using WD with all my computers and have never had any problems. Atm I'm using 5 WD hard drives in two computers ranging from 250Gb to 1 Tb, from which 2 are external 1TB hard drives (My Books).
One of the externals even accidently droppend from 1.5 metres to stone floor and is still working no problem at all. :O
Is it just pure luck that I haven't had problems with WD or are you completely wrong?
@zykkeli Hey man, don't go all nasty on me with that "or are you completely wrong" stuff, I'm only quoting Statistics, and the thing that you should note with stats is that the brands most commonly failing also have the highest market share. I never said the stats were perfect. My personal Experience with Seagate has been aweful, I've had many failures, I have not had that many Western Digital drives but the guy I took my dead one to said Head Failure is common with them. That's All I"m saying
@TheMrbum There's no need for anyone to get nasty. Maxtor hard drives generally do have a bad rep. I'm not saying they don't last and work well for some. I'm aware of some that have run for years and done just fine. I also have a few that have lasted very well. They're not my cup of tea and I usually do replace them on past experience.
Although all the major drive makers have had "dark times", I don't find any one maker to be worse than any other in general.
@uxwbill Sir, I no offense to any one. My information came from a Data recovery technician because i asked him his opinion and he gave it based on his experience. For what it's worth despite me quoting such negative stats, I have a 500 Gb external drive (western Digital), My Girlfriend's Computer is using a Western Digital, my computer has 2 Seagate drive running RAID 1 so as to serve as a backup in case of an other Hardware failure. Your videos are interesting and enjoyable :)
@TheMrbum Sorry, I wasn't intending to imply that you were being offensive. Just trying to stave off any potential fighting. I want everyone to feel welcome here. I'm glad that you find my videos interesting. Do feel free to post comments, write private messages or even make a video request, and a sincere thank you for watching!
@uxwbill There was no need to apologize sir, I gathered that you were only trying to keep the peace and I respect that, your video comments should not be a fighting ground. All is well here and I have no hard feelings regarding the earlier comments :)
@zykkeli hey man it's no prob any how. Truth is as I said, More Western Digital and Seagate dries are sold than any other type. I'm using a 500 Gig WD external and 1 Tb Seagate. The guy in the data recovery place said to me that Head Failure is very common in Western Digitals (this could mean that is what usually goes wrong when there is fault). He recovers more of those brands then others but more people use them, that is pretty much how the stats are worked out. No damage done mate, : )
i thought mine was broken so i opened it and the HDD was working when internally plugged into a com. Is there a way to fix the certain thing to USB i don't wanna buy another enclosure
@DBZisthebestanimever Sounds like the bridge chip died, although sometimes the power supplies can fail. Try another one, making sure it has the exact same specs as the original. There is also a step-down power supply on the board to provide five volts DC (since the power input from the furnished supply is a single twelve volt source). This might be bad.
The simplest and safest solution is another enclosure, or just to run the drive inside your computer.
I have a WD Worldbook 1TB network drive. Its very similar to the Mybook but it is connected to my router through a LAN cable. I got sick of the slow up and download speed so I took it apart like you said in the video and put it in a external SATA enclosure with a fan on it. I connected everything up but when I plug it in, it recognizes that its a WD drive but does not show up in "my computer". How can i get the computer to recognize this drive as just a USB external? some sort of proprietary sw
I have a WD Worldbook 1TB network drive. Its very similar to the Mybook but it is connected to my router through a LAN cable. I got sick of the slow up and download speed so I took it apart like you said in the video and put it in a external SATA enclosure with a fan on it. I connected everything up but when I plug it in, it recognizes that its a WD drive but does not show up in "my computer". How can i get the computer to recognize this drive as just a USB external? some sort of proprietary sw?
By any chance would anyone no what type of HDD is in my WD 500GB my book essential spec. wise. Basically all I need to know is three thing's; it's HDD Form Factor, Rotation Speed, and Serial. (I need to no if I can use it in my PS3)
@Renma2010 It's probably a Caviar "Blue" SATA drive. Form factor will be 3.5 inches. Rotational speed is 7,200 RPM. The serial number is unique to every drive. You may also need to know the firmware revisions. As it may also change, the only way to be sure is to take a look at your drive.
@ohnoitschris Most of the My Book drives are standard types. However, I'm told the portable 2.5" ones have a drive with a USB connector right on the main circuit board. Western Digital could change this at any time, and this is an older drive (one of the first generation units IIRC), so I can't speak for newer units. I'm not buying any more since the plague of SmartWare made the scene.
I've had the basic My Book, usb connector only, 1Tb model. I know it's old, since it only has two blue leds that go up and down in a line(not a circle). Also, it has a nice glossy finish. I've had it for 3-4 years easily, have used it up and down, defragmented weekly, used to full capacity, and several times filled it up and emptied it out. I've moved it around and banged-it accidentally several times.
I've never had a problem with it. Would buy it again anytime (And I paid 300+$ for it).
To all the people who are saying things don't show up under 'my computer', that's because windows is retarded. You'll have to look under your hardware manager as chances are you need some BS driver. If that doesn't work, throw ubuntu on a CD, boot into that and see if the drive is recognized. If not, it's either disabled in the BIOS or it's FUBAR.
Thanks for the video! helped me out. Mine is similar but a ton of plastic tabs! Definitely have to be careful if your swapping out the casing for another HD.
Man thanks for the video my drive just died on me wouldn't start or anything..the light wouldn't light up..pulled it apart.... the plastic light sensor was separated, and just connected it open and it worked..now gotta get a new housing..thanks.
I had a 1TB MyBook Essential, and within 6 months the usb jack snapped off inside the unit. Prior to that accident the unit would randomly disconnect from my computer due to faulty casing interfering with the usb connection. However, when I took mine apart and put it into a new case (3.5" SATA Gigaware enclosure) my computer wouldn't recognize it. It doesn't show up in "my computer" but there is still the option to safe disconnect.
@WrongEraSara had exactly the same problem, because of the firmware on the drive it comes up as a cd drive at first, i dont think there is a way to remove the wd firmware if you have found a way around this problem messege me
@WrongEraSara proper drivers should be installed for each external enclosure you hook up to your computer go to device manager and click on update driver for usb harddrive device
VERY HELPFUL! I got one with USB2, FIrewire, and eSATA, but the USB stopped working and eventually the eSATA. After I liberated the drive from the case as shown above, all the jacks on the adapter worked just fine! I'm still going to get a new enclosure with a fan. I couldn't handle it, it was so freaking HOT!! Just not right this second.
lol, mine stopped working after having it for about 2 years. The blue light in front stopped flashing and is no longer accessible by network, but the HDD seems to still be spinning when connected in the Power.
I think i will try my luck and put in another inclosure, i still hope my data is intact.
By the way anyone got any tips in which enclosure is best to use with the White version of these?
Thanks for this. I have two of these that--while rooted for rsync--are still WAY too slow for practical storage. In order to retain the money spent, I'm happy to run into your disassembly.
As an aside for people deriding "this or that" manufacturer...they've ALL had problems. C'est la vie! Backups, SMART, RAID, heat management, spares...our responsibility in using high-precision *moving* hardware. If someone prefers one--that's great--but they're still not responsible for making the bed.
Never seen one get more than just a little warm. It's just common sense to not put this or any other similar device on another device that also produces heat. So, don't blame any problems with one of these getting hot just because you put it on something that gets even hotter and transfers the heat to this device.
@cmenting It's pretty easy, as long as your computer has connectors for the type of disk that you find inside. Early models and those of smaller capacity are PATA drives, newer and larger ones are SATA.
im having a problem with my external hard...i checked the sata to usb adapter and it worked great with a hard drive from a gateway computer that i have had for about an year now, but when i connected the adapter to the external hard-drive it wont work.. whats wrong with me external...and the adapter belongs to the external.
ive tried everything to fix my 1tb western digital drive, ive tried diff chords and power supply, plugged it in my computer(which made my computer not boot up most the time and when it did it didnt recognize it) just froze it and that just made it click once when starting it. it powers up doesnt sound like its spinning, and doesnt show as a drive on my computer anymore i dunno what to do!
@hippa2dahoppa2 It's probably dead, which leaves you at a crossroads. You can just forget it, try something like a board swap from an identical revision drive or hire a professional data recovery service. That last option actually does work a lot of the time, but it's not cheap. Option 2 is risky but might get the drive going long enough to read most everything from it. (If it does, have another drive handy, because you may get ONE chance.)
hey thanks for the reply, so far nothings worked, its still under warranty so if nothing else i can get another one and they gave me a link to some data recovery sites. it seems to be not spinning fast enough so im pretty sure it can be recovered. from what i hear though every1 says its about 1500$. i already got a new toshiba 1tb drive for backup and then another 600gb hd to backup my backup. then if they replace this ill have a backup for my backups backup lol which seems like what we gotta do
@hippa2dahoppa2 Yeah, unfortunately that is probably about right for data recovery. It can more or less depending upon what is actually wrong. Be sure that whoever you chose to do the recovery--if you take that option--is a reputable company. There are a number of good ones out there.
thanks for the help, these things are hard to figure out without external screws. I just needed to use the SATA interface with another drive temporarily, so needed to do some monkeying around...
This vid was just what I was looking for, quick and painless.
@gmaztec The drive should not require reformatting. All my data was waiting for me--the enclosure has little intelligence of its own and just bridges the difference in communications protocol between USB and SATA or PATA.
This was exactly what I needed. My WD "My book" don't want to work with me any more, so I got the tip to watch your video how to take it apart. Do you know if WD works if I just plug it in the computer? Like a normal harddrive? Thanks for the video =)
@HawkTear The drive in the enclosure will be a conventional PATA (early or low capacity drives) or SATA type. As long as your computer contains the right type of power connector and data connector, you can plug it in and use it there, just like a regular hard drive (because when stripped of its My Book enclosure, it is an ordinary drive).
@HawkTear Depends on the model. I have a Studio Edition which feature 256-bit Encryption, which I actually don't need. Trouble is, even if you don;t set a password, it will encrypt the drive, which means if the case electronics fail, data recovery by putting it into another case or into a computer is impossible, unless you put it into another identical case with the same encryption chip. If they advertise encryption as a feature, the data will be encrypted whether you want it to or not.
That depends on whether the drive is still OK or not. You'll need to get the drive out of the enclosure it's in and try it somewhere else to see what chances there are. It *may* be OK, although bumping a running drive is asking for disaster.
The drive does not just slide out...well mine didn't. Be aware that some patience is needed because when you open one side, the other will snap back into place undoing your efforts.
Be sure to keep the fingers of one hand in both side to prevent the re-sealing of the drive and try to avoid the side snapping back and this could cause a possible head crash due to vibration.
Thanks for this video - I don't have problems with the drive over-heating, but the annoying LED was illuminating my room and stopping me from sleeping, so I was able to neatly tape the LED transfer thing over on the inside.
@VehementiNacon My usb connection broke, too. I took it apart, put it in a new enclosure (3.5" SATA enclosure from Radio Shack costs $45), and unfortunately my computer won't properly recognize it. Have you found a solution yet? I'm going to keep trying to make this work, because the alternative is spending up to $2000 for data recovery. I'll let you know if I can fix it via this route.
@WrongEraSara Yeah I ended up doing that too a few weeks ago. I tried using windows based data recoveries and mac just since we have macs at work. But nothing seems to get recovered on either. I just gave up and made new partitions on it.
@VehementiNacon Eeekkk! I think before I repartition it I'm going to take it out of the new enclosure, connect it to my friend's desktop's motherboard with a SATA cable (shouldn't cost more than $10), and then see if it shows up under my computer. Someone suggested I do that through yahoo answers. If that works then I'm going to give repartitioning a shot, if not... Well, I guess I'm fkd.
@coool3331 : You can use any external hard drive as an internal hard drive because they're designed to be so. Only the enclosures converts them to portable devices.
this is interesting i've just picked up a 2tb mybook... though the tutorial is kind of moot as it would be cheaper just to buy a hard drive and enclosure seperately...
@racingisfun nah, not moot at all. In my case, I've just switched from a workstation to a laptop. The workstation had two 1tb drives in it, and I also have a 1tb mybook kicking around. To make things nice and simple, I've bought a raid set-up that I can put these three hard drives into to keep it all in one place that is powered by one plug, and connects into my laptop via esata.
@AllegroDragonstorm ah though it depends on the scenario... in my case just bought a new laptop so i took the 500gb out of my old laptop for 1tb 2x500gb but i found the need for more space so i picked up a 2tb mybook as well...
Possibly. The problem is the ones where a mini (or perhaps "micro") USB connector is used. On those, the connector is surface soldered as opposed to going through a hole in the board to make contact. If you don't know how to surface solder a new connector on, you will make things worse or ruin the board.
Consider pulling the drive out in that case.
Places that could have connectors suitable for this would be Digi-Key, possibly eBay, or Mouser Electronics. Search for them.
@uxwbill I have this very same problem on my book 1tb; the usb connector took a small bump and the solder literally came loose. shitty job by WD i've already pulled the drive and am thinking about trying to re-solder it but have no skills or equipment, unfortunately i cant even access the drive because its sata and i dont have the equipment for that ;\
can you please explain to me how to make a wd my book essential 1TB external hdd work in a new enclosure, it wont even let my computer recgonize it now
so jw. that drive looks like the same hard drive in my computer. so if i got one of those could i just put it straight into my computer just like if u would put another hard drive in since it can hold 2 hard drives?
Yes, most of them are conventional serial ATA hard drives. Older ones sometimes use a parallel ATA drive. You may have to watch out for the newest ones, because I have heard that some of them have the USB port made into the drive!
plz help me, i have a wd mybook essentials 500gb external harddrive which use a power adapter and had usb.i was using the external harddrive 4 my softmodded wii and it fell 2 the floor yanking out the usb port connector from the external harddrive.i dont know how to tell which enclosure kit is compatible with my harddrive and if i will need 2 take stuff apart.i'll make a vid if u think u can help me better.plz pm me and i will
I'd flame, but it has no purpose, so I will just capitalize useful info:
SOME DRIVES HAVE HIDDEN SCREW in one corner, you have to tear off a bit of plastic first. If u don't you will just break the casing and mby dmg the HDD. Be careful. And i suggest you put that in annotation.
My old WD 500 gig's case had clips on top + at bottom, making it extremely hard to dismantle. Luckily, no screw held the case. Still, I damaged the whole thing but the warranty was already gone so didn't care. It turned out the drive was sound, works in my PC now.
Got a newer 1TB WD (with the stupid "KITT" led, no button), similarly gets hot as hell, one day it might get roasted as well. I won't buy WD drives again for sure.
Anyway, cheers for the vid. It did help me to get started.
My Western Digital Studio Edition just died on me the other day, lost all my data..again. A My Book died two years ago and I lost all my data as well. I now have nothing, Western Digital can go to hell.
Thanks! My WD ext drive would always loose the connection no mater which port (USB, Firewire, eSATA) I used. I purchased a no-name brand enclosure with great results. Thanks again!
That's an Other World Computing Mercury-On-The-Go enclosure, made by MacPower (now inXtron and formerly Firewire Depot). Versions supporting USB 2.0, FW800/400 and PATA/SATA drives are available.
I wish you did every tutorial on YouTube. To the point, not obnoxious, and damn helpful.
I'm thinking of doing this for my old WD My Book. Mine gets extremely hot too and will just freeze up during prolonged use (i.e., it'll just stop in the middle of a transfer). I'm wondering if it's getting overheated? I guess this is worth a try.
Thanks. I'd probably not be able to cover everything, though. :-)
It's possible that it is overheating, but usually when this happens something on the drive's logic board is getting ready to fail or the "bridge" IC in the enclosure that translates between USB/Firewire and the hard disk is going bad.
The latter case is better--a new enclosure would fix it. The former is a warning to get your data off the drive before it croaks.
thankx alot very helpful video actually i just bought one and had to open it to ensure that its a sata 2 drive even though it did not say anything like sata on the disk itself but iam running fsx on the internal hdd drive connected to my laptop through sata to usb connector it says sata on the 32ogb drive but this one say gp !
I don't know if it's my drive, but I had to take my My Book apart because the mini USB broke and fell back into casing. Made the mistake of letting my brother try to fix it but that didn't work. So I had bought an enclosure, took the casing apart and put the drive in there. But now I'm having trouble because when I turn the enclosure on, the drive doesn't always power on. And I don't know if it's the enclosure or the hard drive. Anyone else had a similar problem? Any advice?
Thank you!
frenor0302 2 days ago
My Book recently stopped working. Its under warranty so WD will replace, but I have about 300 GB of data that I need off the drive and can't access it. So I tried to open the case so I could connect it directly. I could get it out of the case fine, but mine doesn't look like any I've seen posted. It has a metal bracket holding the circuit board inside and has a little flat screw that will not come off. I can send a pic if interested, but without removing that screw, you can't get it off
sherri0629 4 weeks ago
I tried this with my 'my book' and it will not work 'read' when I plug the USB in...I tried it on many different machines too... it only works when I use the original 'my book' bridge circuit.... im confused... I tried other hard drives and they work in my new external case.... so im thinking there is something weird going on with the drive from my my book...
Me4SummerTime 1 month ago
@Me4SummerTime There is nothing special about the drives used in these full-size enclosures. (The 2.5" models appear to use a specialty drive with a USB port right on the logic board.)
If you have one of the newer drives models with SmartWare, that may impact operation when attached to anything other than the WD bridge board. If your other systems have VIA chipsets, you may need to set a jumper on the drive to force the 1.5 gigabit link speed.
uxwbill 1 month ago
I myself prefer WD Drives as i have Seagate drives and am using one in one of my computers its a 320GB model and one thing i noticed is Seagate drives not only have a HIGH failure rate ever with proper cooling but also run BURNING HOT Seagate Barracuda 7200 drives are so hot you can fry an egg on em you need a HDD fan with any Seagate Drive or it wont last i have even found that Seagate IDE HDDs have the same problem so i am no longer a promoter or fan of Seagate WD runs cooler and lasts longer
Matthew55904 1 month ago
i have found that is is much cheaper to get HDDs by buying an external and taking the HDD out of its case and then into your computer as the price of Internal HDDs have skyrocketed and External Drives are much cheaper
Matthew55904 1 month ago
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Achtung WESTERN DIGITAL !!! Bitte lesen. Die Firma ist mit Abstand der sruppellosesten Festplattenhersteller weltweit. Fingerweg von WD Platten, es ist festgestellt worden, dass einige Platten vom Werk her so eingetsellt wurden, dass die Leseköpfe ständig parken, und nach ca. 300 000 mal ist die Platte im Arsch. Ich bin ein geprellter Kunde und werde diese Warnung über all verbreiten in der Hoffnung, dass diese Betrüger Firma dadurch an Umsatz einbüßt. Skrupellos !!!!!
supermariojackson 1 month ago in playlist Western Digital
Don't know if it has been mentioned, but the PATA model has a screw on the outside of the enclosure. It's covered by a black sticker in the upper right corner of the right side of the enclosure.
gsgsgsgsgsgsgsgs 1 month ago
Wow, thanks for the video! I just got off the phone in a 46 minute 33 second conversation with the bozos at WD tech support about how to open the external drive case, and got nowhere. I should have gone searching online first, because then I would have discovered (thanks to your video) that it is such an annoying and frustrating task that is best avoided altogether. I will NEVER buy WD again!
KevinKillion1 1 month ago
i really enjoy your video, i will try with mine now :D
lookmisvideos 1 month ago
I saw them at Newegg but most of the ones on their site don;t have a fan. What model number in the Newstar do you mean? I did see the Rosewill RX-358 V2 BLK (Black) 3.5" SATA to USB & eSATA Ext. Enclosure w/Int.80mm fan for $29.00 that looked good with a fan....Bang for the Buck/ Let me know what you think Please Thanks again
1ncic 2 months ago
Where do you order or get the better inclosers? I am all for runnung the hd cooler but I don't know where to get the incloser. Thank you noncic1@yahoo.com
1ncic 2 months ago
@1ncic Almost anywhere computer parts are sold...eBay, Newegg, Tiger Direct, many other places. I have had good results with the Vantec NexStar 3 series of enclosures lately. I recommend the USB/eSATA/Firewire one the most, even if you don't want or use Firewire. It has an Oxford bridge chip and those work very well.
uxwbill 2 months ago
@uxwbill So I got an enclosure from this Geek dot come website or something like that for $20 it's by Element, a 3.5" hdd external enclosure.. and I was able to connect my hard drive to the cables and wires that came with it, but it had no assembly instructions in the manual ... there is one big yellow strap of ribbon or something that connects to the electrical/usb outlet part of the enclosure but fits nothing on my hd & power comes on but no computer recog of a device. I don't know ? to do?
EbonyFrank 2 weeks ago
Very helpful. I removed my wd6400h1u-00 640 GB drive to use in a Vantec eSATA dock. Now I have blazing transfer speed! USB 2.0 is going the way of the dodo bird.
Mr714Orange 2 months ago
1:11 to skip to the blah blah blah and into the steps
Reason4Termination 2 months ago
Dude, you saved my life :) It wasn't the same model as you show here but it was same procedure! Now I have an internal hard drive I can use for my sister's computer. Thanks!
infuscolumen 2 months ago
thanks alot
MattsKickz89 3 months ago
Thanks for your video. Was very helpful.
RussWalters007 3 months ago
Great video. You are quite a natural presenter.
mubd1234 4 months ago 5
im looking at opening the drive itself.mine doesnt spin but does power up
i cant do that recovery service for i dont have 2tb if space on pc
heard about how the disk will sometime become stuck and i want to try and fix it
Alxmir23 5 months ago
Although my "my book" was different on the inside, this video helped me get the cover open. Thank you.
dispute1215 5 months ago
hey man great video i have a i hope not a major problem but i have a drive like yours but just yesterday i went and trying to do a back up from my computer but anyways it was plugged in and it just stopped working so when i try to plug the power cable back into the drive it starts up but doesn't stay on which the power connector is kind of lose so im thinking its losing power to stay on, do you think i should just take it out or resolder? thanks
thatsjustme09 5 months ago
Thank you for the tutorial- my case is not sliding off. There seems to be a metal connector joining the case to the drive on one corner and I cannot figure out how to detach it without risking damage. Have you ever seen this or heard of this before?
MsSamanAnsari 6 months ago
you could turn the case into a fan
MyTechtime 7 months ago
Grrr!!!!!! Angry comment!!! Just kidding dude, mine wasn't exactly like yours, easier in fact. Thanks for the turtorial, very helpful and saved me from having to buy a an internal drive for my comp. Great video.
baj2235 8 months ago
You say it runs cooler and has a longer life, but what about quicker? Are the drives crap and slow or are they good drives bottlenecked by USB? I'd like to know before I open up mine and throw it in my Desktop as an internal.
Ruflcopta 8 months ago
@Ruflcopta If your computer can extract more data over a faster data bus, yes. At the time this video was made, the drives were nothing but regular Western Digital desktop hard drives. I'm told that some of the Passport and portable models are a special drive with a USB port directly on the drive's PCB.
uxwbill 8 months ago
@Ruflcopta If the drive is a Serial ATA (SATA) drive, then the short answer is yes. A SATA II (the last generation version) will even outperform a USB 3.0 when it comes to read/write speeds.
baj2235 8 months ago
Thanks for the video... trying to resurrect a WD My Book WD3200D032-000 from the dead. Hope this works...
inouyde 9 months ago
I thank you for making such a great howto on this. I will upgrading my data drive to something bigger.
metzen01 9 months ago
3:04, help please, that usb port inside it the small plastic piece is broken, what can i do to fix it? i tried carefully putting it back together but my laptop wont read it : (
amangonecrazy 9 months ago
@amangonecrazy Forget about fixing it. Pull the hard drive and connect it to a computer or put it in another storage enclosure.
uxwbill 9 months ago
Thanks for this! I had a customer with this drive and I was able to open the unit and determine that the actual HDD was the issue and rule out the enclosure. And I didn't damage the case, even though I usually gorilla-ize them without instructions. :)
jtcne 9 months ago
can you make an external a internal
SICILYTV2 10 months ago
@SICILYTV2 This question comes up a lot. Check the other comments in this video for your answer.
uxwbill 10 months ago
@SICILYTV2 Absolutely you can. Just take out the drive and connect it to your mother board by a sata cable and pull an sata power connector to the drive. Cautions! most hard drive manufacturer will decline warranty service if you disassemble or dismantle the encloure. The serial number shows they are one set not seperate. So be careful when you take the drive out of the enclosure.
hongjh88 3 months ago
any1 knows if the hard drive can be used as a normal eSata hard drive without case? i couldnt see if the hard drive power supply its normal sata
juniorbsd 10 months ago
@juniorbsd Early drives are conventional PATA types with regular power and data connectors. Later drives are SATA types and also have conventional power and data connectors.
Unless you can get a screaming deal on one of these, it's usually cheaper to just buy the internal drive.
uxwbill 10 months ago
I have a 2tb wd model and that hard drive looks more solidly made than that one the
new one are evenly more cheply made the one i have has no screws holding it together ecept two screws holding the sata to usb board on it they look like if you droped it it would break i took mine out of the case and use it that way
dos541 11 months ago
EXACTLY what i was looking for
thanks man
AXmichigan 11 months ago
What enclosure is that called? (Brand/Store I could possibly buy it from). It looks nice :D
samich15 11 months ago
Thanks man! Mines got zero screws to the case! it got like anti shock rubber boots and that's it. The rest of the screws were not tight at all. Did this because the power stop working (maybe the controller board?) Thanks again, I always fail at making a good pry open (I destroy the cases 90% of the time), and this video really helped.
bluetorch13 1 year ago
thanks! mine was powering on but was not recognized by my computer, so i needed a video to show me how to take it apart - im sticking in my machine to see if i can save the drive
thanks!!
idihcrac07 1 year ago
Will can you make a video on your Linksys network storege link
adamxp12 1 year ago
@adamxp12 Yes.
uxwbill 1 year ago
Mine looks just like the one in this video . Only mine is 230gb i think. I want to open mine and just put the drive into the computer... But i dont know if its worth the trouble. But sometimes it takes my computer up to 1 hour to finaly recognize the HDD. Or it takes about that long for the stupid thing to boot up. Like i can hear the HDD working all of a sudden then the comp finds it. Would it be worth taking out and making it internal..?
disket00 1 year ago
Western Digital and Seagate Hard Drives have the highest failure rate statistically in my experience and that of the Data recovery guy I sent mine to. Get a Hitachi or Toshiba drive or even a Samsung.
TheMrbum 1 year ago
@TheMrbum i found a drive by toshiba samsung storage company in a toshiba laptop and my worst seagate lasted 1 month and sadly seagate bought maxtor which was one of my favorite brands
TheCatMilton 1 year ago
@TheCatMilton Yeah Maxtor used to be one of my favs as well until Seagate got a hold of em, now they are garbage. I hate Seagate.
TheMrbum 1 year ago
@TheMrbum That's weird. I have been using WD with all my computers and have never had any problems. Atm I'm using 5 WD hard drives in two computers ranging from 250Gb to 1 Tb, from which 2 are external 1TB hard drives (My Books).
One of the externals even accidently droppend from 1.5 metres to stone floor and is still working no problem at all. :O
Is it just pure luck that I haven't had problems with WD or are you completely wrong?
zykkeli 1 year ago
@zykkeli Hey man, don't go all nasty on me with that "or are you completely wrong" stuff, I'm only quoting Statistics, and the thing that you should note with stats is that the brands most commonly failing also have the highest market share. I never said the stats were perfect. My personal Experience with Seagate has been aweful, I've had many failures, I have not had that many Western Digital drives but the guy I took my dead one to said Head Failure is common with them. That's All I"m saying
TheMrbum 1 year ago
@TheMrbum There's no need for anyone to get nasty. Maxtor hard drives generally do have a bad rep. I'm not saying they don't last and work well for some. I'm aware of some that have run for years and done just fine. I also have a few that have lasted very well. They're not my cup of tea and I usually do replace them on past experience.
Although all the major drive makers have had "dark times", I don't find any one maker to be worse than any other in general.
uxwbill 1 year ago
@uxwbill Sir, I no offense to any one. My information came from a Data recovery technician because i asked him his opinion and he gave it based on his experience. For what it's worth despite me quoting such negative stats, I have a 500 Gb external drive (western Digital), My Girlfriend's Computer is using a Western Digital, my computer has 2 Seagate drive running RAID 1 so as to serve as a backup in case of an other Hardware failure. Your videos are interesting and enjoyable :)
TheMrbum 1 year ago
@TheMrbum Sorry, I wasn't intending to imply that you were being offensive. Just trying to stave off any potential fighting. I want everyone to feel welcome here. I'm glad that you find my videos interesting. Do feel free to post comments, write private messages or even make a video request, and a sincere thank you for watching!
uxwbill 1 year ago
@uxwbill There was no need to apologize sir, I gathered that you were only trying to keep the peace and I respect that, your video comments should not be a fighting ground. All is well here and I have no hard feelings regarding the earlier comments :)
TheMrbum 1 year ago
@TheMrbum Oh sry, that wasn't supposed to be too offensive. But whatever.
I was just trying to tell about my experiences with WD hard drives.
zykkeli 1 year ago
@zykkeli hey man it's no prob any how. Truth is as I said, More Western Digital and Seagate dries are sold than any other type. I'm using a 500 Gig WD external and 1 Tb Seagate. The guy in the data recovery place said to me that Head Failure is very common in Western Digitals (this could mean that is what usually goes wrong when there is fault). He recovers more of those brands then others but more people use them, that is pretty much how the stats are worked out. No damage done mate, : )
TheMrbum 1 year ago
WD where the shit back in the day
Crazybenjiwoo 1 year ago
You could also use the My Book hard drive internally in a computer
MixerVM 1 year ago
man thank you so much my usb port just fucking broke on mine and i thought i was screwed
thuggofdablock 1 year ago
@thuggofdablock I had a power supply fault occur with my WD, My brother fixed that up though. Drive works fine so far.
TheMrbum 1 year ago
Thanks. My WD is turning off and on. I could probably fix the switch, but I'm just going to place it in another enclosure I already have.
Sentinel3D 1 year ago
i thought mine was broken so i opened it and the HDD was working when internally plugged into a com. Is there a way to fix the certain thing to USB i don't wanna buy another enclosure
DBZisthebestanimever 1 year ago
@DBZisthebestanimever Sounds like the bridge chip died, although sometimes the power supplies can fail. Try another one, making sure it has the exact same specs as the original. There is also a step-down power supply on the board to provide five volts DC (since the power input from the furnished supply is a single twelve volt source). This might be bad.
The simplest and safest solution is another enclosure, or just to run the drive inside your computer.
uxwbill 1 year ago
@uxwbill is it safe to run a hard disk drive without an enclosure?
DBZisthebestanimever 1 year ago
@DBZisthebestanimever haha! why not ?
mqmqmwmw 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
I have a WD Worldbook 1TB network drive. Its very similar to the Mybook but it is connected to my router through a LAN cable. I got sick of the slow up and download speed so I took it apart like you said in the video and put it in a external SATA enclosure with a fan on it. I connected everything up but when I plug it in, it recognizes that its a WD drive but does not show up in "my computer". How can i get the computer to recognize this drive as just a USB external? some sort of proprietary sw
hirosfca 1 year ago
I have a WD Worldbook 1TB network drive. Its very similar to the Mybook but it is connected to my router through a LAN cable. I got sick of the slow up and download speed so I took it apart like you said in the video and put it in a external SATA enclosure with a fan on it. I connected everything up but when I plug it in, it recognizes that its a WD drive but does not show up in "my computer". How can i get the computer to recognize this drive as just a USB external? some sort of proprietary sw?
hirosfca 1 year ago
By any chance would anyone no what type of HDD is in my WD 500GB my book essential spec. wise. Basically all I need to know is three thing's; it's HDD Form Factor, Rotation Speed, and Serial. (I need to no if I can use it in my PS3)
Renma2010 1 year ago
@Renma2010 It's probably a Caviar "Blue" SATA drive. Form factor will be 3.5 inches. Rotational speed is 7,200 RPM. The serial number is unique to every drive. You may also need to know the firmware revisions. As it may also change, the only way to be sure is to take a look at your drive.
uxwbill 1 year ago
@uxwbill Thanks for the info.
Renma2010 1 year ago
@Renma2010 it wont fit only 2,5inch(9,5mm high) drives. 1tb 2,5 inch drives wont fit. only 750gb 2,5 inch or less
hippievogelei 1 year ago
Came here to find out if the drive had a proprietary connector inside, thanks for making this video.
ohnoitschris 1 year ago
@ohnoitschris Most of the My Book drives are standard types. However, I'm told the portable 2.5" ones have a drive with a USB connector right on the main circuit board. Western Digital could change this at any time, and this is an older drive (one of the first generation units IIRC), so I can't speak for newer units. I'm not buying any more since the plague of SmartWare made the scene.
uxwbill 1 year ago
I've had the basic My Book, usb connector only, 1Tb model. I know it's old, since it only has two blue leds that go up and down in a line(not a circle). Also, it has a nice glossy finish. I've had it for 3-4 years easily, have used it up and down, defragmented weekly, used to full capacity, and several times filled it up and emptied it out. I've moved it around and banged-it accidentally several times.
I've never had a problem with it. Would buy it again anytime (And I paid 300+$ for it).
TheGreatAndyChow 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
To all the people who are saying things don't show up under 'my computer', that's because windows is retarded. You'll have to look under your hardware manager as chances are you need some BS driver. If that doesn't work, throw ubuntu on a CD, boot into that and see if the drive is recognized. If not, it's either disabled in the BIOS or it's FUBAR.
5688dude 1 year ago
Comment removed
5688dude 1 year ago
Thanks for the video! helped me out. Mine is similar but a ton of plastic tabs! Definitely have to be careful if your swapping out the casing for another HD.
steviekeyz 1 year ago
Man thanks for the video my drive just died on me wouldn't start or anything..the light wouldn't light up..pulled it apart.... the plastic light sensor was separated, and just connected it open and it worked..now gotta get a new housing..thanks.
CrassMufumbu 1 year ago
I had a 1TB MyBook Essential, and within 6 months the usb jack snapped off inside the unit. Prior to that accident the unit would randomly disconnect from my computer due to faulty casing interfering with the usb connection. However, when I took mine apart and put it into a new case (3.5" SATA Gigaware enclosure) my computer wouldn't recognize it. It doesn't show up in "my computer" but there is still the option to safe disconnect.
What am I doing wrong? HELP PLEASE!
WrongEraSara 1 year ago 16
@WrongEraSara had exactly the same problem, because of the firmware on the drive it comes up as a cd drive at first, i dont think there is a way to remove the wd firmware if you have found a way around this problem messege me
DjMikeE2010 1 year ago
@WrongEraSara proper drivers should be installed for each external enclosure you hook up to your computer go to device manager and click on update driver for usb harddrive device
3949zxcvbnm 1 year ago
@WrongEraSara did you removed the jumper on the drive?
joewe1980 5 months ago
Comment removed
WrongEraSara 1 year ago
VERY HELPFUL! I got one with USB2, FIrewire, and eSATA, but the USB stopped working and eventually the eSATA. After I liberated the drive from the case as shown above, all the jacks on the adapter worked just fine! I'm still going to get a new enclosure with a fan. I couldn't handle it, it was so freaking HOT!! Just not right this second.
Thanks lots!
jordinyc 1 year ago
lol, mine stopped working after having it for about 2 years. The blue light in front stopped flashing and is no longer accessible by network, but the HDD seems to still be spinning when connected in the Power.
I think i will try my luck and put in another inclosure, i still hope my data is intact.
By the way anyone got any tips in which enclosure is best to use with the White version of these?
ustwats 1 year ago
Thanks for this. I have two of these that--while rooted for rsync--are still WAY too slow for practical storage. In order to retain the money spent, I'm happy to run into your disassembly.
As an aside for people deriding "this or that" manufacturer...they've ALL had problems. C'est la vie! Backups, SMART, RAID, heat management, spares...our responsibility in using high-precision *moving* hardware. If someone prefers one--that's great--but they're still not responsible for making the bed.
InfotechCapital 1 year ago
well, i just broke the shit outta my case and couldn't even get the outer casing off.
faker111111 1 year ago
Never seen one get more than just a little warm. It's just common sense to not put this or any other similar device on another device that also produces heat. So, don't blame any problems with one of these getting hot just because you put it on something that gets even hotter and transfers the heat to this device.
tmxd81 1 year ago
whats the spec for this unit and what model is the internal drive??
junwong23 1 year ago
Was thinkin of puttin mine in a desktop pc...how ez would that be...
cmenting 1 year ago
@cmenting It's pretty easy, as long as your computer has connectors for the type of disk that you find inside. Early models and those of smaller capacity are PATA drives, newer and larger ones are SATA.
uxwbill 1 year ago
thx for the vid! the drive used to run super hot so i stopped using it. now its in another enclosure its perfect!!!
111hamzor 1 year ago
im having a problem with my external hard...i checked the sata to usb adapter and it worked great with a hard drive from a gateway computer that i have had for about an year now, but when i connected the adapter to the external hard-drive it wont work.. whats wrong with me external...and the adapter belongs to the external.
The0Truths 1 year ago
@The0Truths I don't know. Your question doesn't really make it clear what you are trying to do.
uxwbill 1 year ago
@uxwbill lol
tss212 1 year ago
Strange my ipod shuffle 2nd gen would get very hot when ever i charged it on top of my router ???
1800Supreme 1 year ago
ive tried everything to fix my 1tb western digital drive, ive tried diff chords and power supply, plugged it in my computer(which made my computer not boot up most the time and when it did it didnt recognize it) just froze it and that just made it click once when starting it. it powers up doesnt sound like its spinning, and doesnt show as a drive on my computer anymore i dunno what to do!
hippa2dahoppa2 1 year ago
@hippa2dahoppa2 It's probably dead, which leaves you at a crossroads. You can just forget it, try something like a board swap from an identical revision drive or hire a professional data recovery service. That last option actually does work a lot of the time, but it's not cheap. Option 2 is risky but might get the drive going long enough to read most everything from it. (If it does, have another drive handy, because you may get ONE chance.)
Think backup--see my FreeNAS video for one idea.
uxwbill 1 year ago
hey thanks for the reply, so far nothings worked, its still under warranty so if nothing else i can get another one and they gave me a link to some data recovery sites. it seems to be not spinning fast enough so im pretty sure it can be recovered. from what i hear though every1 says its about 1500$. i already got a new toshiba 1tb drive for backup and then another 600gb hd to backup my backup. then if they replace this ill have a backup for my backups backup lol which seems like what we gotta do
hippa2dahoppa2 1 year ago
@hippa2dahoppa2 Yeah, unfortunately that is probably about right for data recovery. It can more or less depending upon what is actually wrong. Be sure that whoever you chose to do the recovery--if you take that option--is a reputable company. There are a number of good ones out there.
uxwbill 1 year ago
thanks for the help, these things are hard to figure out without external screws. I just needed to use the SATA interface with another drive temporarily, so needed to do some monkeying around...
This vid was just what I was looking for, quick and painless.
thelees1000 1 year ago
where you able to salvage your data or just reformat drive and use. my wd drive isn't recognized by my PC - wanted to try your method
gmaztec 1 year ago
@gmaztec The drive should not require reformatting. All my data was waiting for me--the enclosure has little intelligence of its own and just bridges the difference in communications protocol between USB and SATA or PATA.
uxwbill 1 year ago
There are indeed fans in the newer MyBook enclosures
djphunknasty 1 year ago
@djphunknasty Nice of them to FINALLY put one in. Of course, it's probably timed to start running like a lawn mower just past the warranty.
uxwbill 1 year ago
This was exactly what I needed. My WD "My book" don't want to work with me any more, so I got the tip to watch your video how to take it apart. Do you know if WD works if I just plug it in the computer? Like a normal harddrive? Thanks for the video =)
HawkTear 1 year ago
@HawkTear The drive in the enclosure will be a conventional PATA (early or low capacity drives) or SATA type. As long as your computer contains the right type of power connector and data connector, you can plug it in and use it there, just like a regular hard drive (because when stripped of its My Book enclosure, it is an ordinary drive).
uxwbill 1 year ago
@HawkTear Depends on the model. I have a Studio Edition which feature 256-bit Encryption, which I actually don't need. Trouble is, even if you don;t set a password, it will encrypt the drive, which means if the case electronics fail, data recovery by putting it into another case or into a computer is impossible, unless you put it into another identical case with the same encryption chip. If they advertise encryption as a feature, the data will be encrypted whether you want it to or not.
msandersen 1 year ago
i kindof bumped into my harddisk its a WD 320gb. now the light is on but it makes no sounds and it doesnt connect to a pc.
obviously its FkD, but can i still salvage the data??
should i try and open and fix or maybe repair it in a store? any answer from a smarter person is welcome !
GonzaloMobaid 1 year ago
That depends on whether the drive is still OK or not. You'll need to get the drive out of the enclosure it's in and try it somewhere else to see what chances there are. It *may* be OK, although bumping a running drive is asking for disaster.
uxwbill 1 year ago
I love how commenters tend to start talk like the person doing the video lol :D The last comemnt seems to be a good example
Pizzscn 1 year ago
The drive does not just slide out...well mine didn't. Be aware that some patience is needed because when you open one side, the other will snap back into place undoing your efforts.
Be sure to keep the fingers of one hand in both side to prevent the re-sealing of the drive and try to avoid the side snapping back and this could cause a possible head crash due to vibration.
miltownlover 1 year ago
Thanks for this video - I don't have problems with the drive over-heating, but the annoying LED was illuminating my room and stopping me from sleeping, so I was able to neatly tape the LED transfer thing over on the inside.
ssteeeeeeve 1 year ago
Well at least my version was similar to yours enough to take apart and see what exactly broke and how.
The usb connection is completely shot any idea on the cheapest fix viable for a college student? =/
VehementiNacon 1 year ago 5
@VehementiNacon My usb connection broke, too. I took it apart, put it in a new enclosure (3.5" SATA enclosure from Radio Shack costs $45), and unfortunately my computer won't properly recognize it. Have you found a solution yet? I'm going to keep trying to make this work, because the alternative is spending up to $2000 for data recovery. I'll let you know if I can fix it via this route.
WrongEraSara 1 year ago
@WrongEraSara Yeah I ended up doing that too a few weeks ago. I tried using windows based data recoveries and mac just since we have macs at work. But nothing seems to get recovered on either. I just gave up and made new partitions on it.
VehementiNacon 1 year ago
@VehementiNacon Eeekkk! I think before I repartition it I'm going to take it out of the new enclosure, connect it to my friend's desktop's motherboard with a SATA cable (shouldn't cost more than $10), and then see if it shows up under my computer. Someone suggested I do that through yahoo answers. If that works then I'm going to give repartitioning a shot, if not... Well, I guess I'm fkd.
WrongEraSara 1 year ago
@VehementiNacon you could definitely find one on ebay for a cheap price if your looking for the sata to usb connection.
steviekeyz 1 year ago
3:17
could i use that as an internal hard drive?
coool3331 1 year ago
@coool3331 : You can use any external hard drive as an internal hard drive because they're designed to be so. Only the enclosures converts them to portable devices.
Bandicoot803 1 year ago
this is interesting i've just picked up a 2tb mybook... though the tutorial is kind of moot as it would be cheaper just to buy a hard drive and enclosure seperately...
racingisfun 1 year ago
@racingisfun nah, not moot at all. In my case, I've just switched from a workstation to a laptop. The workstation had two 1tb drives in it, and I also have a 1tb mybook kicking around. To make things nice and simple, I've bought a raid set-up that I can put these three hard drives into to keep it all in one place that is powered by one plug, and connects into my laptop via esata.
AllegroDragonstorm 1 year ago
@AllegroDragonstorm ah though it depends on the scenario... in my case just bought a new laptop so i took the 500gb out of my old laptop for 1tb 2x500gb but i found the need for more space so i picked up a 2tb mybook as well...
racingisfun 1 year ago
The USB port is broken; still works but the slightest of movement shuts the machine off.
Can ONLY the USB port be replaced? Can someone please help me with ideas in how to buy one? Thanks.
lifeflower1111 1 year ago
Possibly. The problem is the ones where a mini (or perhaps "micro") USB connector is used. On those, the connector is surface soldered as opposed to going through a hole in the board to make contact. If you don't know how to surface solder a new connector on, you will make things worse or ruin the board.
Consider pulling the drive out in that case.
Places that could have connectors suitable for this would be Digi-Key, possibly eBay, or Mouser Electronics. Search for them.
uxwbill 1 year ago
@uxwbill I have this very same problem on my book 1tb; the usb connector took a small bump and the solder literally came loose. shitty job by WD i've already pulled the drive and am thinking about trying to re-solder it but have no skills or equipment, unfortunately i cant even access the drive because its sata and i dont have the equipment for that ;\
utubeaccount00 1 year ago
PCI cards that will plug into any halfway modern computer and give you one, two or maybe even four SATA connections are very cheap on eBay...
uxwbill 1 year ago
Fanbloodytastic - thanks mate - worked like a charm for me and saved lots of data!
FernAceBaby 1 year ago
you get a free conrter
irulethe70s 1 year ago
This is interesting because I have a 1TB USB My Book drive. It doesn't get hot at all.
watts300 1 year ago
can you please explain to me how to make a wd my book essential 1TB external hdd work in a new enclosure, it wont even let my computer recgonize it now
drmitch07 1 year ago
750 gig and now it wont start up and when it does i cant open any files The tool i need is a hammer so i can smash it I have the 1gig works fine
freefall4444 1 year ago
thats alot of gig. lol.
so jw. that drive looks like the same hard drive in my computer. so if i got one of those could i just put it straight into my computer just like if u would put another hard drive in since it can hold 2 hard drives?
eminem147792 1 year ago
Yes, most of them are conventional serial ATA hard drives. Older ones sometimes use a parallel ATA drive. You may have to watch out for the newest ones, because I have heard that some of them have the USB port made into the drive!
uxwbill 1 year ago
Yes, thank you for being articulate. :)
arachnodenet 1 year ago
plz help me, i have a wd mybook essentials 500gb external harddrive which use a power adapter and had usb.i was using the external harddrive 4 my softmodded wii and it fell 2 the floor yanking out the usb port connector from the external harddrive.i dont know how to tell which enclosure kit is compatible with my harddrive and if i will need 2 take stuff apart.i'll make a vid if u think u can help me better.plz pm me and i will
YouKnowItzTTime81 1 year ago
thanks for the video. this was extremely useful. i was gonna chuck mybook out.
cadnyc 1 year ago
We don't need the background, just take it apart already.
majtomwilson 1 year ago
Thanks, now i can used this as secondary internal hard drive. I always new it was just a normal enclosure with a sata drive inside.
ZeakStarwind 1 year ago
or save the enclosure
irulethe70smachelp 1 year ago
I'd flame, but it has no purpose, so I will just capitalize useful info:
SOME DRIVES HAVE HIDDEN SCREW in one corner, you have to tear off a bit of plastic first. If u don't you will just break the casing and mby dmg the HDD. Be careful. And i suggest you put that in annotation.
ProtkeAKAVoid 1 year ago
now you know why i buy int drives and buy my own cases:)
cheaper than the store made portable drive
itscool1968 1 year ago
Very good, simple and straight FW !! well done !! Thank you !
dmatmor 1 year ago
My old WD 500 gig's case had clips on top + at bottom, making it extremely hard to dismantle. Luckily, no screw held the case. Still, I damaged the whole thing but the warranty was already gone so didn't care. It turned out the drive was sound, works in my PC now.
Got a newer 1TB WD (with the stupid "KITT" led, no button), similarly gets hot as hell, one day it might get roasted as well. I won't buy WD drives again for sure.
Anyway, cheers for the vid. It did help me to get started.
magyarbondi 1 year ago
My Micro usb port in the back of the MyBook wore out from constand pluggins and unpluggind.
tlawlessrr 1 year ago
@tlawlessrr "I think I have the same problem, might have ago at removing it from the case and installing it in my desktop computer."
Rangief 1 year ago
My Western Digital Studio Edition just died on me the other day, lost all my data..again. A My Book died two years ago and I lost all my data as well. I now have nothing, Western Digital can go to hell.
Juggla17 1 year ago
This could be one of the best tutorials i've ever seen on youtube. great job
InvoicingTomb 1 year ago
Thanks! My WD ext drive would always loose the connection no mater which port (USB, Firewire, eSATA) I used. I purchased a no-name brand enclosure with great results. Thanks again!
blksnake 1 year ago
thank you very much,
Reenstroemen 1 year ago
What brand and model is that cool transparent HD case you can see in the background during the video? O_O I want one of these!
gaspaenr 2 years ago
That's an Other World Computing Mercury-On-The-Go enclosure, made by MacPower (now inXtron and formerly Firewire Depot). Versions supporting USB 2.0, FW800/400 and PATA/SATA drives are available.
eshop macsales com
uxwbill 2 years ago
You could use that case as somewhere to stash some emergency cash.
Never know when you could do with some cash...
HBeagley 2 years ago
Buy things and get into trouble most likely. :-)
uxwbill 2 years ago
I wish you did every tutorial on YouTube. To the point, not obnoxious, and damn helpful.
I'm thinking of doing this for my old WD My Book. Mine gets extremely hot too and will just freeze up during prolonged use (i.e., it'll just stop in the middle of a transfer). I'm wondering if it's getting overheated? I guess this is worth a try.
poshko41 2 years ago
Thanks. I'd probably not be able to cover everything, though. :-)
It's possible that it is overheating, but usually when this happens something on the drive's logic board is getting ready to fail or the "bridge" IC in the enclosure that translates between USB/Firewire and the hard disk is going bad.
The latter case is better--a new enclosure would fix it. The former is a warning to get your data off the drive before it croaks.
uxwbill 2 years ago
Thanks for this! I've tried and it works like a charm. But I need to learn how to do the same with the newer WD My Book drives. Anyone Anyone?
bhaviksonirules 2 years ago
Is Serial ATA what laptops use?
Pizzscn 2 years ago
Laptops and desktops both. What's more, they use the same connector as well.
uxwbill 2 years ago
@Pizzscn Sata is what laptops and desktops use now, 5 or so years ago IDE was the standard connector for hard drives.
entrailsgalore 1 year ago
I'll take the enclosure if you don't want it anymore :P
ironmagma 2 years ago
thankx alot very helpful video actually i just bought one and had to open it to ensure that its a sata 2 drive even though it did not say anything like sata on the disk itself but iam running fsx on the internal hdd drive connected to my laptop through sata to usb connector it says sata on the 32ogb drive but this one say gp !
Nachalnika 2 years ago
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Escorpio40 2 years ago
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Escorpio40 2 years ago
I don't know if it's my drive, but I had to take my My Book apart because the mini USB broke and fell back into casing. Made the mistake of letting my brother try to fix it but that didn't work. So I had bought an enclosure, took the casing apart and put the drive in there. But now I'm having trouble because when I turn the enclosure on, the drive doesn't always power on. And I don't know if it's the enclosure or the hard drive. Anyone else had a similar problem? Any advice?
Bookworm51485 2 years ago
Very helpful, thanks.
cag1979 2 years ago