If a user finds their external hard drive in a state where it does nothing, they logically first check the data cable, and for larger (3.5”) drives, the power adapter as well. Both options were ruled out by the user or by us. The next step involves examining the drive’s electronics (PCB). The issue might be in the power section of the PCB. This fault can sometimes even cause the computer to crash if the user attempts to connect the drive directly via a SATA interface to their computer.
Simply replacing the PCB with an identical one won’t work. Hard drives generally have unique ROM (service data stored directly in the drive’s electronics). Western Digital drives, both older and more modern, often feature SED (Self Encrypted Drive) functionality, which means the data is permanently hardware-encrypted, so simply swapping the PCB won’t work for this reason either. For modern drives of this brand, additional obstacles might arise, though they were not relevant for this data recovery case, as this drive was manufactured in 2007. Nevertheless, another issue emerged on the path to accessing the user data.
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After resolving the electronics issue, we could attempt data recovery. The drive initially appeared to initialize normally, but reading failed. This can be due to data platter errors or a failing magnetic head (or multiple heads). Older WD hard drives are relatively accommodating in this regard during data recovery, and if there isn’t a strictly mechanical problem, it’s possible to modify service data to exclude one or more heads from reading. This allows a binary copy of only the accessible content to be made, the head issue to be resolved, and then the binary copy to be completed. This is the method we used for this drive, which had been waiting in a drawer for years for its final data journey.
Ext. drive: Western Digital USB drive
Int. drive: WD3200AAKS-00SBA0
Capacity: 320 GB
Issue: Damaged drive electronics (PCB), head read errors
Solution: PCB modification, service data modification, work on read heads
Result: 100% data recovery success
Data was recovered with 100% success. In cases like these, it’s essential not to test the drive at all costs and on all levels. YouTube tutorials do not guarantee successful data recovery. The user of this drive did nothing that could risk the drive or data and entrusted data recovery to experts. It cost some money, but they got all their valuable data back.
If your hard drive has also stopped working, don’t hesitate to contact us for a free consultation and diagnostic of your data medium.
