Broken WD My Book external hard drive control board. Options?

[Pinecallado]

*Wasn't sure if this should go in the hard drive section or motherboard section*

So a few days ago the micro usb socket from the WD My book external enclosure case randomly fell off. I opened up the enclosure and pulled the internal hard drive out so I could connect the HDD to straight to my computer and hopefully recover my data. But sadly when i connected it to my computer I found that the whole drive said it had "unallocated" data and needed to be formatted to be used.

After further research I discovered that Western Digital has hardware encryption on a lot of their external hard drives. This means that the HDD always needs to be connected to the control board that it came with or another similar control board to decrypt and access the Data on the HDD.

So I ordered a new micro usb socket part to try to recover my data since I accidentally threw the one that fell off in the trash. But I can't figure out a easy way to keep it on the CB. I have no soldering skills at all and tape didn't work. I'm now thinking about using a hot glue gun to glue the socket on but I'm not sure that will work. I just need a solution that will last for at least two days.

I'm also thinking about buying a new board on ebay. But this might not be compatible. My board model is 4060-705059-001 Rev. AF

I'm looking at this

this

and this

All I know is that I'm not buying a WD external hard drive ever again. Maybe not even a internal hard drive after having to go through all of this because of their stupid hardware encryption.

 

[Coup27]

Why do you have to keep the new socket on the circuit board? Can you not solder 4 cables on and leave the USB connector floating? It's only temporary but it might be easier.

 

[Pinecallado]

Why do you have to keep the new socket on the circuit board? Can you not solder 4 cables on and leave the USB connector floating? It's only temporary but it might be easier.

I don't know how to solder

 

[Coup27]

You're probably better off finding somebody who does. I can't see them charging much to to do that little job and if you don't know how to it might even be cheaper than you purchasing an iron and some solder yourself.

Edit: If you get it professionally soldered back on you may even get some more life out of the unit instead of scrapping it.

 

[Pinecallado]

You're probably better off finding somebody who does. I can't see them charging much to to do that little job and if you don't know how to it might even be cheaper than you purchasing an iron and some solder yourself.

Edit: If you get it professionally soldered back on you may even get some more life out of the unit instead of scrapping it.

I don't know any places where I can get this soldered. But I guess it might be cheaper to get a soldered than buying a new board. Does anyone who lives in NJ know any decent places that solders electronics? Preferably in North jersey.

 

[Coup27]

I doubt you'll get much success asking for recommendations here, it's an international forum. Try TV repair men, should be easy to find and all will be comfortable soldering PCB's. I've had all sorts repaired by TV repair men.

 

[Elixer]

Where in that pic is the issue at hand ? You should have circled the area...

As for the HD itself, unless you turned on encryption, then, it wouldn't be on.

 

[Pinecallado]

I doubt you'll get much success asking for recommendations here, it's an international forum. Try TV repair men, should be easy to find and all will be comfortable soldering PCB's. I've had all sorts repaired by TV repair men.

I guess I will have to try to find a local tv repairman. Hope there is some in my area and they don't charge extravagant prices. This is a job that probably won't take more than 30 mins for a professional.

Where in that pic is the issue at hand ? You should have circled the area...

As for the HD itself, unless you turned on encryption, then, it wouldn't be on.

I told you in my post the Micro usb socket fell off. The micro usb socket is the tiny metal thing that is off the motherboard, right next the socket that it's supposed to me on.

And the HDD automatically has encryption on it. Western Digital released several external hard drive models that are "hardware encrypted". This means unless you have the control board it came with(which is in the picture) or another control board of the same model your data won't show up on your pc.
The HDD has an encryption key pre installed on it and the control board decrypts the key so you can view your data on your computer when the control board is plugged in your computer with the HDD plugged in the control board.

If you don't use the control board and plug the HDD straight to your computer using a sata cable or another usb hard drive enclosure, your hard drive just shows up on your computer as one big partition that says unallocated space. You can't even recover any data using recovery programs because it's all encrypted.

It's stupid and I'm angry at western digital for making this crappy design decision. I don't know what was the point of automatically encrypting the HDD. Now I have to spend all this money just to rescue my data.

 

[VirtualLarry]

As for the HD itself, unless you turned on encryption, then, it wouldn't be on.

That may not be true. I've read about various external HDDs that automatically encrypt all data that hits the platters.

 

[phis6]

That may not be true. I've read about various external HDDs that automatically encrypt all data that hits the platters.

Yes, WD MyBook does this.

OP: You could probably ask those mobile phone repair or electronic repair shops around your area to solder the USB interface to the board for you.

 

[KingFatty]

Would it still work if you get a replacement MyBook, and then try to swap out the new drive with your old hard drive?

I think morally you can decide whether you think you broke this, or if it's a defective soldering drive that failed as a defective product?

 

[abbcccus]

Here's an idea that might work for your purposes . . . but then again it may not work at all.

From your pictures I can't tell how the electrical connection is made between the mini usb port and the board, so I looked at a board I have sitting here on my desk which didn't help much. As near as I can tell, though, the four connections at the back of the square where the connector used to be soldered are supposed to attach to the back of the connector that broke off. Sooooo, I'd install a known working usb cable into the connector, line up the connector with its proper spot on the board, and use a small clamp to hold the connector in its proper place on the board. All you need for it to do is to make and hold the electrical connection long enough for you to get the data off the drive. I'd start off with REALLY light clamping pressure (with the clamp padded on both sides) and slowly build it up, but only to a VERY moderate level. If you can't get the contacts to line up well enough to pull this off then getting someone to solder it may be the only way to go, but I'd be willing to bet that aligning the pieces and establishing an electrical connection is easy enough that you could probably pull it off without too much work. Obviously you want everything set up so that no pressure can or will be applied to the micro usb slot once it's all set up. I'm also pretty sure (though not absolutely) that trying this and failing would not make matters in any worse than they are now, but I could be wrong . . .

Oh wait, you threw away the original connector? Oh boy. Well, you can try and use the new port in the same way I just suggested, I suppose. Your drive isn't powered through the port, which simplifies things a bit, but I'm not sure how the new port was designed to interface with the board to which it attaches. If those four pins at the back of the square don't make contact with the four corresponding connectors on your usb port what I'm suggesting isn't gong to work.

Best of luck!

 

[Pinecallado]

Here's an idea that might work for your purposes . . . but then again it may not work at all.

From your pictures I can't tell how the electrical connection is made between the mini usb port and the board, so I looked at a board I have sitting here on my desk which didn't help much. As near as I can tell, though, the four connections at the back of the square where the connector used to be soldered are supposed to attach to the back of the connector that broke off. Sooooo, I'd install a known working usb cable into the connector, line up the connector with its proper spot on the board, and use a small clamp to hold the connector in its proper place on the board. All you need for it to do is to make and hold the electrical connection long enough for you to get the data off the drive. I'd start off with REALLY light clamping pressure (with the clamp padded on both sides) and slowly build it up, but only to a VERY moderate level. If you can't get the contacts to line up well enough to pull this off then getting someone to solder it may be the only way to go, but I'd be willing to bet that aligning the pieces and establishing an electrical connection is easy enough that you could probably pull it off without too much work. Obviously you want everything set up so that no pressure can or will be applied to the micro usb slot once it's all set up. I'm also pretty sure (though not absolutely) that trying this and failing would not make matters in any worse than they are now, but I could be wrong . . .

Oh wait, you threw away the original connector? Oh boy. Well, you can try and use the new port in the same way I just suggested, I suppose. Your drive isn't powered through the port, which simplifies things a bit, but I'm not sure how the new port was designed to interface with the board to which it attaches. If those four pins at the back of the square don't make contact with the four corresponding connectors on your usb port what I'm suggesting isn't gong to work.

Best of luck!

Sorry for taking so long to make a response! Thank you for making such a detailed description on how to use a clamp to connect the mini usb port to the socket using a clamp. Use was right about the socket for the mini usb port being in back of it in the picture.

I guess this is clearer

What kind of clamp do you suggest I use to temporary hold the usb port to the socket? Maybe this will work?

 

[Muse]

These drives (see Amazon reviews) are notorious for the female USB plug failing, evidently that's what happened in your case. If you have one of these, I figure the thing to do to prevent this problem from happening in the first place is to keep a cable attached to the drive and never disconnect it, even tape it to the case as insurance you won't disconnect it and maybe that would give some stability to the connection and help prevent a problem.

Soldering isn't a very difficult skill. You need soldering equipment, as little as some solder (solder for electronics assembly) and a solder iron (for electronics, a 25 watt pencil iron is adequate if allowed to heat for a few minutes) you can buy at any electronics place. Youtube videos (proper ones) should get you going and you can practice on some stuff. The first rule is you want hot solder joints, and you soon come to know what they look like (they are shiny, not dull, the solder looks as though it was thoroughly melted, is not rough or dull. Even lousy solder joints are likely to conduct electricity OK, they are just more likely to break eventually. You can practice using just about any electronic equipment that you'd otherwise throw away. Solder a piece of wire to some solder connection. Do it a few times, do it a few more times, watch more videos, try a few more times, you're close to an expert! Good thing to know how to do. When I was a kid I assembled primitive radios from kits. The instructions coached me on how to make a good solder joint. It's not rocket science, with Youtube nowadays learning how to solder shouldn't be difficult at all.

I have one of these My Book HDs, I received it a few weeks ago as an RMA replacement for a WD Elements HD that went bad. Your post reminds me to treat that female USB connector with kid gloves. I just put a broad markable twist tie on the USB cable connecting to my My Book with the words "LEAVE ATTACHED!"

 

[abbcccus]

What kind of clamp do you suggest I use to temporary hold the usb port to the socket? Maybe this will work?

Those clamps would probably work, but I wouldn't start with them. The main problem with c-clamps would be that as they tighten they'll introduce torque to the board / port. Plus you'd have to (a) cover both ends with something so as to not short out anything (which could make it harder to see what you're doing) and (b) they're a really good way to add too much pressure way too easily. I would probably just start with a plastic spring clip (or maybe even clothespin) and if that didn't put enough pressure on it to make / maintain a connection I'd go to a small bar clamp. If you live near a Harbor Freight you can get any of those things for peanuts. Since it's not clear this is going to work, I wouldn't spend a lot of money on clamps - maybe a friend has some he / she could loan you. Hell, you could just try putting pressure on it with your finger to see if it has any chance of working. I'm not sure if there's any chance of shorting anything out on the connection and frying the hard drive's board or your computer's usb port, though, so you might want to check into that before trying this. If everything is carefully aligned, though, I don't see how you could damage anything . . .

 

[Elixer]

You know, from what it looks like, you got plenty of solder on the pads, so, just get a $6 soldering iron, and place part on, and then apply heat to the points.

I wouldn't use clamps, too much can go wrong with using them incorrectly, and you could fry parts.

You can check youtube for soldering tips / how-to vids.

 

[phis6]

The main problem with c-clamps would be that as they tighten they'll introduce torque to the board / port.

You might possibly end up damaging the other parts which are mounted on the PCB if you use the clamp. A good soldering is just what it needs to mount back the detached USB interface to the board.

 

[abbcccus]

You might possibly end up damaging the other parts which are mounted on the PCB if you use the clamp. A good soldering is just what it needs to mount back the detached USB interface to the board.

I happen to agree, but the op doesn't seem to have any interest in learning to solder or finding someone else to do it. The only reason I'm suggesting a clamp is too keep the contacts from shifting once (if?) proper contact is made. Putting any real pressure on the pcb is a bad idea, but from what I can tell on the PCB of my WD drives just like the op's there's nothing on the back side of the board to be worried about - actually, there's nothing there whatsoever. Of course they may have changed the boards since mine doesn't do any kind of encryption. I'd have no qualms about trying this personally, but I also have a ton of old hardware that I could sacrifice in the interest of the experiment (for example I would NOT connect the usb cable to a motherboard I value, but I have a stack of LGA 775 board I'll never use again, so what the heck).