WD External hard disk failure...

[Rod Speed]

There is not. Not for this type of failure, since it is rather hard
to protect semiconductors against it, when you cannot afford
a signifivant voltage level drop (>0.5V) on the power lines. The
only way that works would require power isolation and wide-range
inputs on all logic lines. Possible, but expensive. Nobody does it.

That is just plain wrong. One approach is a diode across each
of the two voltage rails to ground which will short the rail when
the voltage is reversed. That should shut down the power
supply and protect the device.

 

[Jay]

Ok, updates:

I opened the enclosure and checked inside. There was no blown out fuses
or infact nothing remotely resembling a damaged part.

As Ive been thinking, the lights are lit when the power source is
plugged, and the supply for the lights are after the voltage regulator.
So i'm thinking something bad has happened to the drive it self. I
didnt get a chance to test whether the supply goes to the motor or not,
which i will do today.

Also I'll check whether the drive works when I connect it to a PC, else
I guess I'm screwed big time ((( Professional data recovery is $100 a
gig ((

 

[Jay]

oh btw, the error in the device manager says Code 10- the device cannot
be started.
I run a Win Xp SP2 machine and I tried again by updating it with latest
USB 2.0 drivers, no luck!!

 

[Rod Speed]

Ok, updates:

I opened the enclosure and checked inside. There was no blown
out fuses or infact nothing remotely resembling a damaged part.

There isnt usually anything visible when its a reversed supply that
has killed a device. Not always tho, I have seen an optical drive
produce smoke when some eejut rammed a conventional molex
power connector on backwards with an internal drive.

As Ive been thinking, the lights are lit when the power source is
plugged, and the supply for the lights are after the voltage regulator.

Sure, but that doesnt mean that the electronics isnt dead.
You can get a situation where the leds are fine since they dont care
about a reversed voltage, but what is driving them has got fried.

So i'm thinking something bad has happened to the drive it self.

Yeah, that's quite likely given that some of the external
cases dont even attempt to regulate the main supply to
the drive, so it gets 12V reversed if you have the head
reversed on the external power pack.

It isnt hard to design the 5V regulator so that
it doesnt die when its input 12V is reversed.

I didnt get a chance to test whether the supply
goes to the motor or not, which i will do today.

Also I'll check whether the drive works when I connect
it to a PC, else I guess I'm screwed big time (((

Yeah, could well be.

oh btw, the error in the device manager
says Code 10- the device cannot be started.

Yeah, but it isnt clear if that means the
drive cant be started or the bridge is fried.

I run a Win Xp SP2 machine and I tried again by
updating it with latest USB 2.0 drivers, no luck!!

Yeah, I wouldnt have expected that to make any difference.

Professional data recovery is $100 a gig ((

Not always, http://www.retrodata.co.uk/
Worth the hassle if the alternative is attempting it yourself
because the in country recovery is too expensive to contemplate.

 

[Doug McLaren]

| Also I'll check whether the drive works when I connect it to a PC

Really, that's one of the first things you should try when an external
USB or firewire drive fails.

| else I guess I'm screwed big time ((( Professional data recovery
| is $100 a gig ((

It's not always that expensive, but it's always expensive. One of
many reasons why backups are important.

(Other reasons? Sometimes, even the professionals can't get your
data.)

 

[Arno Wagner]

Ok, updates:

I opened the enclosure and checked inside. There was no blown out fuses
or infact nothing remotely resembling a damaged part.

As Ive been thinking, the lights are lit when the power source is
plugged, and the supply for the lights are after the voltage regulator.
So i'm thinking something bad has happened to the drive it self. I
didnt get a chance to test whether the supply goes to the motor or not,
which i will do today.

Also I'll check whether the drive works when I connect it to a PC, else
I guess I'm screwed big time ((( Professional data recovery is $100 a
gig ((

That seems rather low. I would expect it to be far more expensive,
like 10-50 times more expensive.

Arno

 

[Dave D]

Ok, updates:

I opened the enclosure and checked inside. There was no blown out fuses
or infact nothing remotely resembling a damaged part.

With respect, do you know what a surface mount fuse looks like?

Dave

 

[Jay]

Yes I do. Matter of fact there was no surface mount fuse, but it had
PPTC Resettable Fuse inside, thats why it didnt blew.

 

[Jay]

There isnt usually anything visible when its a reversed supply that

has killed a device.

Thanks for that cheerful start

Sure, but that doesnt mean that the electronics isnt dead.
You can get a situation where the leds are fine since they dont care
about a reversed voltage, but what is driving them has got fried.

Yeah may be, but that takes away the blown fuse part out. So may be the
controller board got fried.

Yeah, that's quite likely given that some of the external
cases dont even attempt to regulate the main supply to
the drive, so it gets 12V reversed if you have the head
reversed on the external power pack.

It had a voltage regulator, so I think it was safe that way.

Will go home and do the rest of testing today

Thanks everyone!!

 

[Jay]

Yes Dave, I do. Also, I had PPTC resettable fuse in the circuitry, so I
guess it will not blow.

 

[Jay]

I got a multimeter from work today...checked all the voltages and
currents, its all perfect, uptill the point where it goes to the HDD

Ill try mounting this drive thro IDE on a PC and let know how it
goes...

This goes on and on for ever..I dont have a PC at home, so need to take
it to work to check

Slowly my hopes of recovering the data by myself is fading away...

 

[Jay]

Also, the design is very well put, it had a voltage regulator and I
also tried reversing the polarity, the Voltage/current never got in to
the circuitry at all. I think that the resettable fuse works like a
charm!

 

[Rod Speed]

Also, the design is very well put, it had a voltage regulator and I
also tried reversing the polarity, the Voltage/current never got in to
the circuitry at all. I think that the resettable fuse works like a charm!

That doesnt explain why it doesnt work
with the power the right way around now.

 

[Hugh Prescott]

oh btw, the error in the device manager says Code 10- the device cannot
be started.
I run a Win Xp SP2 machine and I tried again by updating it with latest
USB 2.0 drivers, no luck!!

Listen to the man who said

"Buy an identical working drive and swap the controller board to recover
your data."

Chances are you will get lucky.

I know that there is one chip inside the drive chamber, a multiplexer
for head selection and or amplifiers. It's fairly far from the impute
power so it has a chance of survival.


Hugh

 

[Dave D]

Yes Dave, I do. Also, I had PPTC resettable fuse in the circuitry, so I
guess it will not blow.

I see. Good luck with the drive.

Dave

 

[Jay]

That doesnt explain why it doesnt work
with the power the right way around now.

Yes, I will know it tonight. Im plugging it in my friends computer

*crossing my fingers*