How to decrypt a WD MyBook drive after its removed from the enclosure?

The thing I’ve also found is when you own 2 ext HDDs the WD “Smartware” gets confused sometimes and won’t recognize one when you’re unlocking both and says the drive is already unlocked meaning that it doesn’t see the 2nd you’re attempting to unlock. I’ve had to download a separate smartware package and place it on my taskbar to do a separate action. Not very impressed with the encryption debacle as if this bridge board fails (as mine has) who is going to go and buy another unit to access your data when all you are doing is buying more heartache down the line. I know for those whose data is very important will do this, but mine is not.

My question is, why do they not sell replacement bridge boards if there is such a high fail rate? (check the internet). At least then people can access their precious data without the need to pay a recovery service outrageous fees for what is essentially a WD customer service issue, that has been going on for way too long.

Hi Thomas,
I was impressed with you expertise. Please I have a great need and I beg you help with out with it.
I same problem on a WD External HDD. I have placed a order already for the SATA PCB. but I’d need help to decrypt the drive after imaging. I have read through your manual, but I’m just a babe on Linux. We some guide I can find my way. I anticipate your response. Thanks.

Everything you need should be in the PDF file on the GitHub project.

Since you imaged the disk, it sounds like you are a professional. If that’s the case, you could hire me to do it for you.

Perhaps you can help me, I am pretty far in the process, but now I am stuck. This concerns a WD Book Essential 1TB that I have taken out of the enclosure and hooked up to a Lubuntu with a SATA cable. The board chip says Symwave SW6316.

I do have some linux experience, and I’m a programmer. But this is beyond my skills.

ciencia@ciencia-HP-Pro-3000-Microtower-PC:~$ lsblk
NAME   MAJ:MIN RM   SIZE RO TYPE  MOUNTPOINT
loop0    7:0    0 931,5G  0 loop  
sda      8:0    0 149,1G  0 disk  
├─sda1   8:1    0   100M  0 part  
├─sda2   8:2    0 120,5G  0 part  
├─sda3   8:3    0     1K  0 part  
└─sda5   8:5    0  28,5G  0 part  /
sdb      8:16   0 931,5G  0 disk  
└─wd   253:0    0 931,5G  0 crypt 

I can see the /sdb/wd as being a ‘crypt’, but I’d like to access files. I am not sure how to see if I have to apply a password and how. Nobody here remembers if they initially set a password. If they did it’s most likely something simple, like ‘admin’ or blank.

$reallymine getdek /dev/sdb
    bridge type Symwave
    DEK: 766FF121EF6E9034C99FF985A7BAAE7C3B273E4DA343D4102407BF5A8AAB3E8A
    decryption steps: decrypt

I read the PDF from here, but don’t know what to do now.

If I try to use reallymine decriptsector it never asks for a password.

What steps should I take?

thanks in advance
Michiel

I don’t know what Lubuntu is trying to do.
If you look in the PDF, there are instructions for extracting
the keyblock, using that to get the disk key, and then using
cryptsetup to make a decryption filter, so that you can
mount the drive.

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Many thanks Thomas for all your great work. I can now access my WD 1 TB drive after following your tutorial. Copying files from the WD to a Sata attached drive is progressing slowly. I guess we can expect this process to be slow because of all the decryption happening in software rather than hardware. What is causing me grief is the error rate in copying the files. On smaller files I am able to eventually rescue a difficult file by repeat copying. However I am not able to recover the larger files because errors occur usually before I get to 2 GB of copying. The error message is “Error splicing file I/O error”. I am just using Ubuntu’s Nautilus for the copy attempts. Do you have any suggestions for getting past this last obstacle?

Following on from my last post above, I have tried using the cp command at a terminal to copy decrypted files. This seems to have a lower error rate. I still can’t get past 3.7 GB of a 10 GB file though. Using this method the error message relates to reading the source file.

I want to follow this guide, but I have a few questions:

What is the recommended linux distro? I’m using Ubuntu, the latest version, but seems like the kernel version is more recent and therefore, according to the guide, the code might not work.

I’m also having trouble getting my Ubuntu to detect my USB-To-SATA device - has anyone here have any experience with those? I tried some solutions, but it isn’t being recognized in lsusb.

Thanks in advance.

Gday Thomas, Not having used Linux before, am I better to use it or as I see one of the users used Ubuntu.
This is for a WD30EZRX My Book that has fried the driver board in the case. I have connected with a SATA - USB cable and am getting the “The disk you inserted was not readable by this computer.” message.

Will truly appreciate any advice / guidance you can offer.

Michael.

I have followed your guide to the T but I am hitting a snag with the last line of code to mount the drive. When I enter sudo mount /dev/mapper/wd1 /mnt/wd I get an error of mount: /mnt/wd: special device /dev/mapper/wd1 does not exist.

When I did a little digging into fdisk and directed it to look at /dev/mapper/wd it gives me the following response:

klturi421@klturi421-MS-7693:~/wd$ sudo fdisk /dev/mapper/wd

Welcome to fdisk (util-linux 2.31.1). Changes will remain in memory only, until you decide to write them. Be careful before using the write command.

Device does not contain a recognized partition table. The size of this disk is 2.7 TiB (3000592982016 bytes). DOS partition table format cannot be used on drives for volumes larger than 2199023255040 bytes for 512-byte sectors. Use GUID partition table format (GPT).

Created a new DOS disklabel with disk identifier 0x5824ed07.

In addition, when I look in the built in gui disk management tool it shows that the drive is present but it appears that it is not formatted.

Do I absolutely need to mount wd1 to obtain the files that I am looking for or at this point would it be possible to run some sort of recovery?

** UPDATE EDIT**

After posting I continued on through the remainder of the “mounting” section of the document. I followed each step as the device did not mount.

The last line of code that I entered: sudo mount /dev/loop2 /mnt/wd but with what applies to my specific scenario. I swapped loop2 to loop14 per what was given and ‘ws’ instead of ‘wd’ as generated a different directory.

The returned text is:
root@klturi421-MS-7693:~/wd# sudo mount /dev/loop14 /mnt/ws mount: /mnt/ws: wrong fs type, bad option, bad superblock on /dev/loop14, missing codepage or helper program, or other error.

Hello, I have no idea if i have any chance here, but will ask regardless. 2 years ago, the mybook i had 2tb model, fried out. i removed the drive, placed it in my windows pc, and re partitioned it. i did so because none of the data was showing up, and at that time i had no idea they encrypted the things, had i only known!! I no longer have the pcb to sata board, just the hard drive.

I was hoping at that time,if i re partitioned it(because windows didnt see it at the time) and did afer, that i could then go in and do a deep scan and recover the files i needed, as i wrote nothing to the drive. (yeah im prolly an ■■■■■, but knew little at the time) i have done nothing with the drive since, in hopes that one day i might save the 8 years of pictures of my kids growing up i had stored on it.

I can figure out how to get linux going, i have a third pc i can put it on. i can figure out by following the pdf Thomas wrote, to get the job done if possible, i am simply asking before i spend all this time, if there is any hope at all in recovering the data, i am looking to recover 5gigs or so on a 2tb hd. any info would be greatly appreciated.

thanks in advance,
Zain

Hi. I have a 4TB My Book with failed controller. I have hooked the drive onto my PC because WD told me that it was unencrypted, but I think that info Is wrong. The drive shows in Bios only as 1.8tb and in windows 10 computer and disk management as having an approx. 500GB RAW parttion and two unallocated of approx. 1.6tb. Is it possible for a novice like me to recover the data?

Thomas. How can I contact you to assist me with the same problem on an 8TB MyBook. I replaced the burned out board and controller from another same model but data cannot be read.
rob at robgallo dot com. Thanks in advance.

…my WD Book Essential 2TB dies on me as well.

I did not set any pasword and on Windows 7 the external drive will not show up anymore after it got disconnected.

On a Linux Laptop it shows up, turns itself off after a few seconds, shows up again for a few seconds and turns itself off again. I managed to copy a few dato off of it but most of the part is still on that disc. :frowning:

I disassambeld the dis just to connect it with a USB3 SATA/USB3 combined port on my Laptops (Windows and Linux) but there was nothing to bee seen. Thats when i started researching what the problem was on the internet and ended up here.

**First of all let me state something to the guys at WesternDigital. **
Since i had to open up the enclosure of that external drive and unscrew the platine… i had the “chance” to see what kind of ■■■■ and corroded componets were used in that WD external drive. I have a very old 20 MD harddisc that shwos NO SIGNS of any corrosion what so ever. But the crapy WD My Book Essential drive and platine is extremly corroded / oxidized.

I don’t know what the problem is with these faulty external drives but let me tell you this. I WOULD ME DEEPLY ASHAMED IF I WERE WORKING AT WesternDigital for puting such a faulty cheap ■■■■ so extreemly overprised on other humen beeings at a time where it is well known that most of us DO STORE SENSITIVE and IMPORTANT (taxation , legal, etc) stuff on such EXTERNAL drive in hope of investing a lot of $$ to keep our data.

On the Internet on YouTube are so many frustrated customers who have many problems becaus of you $$ hungry shameful peaple!!!

I would like WD to take responsibility for that failty corrosive ■■■■ since you have signed contracts with your manufacturers and you and they DO HAVE INSURENCE
for such cases.

Support at least customers with solid informations f. e (you can use the same platine with such serial numbers, if you do not have set a password you can recover data this way or we pay THOMAS for helping so many peaple remotly (hopefuly me as well) … etc. etc.

And let me be super clear on that. I and my family and my clients WILL NEVER EVER IN OUR LIVETIME (and beyond) buy ANDY WesterDigital products again. DID YOU READ THAT? THYNK YOU FOR MAKING OUR LIVES SO FRUSTRATED and the pain and the time and money wasted of findung a solution sits deeply also in my gut for a very very long time. It’s a SHAME that a company producing harddrive for such a long time wet that way!!

#############################################################

So Thomas i as well would need your help on this one. And i do pay you directly for your time.

Where i’m @ in this case:

I have read the pdf, i have a crapy 2TB WD ED20EARS disc with two partitions on it 980 MB Fat (thats what is important ) and the rest a EXT4 BU images (nobody cares about).

The chip on my USB/SATA Bridge platine is a symvave SG6316

I have two Laptops (onw Win 7 and one with a Linux Distro i can change). Both have a USB3 port, and both do have a combined extSATA/USB3 Port.


Would it be saver to use a Desktop (i would have to pick mine up from the storage) because of the fact that my WD turn itself on & of every few seconds.

Can i read the last Sectors at this stage with a nice .sh script or is it too dangerous at this stage and would rather create more pain than do any good???

Thx Thomas and Eveybody so far…

Hi Thomas! may i know if you made some video guide aside from the pdf?

I need help with my wd my book essential 2tb. I was uploading some files to it and when i came back an hour later the power light was off. I was able to determine that the hard drive worked after i bought a usb to sata adpater. I dont see the drive on my computer folde but when i go to disk management i see it there as unallocated and take put the drive online and offline. I been reading that lunix can help me get my files but i dont understand anything of the commands. I also dont know where to get lunix from. I really need to recover these files as it sas videos of my grandfather that past away 5 years go. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you so much all.

Hi Thomas, I really appreciate all the help & support you are providing to us people who would simply just dump the disk.

Im in a similar situation…
To put it briefly,

I stumbled on these posts, after I bought a new HDD Enclosure.
So i connected the “Bare Disk” to windows 10, where it gave me an option to initialize the disk under Disk Management. I clicked Initialize then it asked me to create Partition, thats when i disconnected the disk, without creating any partitions.

Now, My bridge has the “Inic-1607E” chip.
And ive managed to find another disk, with the same HW & PW number. So chances are the other disk will have this same Bridge, in working condition.

I have no Partitions, and No Passwords, but have Almost 1TB of data on this 1TB Disk… in more than 200 directories. So …

… my Questions are …

  1. Will my disk work and will I be able to recover my data, upon swapping the Bridge ?
  2. Or the MBR is corrupted, and i have to follow the tutorial.
  3. How should I proceed , I just want to recover my data… thats it.

Any inputs wil be highly appreciated.

Regards
-R

Hi guys, so I am a novice to linux and have the stuff is greek to me. I was wondering what company people have used to decrypt the drive if they had it done professionally. you can email me gpeters79@aol.com. Thank You,

Thomas Keading, it is a great thing you have done for these people!!

Hello all, I am in the same boat as others on here. My problem is I shucked the drive out of a WD My Book Elite model number WDBAAH0020HCH as it wouldn’t mount (I could hear it spinning up) and regrettably I tried recovering the data using a couple of different tools on Windows and Mac before I gave up, not realising the data was encrypted (Doh!)

So I am going to try the method Thomas describes on Github. It soulnds like I have messed up the MBR, which I will need to restore. I’m really hoping I can sort this out! If I do I will post back with hints & tips!

Cheers.

Have you put it in a desktop ?