Hello. Unfortunately like many, my Western Digital My Book Essential external hard drive is no longer accessible, more than likely due to a malfunctioning controller card. Seems the only support Western Digital provides is not a replacement card (4061-705094-001 13R), or even information regarding the card manufacturer, but merely referrals to third party data recovery companies.
I did purchase a different controller card. Anyone considering this strategy, please save your money because a different card will not work.
I also tried numerous software options to no avail. The only success I had was one time with Stellar, which in preview mode actually recovered a huge portion of the drive. Before I could save anything, the card malfunctioned and the drive once again disappeared. Over 20 attempts later, Stellar has never been able to recover any data again.
Does anyone know where I might have luck finding an exact replacement card (4061-705094-001 13R) or maybe another strategy that might work. Thank you for any assistance!
Hi @BentonQ,
Have you opened a Support Case? If not opened, for more information, please contact the WD Technical Support team for the best assistance and troubleshooting:
https://support-en.wd.com/app/ask
