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MyBook pilot light is out and is not in Windows Explorer

I have a MyBook drive.  I think it has 640 GB.  The blue light has gone out and it doesn’t show up in Windows Explorer.  The power supply makes 12 volts unloaded.  When I plug the power supply in to the MyBook, the drive spins up but after a few seconds it runs down and stops.  The drive is years beyond the 30 day warranty.  Can the drive be repaired?  Can the contents be recovered?

Hello eberners, as a troubleshooting step, try connecting the power adapter directly to the wall. You can also try to see if you can find a replacement power adapter. 

Power adapter for WD products: WD TV, My Book, LiveWire, ShareSpace, MyDVR Expander, and Elements 

Thanks for your reply, Ichigo.  The power adapter has always been plugged in directly to the wall.  It is making its rated output, and it does make the MyBook drive spin up when I plug the power cable into the drive, but after a few seconds the drive slows down and stops.  I can’t believe that the power adapter is the problem.  It seems more like too much friction or drag in the motor or the platter or someother thing that makes the drive shut down automatically  I don’t know anything about hard drives, so I’m just guessing.

Hi again, I have seen some cases were a bad power supply causes the same problems that you have. You can check the link below to see the compatible specs for a replacement power adapter. 

Power adapter for WD products: WD TV, My Book, LiveWire, ShareSpace, MyDVR Expander, and Elements 

Support for Western Digital Hard Drives | Western Digital

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