Problem with the Western Digital My Passport Essential (WDBAAA5000ASL) 500 GB USB Hard Drive

tinman67tn · May 16, 2011, 3:07am

Problem with the Western Digital My Passport Essential (WDBAAA5000ASL) 500 GB USB Hard Drive. I go to computer and manage. I see the drive there, but I no longer get the prompt to unlock it and it is not seen with the other drives on my laptop. I have many files on this drive that I cannot lose. I have been all over the WD site and nothing has helped.

Nesvic · May 16, 2011, 1:03pm

Hello,

Have you test your drive using a different computer? Also how about a different USB cable?

Ceesvn · May 17, 2011, 8:33am

Hello, Yesterday a friend of mine came over to me with exactly the same (type of) hard-disk and exactly the same symptons.She hopes I’m able to recover the files on the disk (unfortunately she didn’t make backups) Anyway, some diggin’ learned that: - There’s no valid partition table. USB connection is made, but because there are no valid partions, no drives are mounted. (BTW: I’ve tried different computers & different USB cable, good suggestion I hadn’t thought of) - Hooking it on a Windows 7 machine, the storage manager indicates that’s a uninitialised 2TB drive. And asks how to initialise it (MBR or something else). Didn’t think it’s the best thing to do it if you want to recover the files on it… Hmmm, 2TB doesn’t sound right So before I screw things up or ill advise here to throw away the disk / pay a lot of money to a company to try and recover the data, I switched to linux. Ran some diagnostics and hope someone in this community has a good advise I’m afraid the problem is with het hardwarecontroller / firmware (??) of the harddisk AFAIK even unitialised disks report there correct geometry and size and are readable in linux with dd Any suggestions ?? Kind regards, Cees ------------ scanning the USB bus ------------------- mortimer:~ # lsusb Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub Bus 001 Device 003: ID 1058:070a Western Digital Technologies, Inc. Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub mortimer:~ # lsusb -v -s 1:3 Bus 001 Device 003: ID 1058:070a Western Digital Technologies, Inc. Device Descriptor: bLength 18 bDescriptorType 1 bcdUSB 2.00 bDeviceClass 0 (Defined at Interface level) bDeviceSubClass 0 bDeviceProtocol 0 bMaxPacketSize0 64 idVendor 0x1058 Western Digital Technologies, Inc. idProduct 0x070a bcdDevice 10.32 iManufacturer 1 Western Digital iProduct 2 My Passport 070A iSerial 3 bNumConfigurations 1 Configuration Descriptor: bLength 9 bDescriptorType 2 wTotalLength 32 bNumInterfaces 1 bConfigurationValue 1 iConfiguration 0 bmAttributes 0x80 (Bus Powered) MaxPower 500mA Interface Descriptor: bLength 9 bDescriptorType 4 bInterfaceNumber 0 bAlternateSetting 0 bNumEndpoints 2 bInterfaceClass 8 Mass Storage bInterfaceSubClass 6 SCSI bInterfaceProtocol 80 Bulk (Zip) iInterface 0 Endpoint Descriptor: bLength 7 bDescriptorType 5 bEndpointAddress 0x81 EP 1 IN bmAttributes 2 Transfer Type Bulk Synch Type None Usage Type Data wMaxPacketSize 0x0200 1x 512 bytes bInterval 0 Endpoint Descriptor: bLength 7 bDescriptorType 5 bEndpointAddress 0x02 EP 2 OUT bmAttributes 2 Transfer Type Bulk Synch Type None Usage Type Data wMaxPacketSize 0x0200 1x 512 bytes bInterval 0 Device Qualifier (for other device speed): bLength 10 bDescriptorType 6 bcdUSB 2.00 bDeviceClass 0 (Defined at Interface level) bDeviceSubClass 0 bDeviceProtocol 0 bMaxPacketSize0 64 bNumConfigurations 1 Device Status: 0x0000 (Bus Powered) ------------ Checking the geometry of the disk ------------------- mortimer:~ # hdparm -g /dev/sde /dev/sde: geometry = 2096482/64/32, sectors = 4293595136, start = 0 mortimer:~ # hdparm -I --verbose /dev/sde /dev/sde: outgoing cdb: 85 08 2e 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 40 ec 00 data: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 SG_IO: ATA_16 status=0x2, host_status=0x0, driver_status=0x8 SG_IO: sb: 72 00 00 00 00 00 00 0e 09 0c 00 00 00 ff 00 00 00 00 00 00 40 50 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 SG_IO: desc: 09 0c 00 00 00 ff 00 00 00 00 00 00 ATA_16 stat=50 err=00 nsect=ff lbal=00 lbam=00 lbah=00 dev=40 ATA device, with non-removable media Standards: Likely used: 5 Configuration: Logical max current cylinders 0 0 heads 0 0 sectors/track 0 0 – Logical/Physical Sector size: 512 bytes device size with M = 1024*1024: 0 MBytes device size with M = 1000*1000: 0 MBytes cache/buffer size = unknown Capabilities: IORDY(may be)(cannot be disabled) Standby timer values: spec’d by Vendor R/W multiple sector transfer: Max = 0 Current = ? DMA: not supported PIO: pio0 Logical Unit WWN Device Identifier: 50014ee2594191b8 NAA : 5 IEEE OUI : 0014ee Unique ID : 2594191b8 Checksum: correct ------------ trying to read some raw data from the disk ------------------- mortimer:~ # dd if=/dev/sde bs=1024 count=1 of=first1024.bin dd: reading `/dev/sde’: Input/output error 0+0 records in 0+0 records out 0 bytes (0 B) copied, 0.00683184 s, 0.0 kB/s ------------ plus the error-log ------------------- mortimer:~ # tail -n 18 /var/log/messages May 17 10:10:01 mortimer kernel: [3227.559978] sd 7:0:0:0: [sde] Unhandled sense code May 17 10:10:01 mortimer kernel: [3227.559987] sd 7:0:0:0: [sde] Result: hostbyte=DID_OK driverbyte=DRIVER_SENSE May 17 10:10:01 mortimer kernel: [3227.559995] sd 7:0:0:0: [sde] Sense Key : Data Protect [current] May 17 10:10:01 mortimer kernel: [3227.560026] sd 7:0:0:0: [sde] Add. Sense: Logical unit access not authorized May 17 10:10:01 mortimer kernel: [3227.560045] sd 7:0:0:0: [sde] CDB: Read(10): 28 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 20 00 May 17 10:10:01 mortimer kernel: [3227.560081] end_request: I/O error, dev sde, sector 0 May 17 10:10:01 mortimer kernel: [3227.560090] quiet_error: 443 callbacks suppressed May 17 10:10:01 mortimer kernel: [3227.560097] Buffer I/O error on device sde, logical block 0 May 17 10:10:01 mortimer kernel: [3227.560107] Buffer I/O error on device sde, logical block 1 May 17 10:10:01 mortimer kernel: [3227.560113] Buffer I/O error on device sde, logical block 2 May 17 10:10:01 mortimer kernel: [3227.560119] Buffer I/O error on device sde, logical block 3 May 17 10:10:01 mortimer kernel: [3227.561969] sd 7:0:0:0: [sde] Unhandled sense code May 17 10:10:01 mortimer kernel: [3227.561975] sd 7:0:0:0: [sde] Result: hostbyte=DID_OK driverbyte=DRIVER_SENSE May 17 10:10:01 mortimer kernel: [3227.561981] sd 7:0:0:0: [sde] Sense Key : Data Protect [current] May 17 10:10:01 mortimer kernel: [3227.561988] sd 7:0:0:0: [sde] Add. Sense: Logical unit access not authorized May 17 10:10:01 mortimer kernel: [3227.561998] sd 7:0:0:0: [sde] CDB: Read(10): 28 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 08 00 May 17 10:10:01 mortimer kernel: [3227.562044] end_request: I/O error, dev sde, sector 0 May 17 10:10:01 mortimer kernel: [3227.562051] Buffer I/O error on device sde, logical block 0 mortimer:~ #

Ceesvn · May 17, 2011, 8:44am

Aaargh, $*(@#*(*# javacript editors

Layout is completely messed up. (pasted from a flat tekst document).

importing removed line-breaks

sorry,

Cees

Joe_S · May 17, 2011, 1:19pm

If the drive shows in Disk Mamagement you can try fixing partition with TestDisk http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk or Easuse Partition Manager http://www.partition-tool.com/ and see if they will rebuild partition data.

Joe

Ceesvn · May 17, 2011, 11:30pm

Hello Joe,

Thank you for your reply.

I’ve tried TestDisk, but unfortunately, it doesn’t work

The output from the program was:

TestDisk 6.12, Data Recovery Utility, May 2011

Christophe GRENIER grenier@cgsecurity.org

http://www.cgsecurity.org

Please wait…

Disk /dev/sde - 2198 GB / 2047 GiB - CHS 2096482 64 32, sector size=512

Disk /dev/sde - 2198 GB / 2047 GiB - CHS 2096482 64 32

Partition Start End Size in sectors

Partition: Read error

What worries me is the reported size of the disk 2TB

It’s also impossible to read anything from the disk, eg

dd if=/dev/sde bs=1024 count=1 of=first1024.bin

should read the first 1024 bytes from the disk, initialised or not, partition table or not

(If I remember correctly, the partition tabel is located in the first 512 bytes of the disk, so any tool able to restore the partition table should read/write the first 512 bytes)

I’m afraid there’s no IO to any data on the disk

Kind Regards,

Cees

metak · July 14, 2011, 9:03am

this is exactly what happened to my same WD product! It is reported as a 2TB disk. I clearly remember i purchased a 500GB disk and its not working and all my data is lost. Anyone with other suggestions?

Wayne · July 14, 2011, 6:16pm

Ceesvn wrote:

Hello Joe,

Thank you for your reply.

I’ve tried TestDisk, but unfortunately, it doesn’t work

The output from the program was:

TestDisk 6.12, Data Recovery Utility, May 2011

Christophe GRENIER grenier@cgsecurity.org

http://www.cgsecurity.org

Please wait…

Disk /dev/sde - 2198 GB / 2047 GiB - CHS 2096482 64 32, sector size=512

Disk /dev/sde - 2198 GB / 2047 GiB - CHS 2096482 64 32

Partition Start End Size in sectors

Partition: Read error

What worries me is the reported size of the disk 2TB

It’s also impossible to read anything from the disk, eg

dd if=/dev/sde bs=1024 count=1 of=first1024.bin

should read the first 1024 bytes from the disk, initialised or not, partition table or not

(If I remember correctly, the partition tabel is located in the first 512 bytes of the disk, so any tool able to restore the partition table should read/write the first 512 bytes)

I’m afraid there’s no IO to any data on the disk

Kind Regards,

Cees

just to clarify what Joe is telling you (and, Joe, I hope this is what you’re getting at). but you most likely corrupted your partition and enough data that testdisk won’t be able to recover it. you must always make sure to safely remove your drive before just pulling the data cable, especially right after transferring a ton of data. if the drive buffers aren’t flushed, you will corrupt data on the drive. it’s even worse if data is still being written when you pull the cable. you can lose the partition as well. which it appears you did. as it is, you’re pretty much stuck with repartitioning and reformatting the drive.

Wayne · July 14, 2011, 6:18pm

metak wrote:

this is exactly what happened to my same WD product! It is reported as a 2TB disk. I clearly remember i purchased a 500GB disk and its not working and all my data is lost. Anyone with other suggestions?

you may need to start your own thread. because unless you actually just blew your partiton, there may be other issues. what does disk management say about the drive?

Ceesvn · July 14, 2011, 6:42pm

Hello Wayne,

I didn’t pull the usb cable without ‘safely removing the disk from the OS’. The drive belongs to a friend of mine, who hoped I could rescue here files after the disk was no-longer recognised by the os (on connecting).She isn’t a computer expert, but she’s smart enough to know that you shouldn’t do such a thing

I’ve been playing with hard-disk partions for 15 years (installing Linux/Windows dual boot configurations etc.) This disk however is totally unaccessible. On a Linux box dd won’t read anything from it (and you can use dd to read/write raw data to unpartioned disks!)

Also, tools for checking the disk geometry give wrong results. AFAIK this isn’t the result of a corrupt partition disk!

So, please read my original posting (I admit layout is bad: but importing flat text in the webbased editor removed the newlines. I’ve tried several times with no succes), before suggesting I screwed up my partition table and have to repartition and reformat my friends hard-disk. (I haven’t tried it but am for 99% sure it won’t work. fdisk wouldn’t read the current table!)

Kind Regards,

Cees

BTW I’ve my doubts that disconnecting a USB-drive while writing could/will corrupt your partion table. It will corrupt files, directory indices etc. but under normal usage there’s little (if any) writing activity to the partition table (However, I’ve no intention to try on a disk it with precious data )

Wayne · July 14, 2011, 7:43pm

It absolutely can. anytime you’re writing data that is caching, you run the risk of corrupting files or the file system if there is a loss of power. pulling the passport data cable out of the port without safely removing it causes an immediate loss of power.

RoofingGuy · July 14, 2011, 7:50pm

You don’t even have to pull the cable if you want to wreck it… lots of folks end up with corrupted/unusable drives simply because the drive isn’t getting sufficient power to function properly from the USB port.

Ceesvn · July 15, 2011, 8:28am

Wayne wrote:

It absolutely can. anytime you’re writing data that is caching, you run the risk of corrupting files or the file system if there is a loss of power. pulling the passport data cable out of the port without safely removing it causes an immediate loss of power.

Hello Wayne,

You’re talking about corrupting files and filesystems. I my previous post I wrote I think that’s possible. I have my doubts about corrupting the partition table (bytes 446-510 in the MBR). On normal usage there is no reason to write to the MBR (other than to install a virus ;))

But we’re getting off-topic here.

This is the problem:

On the USB drive the partiontable isn’t readable (and I guess not writable to, but I wouldn’t try it).

The drive is seen by the OS, but because no partition info is given: no partitions are mounted and the WD software for decrypting the data partition isn’t started.

On a lower level: there is no data readable from the disk. On Linux, you can read raw data from an unmounted device (see de man entry for ‘dd’). Partition table or no partition table. On this drive it doesn’t work.

The drive reports itself as a 2TB drive, which is also suspicious (I can’t remember I’ve manually adjusted disk geometry settings the last 15 years)

So I guess the problem ‘hardware’ related. Firmware? Controller?

Kind Regards,

Cees

Bill_S · July 15, 2011, 4:26pm

If the drive is reporting itself as 2 TB’s, that’s a major drive failure. From what I’ve been told, something has most likely gone wrong in the firmware. If you’re looking to save the data, you’re probably looking at data recovery.

damonj_3 · July 15, 2011, 5:05pm

I purchased a WD 1.0TB Passport SE. I’ve never backed up a pc hard drive. I plugged it in and it showed

“installing drivers,” did that successfully, but no home screen, startup wizard, nothing. Can anyone lend any advice? I would GREATLY appreciate any help/answers.

Thank you!!

Wayne · July 15, 2011, 6:28pm

Did you open My Computer (Computer) to see if the drive shows up? If you don’t get an Autoplay window after the drive is read, then you need to go to Computer to see the drive. Double click on the drive and a window will open to show you the drive contents.

Ceesvn · July 16, 2011, 2:09pm

bill_s wrote:

If the drive is reporting itself as 2 TB’s, that’s a major drive failure. From what I’ve been told, something has most likely gone wrong in the firmware. If you’re looking to save the data, you’re probably looking at data recovery.

Hello Bill.

Thanks.

I suspected a firmware problem and hoped there is a utility available to ‘reflash’ the firmware.

My friend is a student and the disk contained schoolwork. Data recovery might work, but (if I remember correctly) pricing starts at 200 euros for a first diagnosis…

So last time a spoke her she was retyping the lost documents (and i think thats in the future she makes backup copies)

Bill_S · July 18, 2011, 4:34pm

I know it ■■■■■, but that was one of the hard lessons I had to learn - back up your data. So, I empathize with your friend. As for reflashing the firmware, I don’t know if it will work like that.