Recovering Data

Portable Drives My Passport
1

Hi,

I Own a WD My Book 1TB External Hardisk, it is many years Old.

The Mini USB Port near the DC pin came out as it was Old and had rust.

so, I chucked the Hardisk out of the casing and removed the controller board.

And plugged in the Hard Disk directly to the computer.

when opening my file explorer to check the hard disk. to my shock it said 900 something GB Free of 900 Something GB.

But I had some 600 GB Full of pictures and data, I then immediately turned Off the PC and removed the Hard disk, and Now I don’t know how to recover the files. If any of you have faced this Issue, please help me out here.

Now What should I do, Resolder the pin to the controller Board and connect the Hard disk to it and then connect it to the PC to see if I can recover the files or,

Just Plug the hard disk directly to the pc and try to recover it or, go to a professional?

First, is it possible to recover my data? No new data has been written to it, just plugged in to the PC as soon as I saw empty disk, removed the Hard Disk and kept it aside.

So, this is what happened, Hardisk working fine, using it to back up my files, one day the USB pin broke off from the controller board, tried to connect the hard disk directly to the computer…no data shown, removed Hard Disk and kept it aside to prevent further damage.

2

Hi @ponenock ,

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:

1 Like
3

Current My Books are encrypted. IIRC, in earlier times there were Essentials models (encrypted) and Elements models (not encrypted).

Can you show us the Partitions tab in DMDE?

https://dmde.com/

Don’t panic. There is probably an inexpensive solution.

4

As you said you have immediately stopped using the drive and there is no chance of overwriting then there are high chance that your data is recoverable. You can try a few steps for you to take in this issue.

  1. Resolder the USB Port: If you have the means to resolder the USB port onto the controller board and believe you can do it safely without causing further damage, this could be a good option. Once you’ve reattached the USB port, you can connect the hard drive to your computer and attempt to access your files.

  2. Use Data Recovery Software: If resoldering the USB port isn’t an option or doesn’t work, you can try using data recovery software. There are many reputable data recovery tools available online that can scan your hard drive for lost or deleted files. Some popular options include Stellar Data Recovery software, EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard, Recuva, and TestDisk.

Connect your hard drive to your computer and run the data recovery software. Follow the prompts to scan the drive for lost files.
Once the scan is complete, the software will display a list of recoverable files. Select the files you want to recover and follow the instructions to save them to a different storage device. It’s advisable to first try the free version to know whether the software can recover the software or not.

  1. Seek Professional Help: If you’re not comfortable attempting data recovery on your own or if the DIY methods don’t work, you can consider taking your hard drive to a professional data recovery service. They have specialized equipment and expertise to recover data from damaged or inaccessible drives. Keep in mind that professional data recovery services are usually expensive, so weigh the cost against the value of your lost data.

Before attempting any data recovery, ensure that you handle the hard drive with care to avoid further damage. If the data on the drive is valuable to you, it’s worth taking the time to explore these options to try to recover it.

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5

Since your WD My Book drive might use hardware encryption, re-solder the mini USB port to the original controller board and reconnect the drive as it originally was to try accessing your data. If this isn’t possible, create a disk image of the drive to avoid data loss, then use Professional data recovery software. If these steps fail, consult a professional data recovery service like DriveSavers or Secure Data Recovery. Avoid using the drive to prevent overwriting your data.

6

It’s concerning when data appears to be lost, but there are several steps you can take to try and recover your files from the WD My Book external hard drive. Given that you haven’t written any new data to the drive, your chances of recovery are relatively high. Since the drive could be hardware-encrypted, it’s best to first try connecting the drive through the original controller board. Otherwise, use a recovery tool like Stellar to recover your lost data.

7

Yes, it’s very concerning, @ Ellinor_william, but don’t despair.

These are the tools that data recovery professionals use:

https://www.hddoracle.com/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=3208

Most are less expensive than the high visibility software that Google puts at the top of its search rankings.

BTW, no DR pro uses Stellar, at least none that I know of.

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Hard drive recovery depends on whether your device is physically damaged. If the hard drive can work well, a data recovery tool can help you recover lost photos and data.

You can follow the guide of this page(from PCWorld): How to recover data from a hard drive: 3 top methods | PCWorld

Data recovery software is an affordable method to recover lost data, and the price ranges from $30 to 100$

But if your external hard drive is physically damaged, a data recovery service might help. You can contact the hard drive manufacturer and send the drive to them for help, or you can find a data recovery store on Google Maps.

It is costly to recover data with data recovery servicesIt is tough to recover data from a damaged device). I would suggest comparing multiple data recovery stores and requesting the price.

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11

Since WD My Book drives often use hardware encryption via the controller, your data might only be accessible through that board. No worries at all, there are various powerful data recovery tools that can help. Such as DMDE Free Edition, TestDisk, UFS explorer, etc. They work well if the drive’s file system is corrupted but data is still physically there.

On the other hand, if these software options don’t work for you, taking it to a data recovery professional is the safest option. However, recovering a 1TB hard drive is quite expensive, costing around $800 to $1,000. I recommend making a few more calls to get the best quote. Trusted data recovery services in North America include:

  • DriveSavers Data Recovery
  • Secure Data Recovery Services
  • Gillware Data Recovery
  • Ontrack Data Recovery
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Data recovery software is your best and only hope of getting lost files back. You can use the following examples that are best for both Macs and PC’s.

  1. EaseUS data recovery Kuyhaa software

It recovers lost data from all media files and it’s let’s you know in advance which files are recoverable.

  1. prosoft data rescue

It offers one of the most powerful an accessible tools for recovery of data.

  1. Alsoft disk warrior

While other data recovery utilities can scan disks to recover lost or deleted files.Didk warrior is unrivaled in it’s ability to repair and rebuild the Windows/Mac directory.

13

Is this not resolved yet?

14

Hey,

I had a similar issue with an old WD drive a while back. The USB port on the controller board broke, so I took the drive out of the casing and connected it directly to my PC. To my surprise, the drive showed up as RAW with no data, just like yours.

Here’s what worked for me:

  1. I avoided trying to resolder the board—it’s risky and might damage the drive further.
  2. I used a recovery tool called Disk Drill. I connected the drive directly via SATA and ran a full scan. The tool detected the files, even though the drive showed up as empty.
  3. After the scan, I was able to recover almost everything, including pictures and other data.

If you haven’t written anything to the drive, there’s a high chance you can get your files back this way. Just don’t experiment with the drive anymore until you try recovery software—it saved me a lot of stress!

15

Has this thread become Spam Central?

BTW, no tool, especially not Disk Drill, can recover data from an encrypted My Book drive when it is connected via SATA.

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Recovering lost data depends on your hard drive’s condition. If it’s functional, data recovery software like EaseUS Data Recovery, Recuva, or Disk Drill can restore files effectively, costing $30–$100. Follow guides like PCWorld’s data recovery methods.

For physically damaged drives, consider professional recovery services. Contact the hard drive manufacturer or find reliable options via Google Maps. Be prepared for higher costs as recovery from damaged devices is challenging. Compare prices from multiple providers before deciding.

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No need to be rude, I’m just sharing my experience. Sorry if you misunderstood me. If the drive is encrypted, here’s a helpful tutorial on how to decrypt it: The HDD Oracle. • View topic - reallymine: WD MyBook/MyPassport decryption :.

If the data is extremely important and you’re not comfortable using third-party software, consider contacting a local service.

18

The spammers and shills are the ones who are rude.

19

I searched on Google and got help, before that I didn’t know it was possible to recover deleted files from a hard drive. I thought I had to send it to a lab and pay the overage fee.

20

Why people are aggressively dropping “EaseUS” everywhere in this thread, even when it’s not relevant? Like, come on, nobody here is clueless. It’s obvious what’s happening. Please stop this spamming.

Anyway, let’s wrap this up and put an end to the noise. Here’s the deal:

When it comes to recovering lost, deleted, or corrupted data, there are two legit ways to go about it, get to a professional data recovery lab or use DIY data recovery software.

If you’re going the software route, here are the top 5 tools users actually swear by,

  1. Stellar Data Recovery – Known for its ease of use, versatility, and excellent customer support. It’s a go-to for Mac and Windows users.
  2. Recuva – A lightweight and straightforward option for Windows users. Perfect for recovering basic files without much hassle.
  3. Disk Drill – Offers a neat interface with powerful scanning capabilities for both Mac and Windows users.
  4. R-Studio – A bit more technical but highly effective for advanced users dealing with complex recovery situations.
  5. MiniTool Power Data Recovery – User-friendly and reliable, with a good balance of features for everyday file recovery.

Hopefully, this clears things up and settles the thread for good! No more spam, right?

21

@W11DataSavior, the only tool in that bunch that data recovery professionals use is R-Studio.

Here are the others:

https://www.hddoracle.com/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=3208

Many of the pro tools are actually cheaper than the highly promoted second tier tools that you have listed. For example, DMDE costs US$20 and outperforms all except possibly R-Studio. In fact, I’ve seen cases where R-Studio recovered nothing at all, and Disk Drill recovered nothing but raw files, after a full surface scan, yet DMDE found all the files with their original names within a few seconds.

22

@fzabkar
I believe the data recovery landscape really comes down to the user’s expertise and the complexity of the task. For professionals, tools like DMDE or R-Studio are absolutely essential. For those without a technical background, software like Stellar Data Recovery, Recuva, and R-Studio does a great job of bridging that gap.