Just looking for a place to share some rather important information that I haven’t seen mentioned elsewhere on the web…
My My Book World Edition (white light) device failed catostrophicaly, mid file copy. After rebooting, it displayed the error “Unable to Boot” (top light solid, bottom light flashing).
I tried various methods for recovering data off the drive, without success. Data on the drive is stored in an encrypted partition that can be recovered from a LINUX device, but not from a Windows 10 computer. But I discovered a way to get the device working again!
What I did: I replaced the battery on the controller board. There’s a 3V battery on the controller board that is presumably used to keep the system clock running when powered down. I replaced the battery. And the device successfully rebooted and come online after that.
The battery is a CR2032 lithium battery. It’s a very common battery that can be found at most drug stores or dollar stores.
You will have to completely disassemble the device to replace the battery. Instructions for doing that can be found on youtube. e.g. WD My Book World Edition (White Light) 3 TB Upgrade - Disassembly - YouTube
You may want to try replacing the battery before resorting to more drastic recover methods.
