WD Passport Essential 500GB *not recognized* (stopped working) USB

Hi,

I have a problem with my external Passport. It is one of the newer revisons with the built in USB controller, and has stopped working -the device does not show up in Explorer. In Device Manager or Disk Management I can only see a ‘Config  Disk 0 (8 gb)’ (yes, with double space) -which can not be initialized.

I have tried disassembling the unit, assuming that I would be able to connect it to another computer via SATA however the hard drive has a USB controller built in -the only port is the micro USB connector. I see that there are pins which look like they are for SATA/power, but they are just pins and not used.

I have tried a number of methods of HD recovery including HD Tune -which reported zero errors on the 8GB drive.

I have a lot of sensitive files on the drive and really welcome any suggestions. I have tried using the device on a laptop and PC, both very powerful and running Windows 7 x64 and x86 respectively. The Passport has been working for more 10 months, and was working just this morning. The last action the drive had completed was the copying of files to the drive -a mixture of large and small files. Nothing out of the norm.

I believe the drive is under warranty but I am more concerned about data recovery than hardware replacement.  I have lots of sensitive files and really welcome any suggestions that may help me solve my problem.

Thanks in advance,

Gary

PS,

(edit) I have tried searching the forum and read this post but found no answers. I found YouTube helpful regarding disassembly but there seems to be no guidance on fault units with the USB controller built in. There were some Google posts that suggested deleting the LowerFilters and UpperFilters keys from Registry -I had tried this but no change, the Passport would not show up.

When you opened the drive without permission from WD you voided the warranty. Hooking the drive up with SATA would not be of any use. The drive is hardware encrypted whether you set a password or not. Did you try other cables and ports and another computer? Did you try plugging the power supply directly into an other outlet?

Joe

Hi Joe,

In answer to your questions:

Yes, I have tried other ports and other computers.

I have not tried another cable yet (I will purchase another, to test -tomorrow).

Joe_S wrote:

Did you try plugging the power supply directly into an other outlet?

Joe

 

What power supply? The WD Passport has no external power supply, only the USB Micro cable/connector.

Thanks again for your reply, 

Gary

PS -you mentioned the warranty -at this point I am more concerned with data recovery than hardware replacement. I assume warranty repairs would ofer no guarantee that the data is recoverable and therefore I would not be willing to RMA the unit -unless you know better? Therefore, I am trying to resolve the issue myself and came here for support. Thanks again

Joe_S wrote:

Hooking the drive up with SATA would not be of any use. The drive is hardware encrypted whether you set a password or not. 

 

PS, you mentioned that the drive is encrypted: but the Passport has only ever been used as a regular USB ‘drive’ -the SmartWare software was never used, would the file system still be encrypted?

Thanks

Yes.

_ All _ password-capable drives from WD store the data encrypted on the drive, whether a password is set or not.

The encryption/decryption is hardware-based, using the controller in the enclosure.

RoofingGuy wrote:

Yes.

 

_ All _ password-capable drives from WD store the data encrypted on the drive, whether a password is set or not.

 

The encryption/decryption is hardware-based, using the controller in the enclosure.

So would even a professional be able to recover data from the drive, if it is encrypted?

I have been reading around and found these two posts, they may be of interest to others:
http://community.wdc.com/t5/My-Passport-for-PC/WD-External-Hard-drive-not-recognized-in-my-computer/td-p/3225/page/12

http://www.datarecoverytools.co.uk/2010/05/05/how-to-connect-and-recover-usb-only-western-digital-drives-with-hd-doctor-suite/

Incidentally, I looked through the system logs and found several entries over the last 2 days reporting:

  • An error was detected on device \Device\Harddisk1\DR3 during a paging operation.
  • The driver detected a controller error on \Device\Harddisk1\DR3.
  • The device, \Device\Harddisk1\DR3, has a bad block.

USBDeview last reports the WD Passport active on 21-05-2011 22:44:17. USBDeview does not list the WD Passport as connected.

Help, please… ;(

Yes it will still be encrypted whether you used Smartware or a password or not. Basically you have to access the drive thru the bridge board the USB port is attached to. That board handles the encryption.

Joe

At this point can anyone can make an actionable recommendation?

Some people having problems with USB powered drives have had sucess using a powered docking station. A lot of PCs have barely adequet p[owersupplies.

Joe

Hi,

Thanks for the suggestion. I have looked online and found that no where is the WD docking station available seperately, only bundled with a Passport Elite -which seem to have the standard USB connector.  Could you be so kind as to provide a link where a compatible docking station may be available? 

Thanks again,

Gary

EDIT:

Could anyone confirm if this Passport Elite + docking station utilise the USB Micro connection?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Western-Digital-Passport-Elite-Portable/dp/B002KQ4FVW/ref=cm_cr_pr_pb_t

One other thing WD makes a power booster cable that uses 2 USB ports.

Joe

Hi,

I received my USB Y Cable today, but it did not make a difference  -the Passport device is still unrecognised. I tried on both laptop and PC. I assume there is no difference between the OEM cable I have and the WD one you mentioned  -would you care to share a link to it so that I double check?

I forsee that the only discourse from here on in is to seek the services of a professional data recovery company.

I shall never again recommend WD professionally nor personally.

Regards,

Gary

Looks like this will cost in the region of £395+VAT.

That is not the most expensive nor the cheapest option but relative to the market: reasonable.

I was told that the reason WD (et al) choose to integrate the USB controller rather than SATA is (1) cost saving and (2) reduces the form factor (size) of the unit.  Well it’s absolutely ridiculous if you ask me, and many others agree. I am amazed that there is no route to repair other than professional data recovery companies.

*So buyers beware* if your WD Passport hard drive features the integrated USB controller & encryption board and does   develop a fault at best you will be able to get a replacement via your warranty, and lose your data, or you may have to pay hundreds of pounds to rescue the data!

Good day!

ghicks wrote:
at best you will be able to get a replacement via your warranty, and lose your data, or you may have to pay hundreds of pounds to rescue the data!

Doesn’t that go for any hard drive in existence from any manufacturer?  They all will develop faults eventually, and no consumer warranty will cover data loss.

RoofingGuy wrote:

 


ghicks wrote:
at best you will be able to get a replacement via your warranty, and lose your data, or you may have to pay hundreds of pounds to rescue the data!


 

Doesn’t that go for any hard drive in existence from any manufacturer?  They all will develop faults eventually, and no consumer warranty will cover data loss.

Dear RoofingGuy,

Any product *can* develop a fault, yes, but specific to the WD Passport Element unit:

  1. The hard drive has no SATA connection.
  2. There is built in hardware encryption.

Both of these factors, combined, make the WD Passport Element product very difficult to work with once it develops a fault. Most comparable units feature hard drives with standard SATA connections that can be removed from the - comparably -more temperamental USB controller board. The built in hardware encryption serves as another obstacle to overcome should one need to recover data.

So while your general remark *with the provided caveat* may stand, I do not agree that your assumption may be used in comparison to the WD Passport Element’s shortcomings: (1) for lack of a better argument, logic dictates that the decision to use an integrated USB controller was an exercise in cost cutting and (2) hardware encryption seems an unnecessary augmention of security -both of which have severe repercussions to serviceability.

The WD Passport Element is marketed as a safe and secure back up device, don’t you think that serviceability should be (a) an important end user factor and (b) a manufacturers responsibility? 

Regards,

Gary

EDIT:

PS, you quoted me out of context: I was not complaining about the shortcomings of any warranty -rather, that *if this device did not have the design that it does (see point 1 and 2) then the cost of serviceability would be greatly reduced! A lot of people may purchase this unit without considering the very high service costs involved with comparable units from other manufacturers whom use hard drives with standard SATA connections and no built in encryption.

ghicks wrote:

  1. The hard drive has no SATA connection.
  2. There is built in hardware encryption.

Both of these factors, combined, make the WD Passport Element product very difficult to work with once it develops a fault. Most comparable units feature hard drives with standard SATA connections that can be removed from the - comparably -more temperamental USB controller board. The built in hardware encryption serves as another obstacle to overcome should one need to recover data


If recovering the data would be as easy as taking out the external case then the encryption system would be pointless. It is intentional, it is designed as such so make sure the data is not accessible to anyone but the owner, and data loss is not a risk if your data is so important as to have a backup. You can have a million drives fail on you, if you have a backup then you won’t lose a single KB.

You can’t blame WD for making a drive designed for security and expect you to have a backup, as it is your responsibility, not theirs.

If you buy a car and the very first day the paint gets scratched on the road, who pays for the paint job? It sure won’t be the car dealer, my friend, your insurance company does… And having a backup is having insurance for your data.

On the other hand, the Passport and the Element are completely separate products not related to each other except that they are both made by WD, and the Elements has NO encryption at all, making recovery easy by taking the case out, hence, not marketed for security.

ThePizzaMatrix wrote:

 


 

On the other hand, the Passport and the Element are completely separate products not related to each other except that they are both made by WD, and the Elements has NO encryption at all, making recovery easy by taking the case out, hence, not marketed for security.

Thank you for the correction, it is in fact the Passport  Essential  -as per the thread title.

ThePizzaMatrix,

I agree with what you say, that the manufacturer shouldn’t be held accountable for everything, however they should make serviceable practices available for their products; let’s take your annacdote of the car manufacturer -wouldn’t be farcical if said manufacturer made your colour of paint unavailable to spray shops or retail, forcing you to pay heady prices to match your colour?

Yes, at the end of the day data backups are the responsibility of the end user, I agree. But this device is supposed to be a back up device, which is the crux of my argument; end users rely on it somewhat more than other devices and by default a backup device should be serviceable. My argument remains (with due respect to your reasoning), that integrating the USB controller into the hard drive is by itself a poor design choice that creates an unnecessary barrier **bleep** device need servicing.

This thread was started to find actionable suggestions that could help me (a) identify the problem so that I could (b) pursue the most prudent solution. While some suggestions were offered, because of the (1) integrated USB controller I can not (a) identify the root problem nor (b) logically puruse the most efficient solution.

So while I may not be able to solve this problem myself, I believe that at the very least this thread can rightly serve as to raise consumer awareness that the (1) USB controller and (2) integrated encryption will severely limit the serviceability of a product which they may place good faith in.

Thanks again, regards

Gary 

It was not my intention to try and twist your words, Gary.

But there are two sides to the coin here…

On the one side, if you look in most brick-and-mortar stores, they’re loaded with various Passports and have very few other choices, if any.  This is self-perpetuating… people keep buying the Passports like they’re hotcakes, so the stores keep bringing them in.  I’ve seen WD say several times that if you don’t want the encryption, just buy another drive without it.  While that may be nominally true, the non-encrypted drives can be harder to find, depending on the retail outlet – especially if you don’t know what you’re looking for.  I’d think (and I don’t mean to be condescending by this) that at least 75% of the people buying the Passports don’t know that the drive has permanent hardware encryption technology and aren’t aware that the comparable Elements drive is generally cheaper.  All they see is a mountain of Passports and possibly a big Sale sign, and assume that it’s no different than any other drive.  Until something goes wrong.

The other side of the coin, though, is that in this information age, there’s no real need for someone to walk into a store and grab the first thing they see with a sale sticker on it, without even having a clue what it is. (And no, I’m not accusing you personally of doing that, but it does seem to happen more and more.)  There’s nothing stopping someone from taking a moment or two to look up the pros and cons of various models (and various brands) before heading out to the store.  So, from this side of the coin, folks should be able to realize that the reason the drive costs more than the comparable Elements (and competitor drives) is because of the extra hardware encryption stuff, and that there are more things to possibly go wrong, and encrypted data is deliberately difficult to retrieve by design.

I don’t think the failure rate of the drives is any higher than for anything else comparable… it’s just, for the few that do get a failure, the failure is more likely to be catastrophic.

But, even that shouldn’t be the end of the world.  A backup is exactly that – a second (or third) copy.  Replacing the data on the drive should be as simple (and as time consuming :wink: ) as getting a dead drive exchanged under warranty.  If _ any _ drive has the one and only copy of something (internal or external, encrypted or non-encrypted), that’s just asking for heartache – all drives will fail sooner or later… all we can do is hope that it’s “later” for us, and that we’re prepared for when it does happen.