Hello,
I have one- Western Digital 2TB My Pasport Ultra HDD which has Wd20NMVW inside, Due to some usb malfunction on my PC the drive has now stopped working. when i connect to ANY PC it will not show up in BIOS. Just the front led lights up and HDD gets warm. I want to recover data from this Drive.
I saw some similar drive available on ebay, can i buy those drive swap the PCB, change HDD BIOS from old drive to new pcb )and try to start the drive ? any other options > please guide.
The drive DOES not spin up when connected to usb port.
Swapping might work but only if it’s the same model and the old ROM chip’s moved over. Otherwise, doesn’t seem to.
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Buy an identical donor PCB (same PCB number), de-solder the 8-pin ROM chip from your original board and solder it onto the donor then reconnect the drive. if motor spins and BIOS detects it, clone immediately.
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the model i have is Wd20nmvw-59av3s2, should the last 6 alphanumbers match ?
I have a Western Digital 2TB My Passport Ultra (WD20NMVW) drive that stopped working after a USB malfunction on my PC. The LED lights up and the drive gets warm when connected, but it doesn’t spin up or appear in the BIOS on any computer. This model has a built-in USB interface and no separate SATA port, so the problem is likely with the PCB. Replacing the PCB alone won’t work unless the small 8-pin ROM chip from the original board is moved to the donor PCB, as it contains unique calibration and encryption data. This requires soldering and the right tools. Before trying any hardware repair, it’s worth testing with different USB cables, ports, or a powered USB hub to rule out power issues. If the drive still doesn’t respond, the safest option is to send it to a professional data recovery service that can replace the PCB, transfer the ROM chip, and recover the data using specialized equipment.
Hi, i have ordered the pcb from ebay. i have a guy who specializes in laptop repair at the chip level., he will swap the chip(s) . fingers crossed.
