I have a Western Digital 160 GB External USB 2.0 HDD (Model #
WD1600B008-RNN). It was working well and good and suddenly it stopped
working when I wasnt around. My brother was using it and he says he may
have changed the polarity for the DC input. I had a DC adapter which
can accomodate multiple heads. I changed it to right polarity and
switched it on.

When I switch it on, both the green and red lights are always lit, PC
identifies that there is a USB device connected, but it cannot "see"
the Ext HDD. Windows Drive Information did not list this drive.

I tried with WD Data Lifeguard Diagnostic for Windows program that lets
the PC to identify the drives but the drive did not show up. I tested
the input power cable and it is working.

I suspect there is a board failure as the DC polarity was mixed up.
Since I dont work much on storage hardware, I suspect that there should
be a control mechanism/fise which may prevent the board/hard drive from
being fried.

So what would be the next logical step for trouble shooting ??

I really appreciate your help on this!

Thanks very much!!

I have a Western Digital 160 GB External USB 2.0 HDD (Model #
WD1600B008-RNN). It was working well and good and suddenly it stopped
working when I wasnt around. My brother was using it and he says he may
have changed the polarity for the DC input. I had a DC adapter which
can accomodate multiple heads. I changed it to right polarity and
switched it on.

When I switch it on, both the green and red lights are always lit, PC
identifies that there is a USB device connected, but it cannot "see"
the Ext HDD. Windows Drive Information did not list this drive.

I tried with WD Data Lifeguard Diagnostic for Windows program that lets
the PC to identify the drives but the drive did not show up. I tested
the input power cable and it is working.

I suspect there is a board failure as the DC polarity was mixed up.
Since I dont work much on storage hardware, I suspect that there should
be a control mechanism/fise which may prevent the board/hard drive from
being fried.

So what would be the next logical step for trouble shooting ??

It is rather impossible to change DC polarity for those devices by mistake.

How valuable was data on that drive?

Peter,

The adapter I have can be customized to different input volts and
different outputs with a variety of heads (pins). Like in the sense if
I want to use it to charge my camera, I just need to set the right
input/output combination and change the head of the pin which matches
to the camera input. But everytime you have check the polarity, and
accordingly set it in the adapter head.

The data is valuable to me, lots of my previous work files and I dont
have a backup for all of them.

Its something like this except I have a variety of heads..
http://www.expansys.com/zoompic.asp?...em&code=117286

Peter wrote:

I have a Western Digital 160 GB External USB 2.0 HDD
(Model # WD1600B008-RNN). It was working well and good
and suddenly it stopped working when I wasnt around. My
brother was using it and he says he may have changed the
polarity for the DC input. I had a DC adapter which can accomodate
multiple heads. I changed it to right polarity and switched it on.

When I switch it on, both the green and red lights are always lit,
PC identifies that there is a USB device connected, but it cannot
"see" the Ext HDD. Windows Drive Information did not list this drive.

I tried with WD Data Lifeguard Diagnostic for Windows program
that lets the PC to identify the drives but the drive did not show
up. I tested the input power cable and it is working.

I suspect there is a board failure as the DC polarity was mixed up.
Since I dont work much on storage hardware, I suspect that there
should be a control mechanism/fise which may prevent the
board/hard drive from being fried.

So what would be the next logical step for trouble shooting ??

Is it still under warranty ?

It is rather impossible to change DC polarity for those devices by mistake.

Not with the DC adapters with multiple heads, very easy with most of those.

How valuable was data on that drive?

"Jay" wrote in message
oups.com...
I have a Western Digital 160 GB External USB 2.0 HDD (Model #
WD1600B008-RNN). It was working well and good and suddenly it stopped
working when I wasnt around. My brother was using it and he says he may
have changed the polarity for the DC input. I had a DC adapter which
can accomodate multiple heads. I changed it to right polarity and
switched it on.

When I switch it on, both the green and red lights are always lit, PC
identifies that there is a USB device connected, but it cannot "see"
the Ext HDD. Windows Drive Information did not list this drive.

I tried with WD Data Lifeguard Diagnostic for Windows program that lets
the PC to identify the drives but the drive did not show up. I tested
the input power cable and it is working.

I suspect there is a board failure as the DC polarity was mixed up.
Since I dont work much on storage hardware, I suspect that there should
be a control mechanism/fise which may prevent the board/hard drive from
being fried.

So what would be the next logical step for trouble shooting ??

I really appreciate your help on this!

Thanks very much!!


Didn't it come with a dedicated power supply? Unless it is specifically
designed for use on third party power supplies then it shouldn't be used
with one. For example, mine uses a dedicated 12v switchmode adapter, and the
drive enclosure has a regulator to drop the 12v down to 5v for the drive's
logic board. The 12v goes straight to the drive and therefore must be
supplied by a well regulated source. A cheap, multi head adapter will
usually have atrocious regulation.

Anyway- over to your problem. Have you dismantled the enclosure and fitted
the drive to an IDE cable in your computer? (I'm assuming the drive is a
standard IDE type) Maybe the USB interface in the drive housing was damaged
and if you're *very* lucky the drive might be OK.

Dave

Nope, I ran out of warranty last year

Yes, the next I'm planning to do is to dismantle it and use an IDE-USB
adapter, I will just have my fingers crossed on that one.

Is there anything to watch out before doing that?

Jay wrote:

Nope, I ran out of warranty last year

In that case I'd personally try removing the drive
from the enclosure and see it can be seen as an
internal drive in the system, not in the enclosure.

Not a good idea if its under warranty, but since its not
and the data is important, worth trying because it may
just be the bridge that's got killed and not the drive itself.

If the drive doesnt work in the system, you'll have
to decide if the data is important enough to be
worth the cost of pro recovery. That aint cheap.

Jay wrote:

Yes, the next I'm planning to do is to dismantle it and use an
IDE-USB adapter, I will just have my fingers crossed on that one.

Its a bit easier to try it in the system instead of with an adapter.

Is there anything to watch out before doing that?

Not really, just see if the drive spins up when first plugged in.

hmm, can I use the power cable from PC or do I still need to use the
external DC adapter.

I'm planning to get another WD External HDD, check the input/output for
their adapter and use it, incase I cannot use power supply from the PC.

The adapter I have can be customized to different input volts and
different outputs with a variety of heads (pins). Like in the sense if
I want to use it to charge my camera, I just need to set the right
input/output combination and change the head of the pin which matches
to the camera input. But everytime you have check the polarity, and
accordingly set it in the adapter head.

The data is valuable to me, lots of my previous work files and I dont
have a backup for all of them.

Seek professional data recovery, or at least find a person experienced in
this type of work.

Its something like this except I have a variety of heads..
http://www.expansys.com/zoompic.asp?...em&code=117286

Did it come with external disk? Strange...

"Jay" wrote in message
oups.com...
Yes, the next I'm planning to do is to dismantle it and use an IDE-USB
adapter, I will just have my fingers crossed on that one.

Is there anything to watch out before doing that?


No, but it's much better to just try it inside the PC on the IDE cable. That
way you know the drive will get the proper stabilised 5v and 12v power it
needs to run properly.

Dave

Ill try that and let you guys know the result!

BTW, this is my drive...
http://wdc.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/wdc....ted=1059756467

Jay wrote:
I have a Western Digital 160 GB External USB 2.0 HDD (Model #
WD1600B008-RNN). It was working well and good and suddenly it stopped
working when I wasnt around. My brother was using it and he says he may
have changed the polarity for the DC input. I had a DC adapter which
can accomodate multiple heads. I changed it to right polarity and
switched it on.

When I switch it on, both the green and red lights are always lit, PC
identifies that there is a USB device connected, but it cannot "see"
the Ext HDD. Windows Drive Information did not list this drive.

I tried with WD Data Lifeguard Diagnostic for Windows program that lets
the PC to identify the drives but the drive did not show up. I tested
the input power cable and it is working.

I suspect there is a board failure as the DC polarity was mixed up.
Since I dont work much on storage hardware, I suspect that there should
be a control mechanism/fise which may prevent the board/hard drive from
being fried.

So what would be the next logical step for trouble shooting ??

I really appreciate your help on this!

Thanks very much!!



Remove the drive from the case and connect it directly to a PC via the
normal IDE interface and see if it works. If you're lucky, you may have
only had the USB adapter get cooked. If the drive is still dead, look
around the circuit board for a diode near the power connector, I've
fixed a couple drives that got plugged in wrong by replacing that.

Jay wrote:
Ill try that and let you guys know the result!

BTW, this is my drive...
http://wdc.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/wdc....ted=1059756467



Inside is just an ordinary IDE drive, probably the exact same 160GB unit
I have in my own PC.

In comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage Jay wrote:
I have a Western Digital 160 GB External USB 2.0 HDD (Model #
WD1600B008-RNN). It was working well and good and suddenly it stopped
working when I wasnt around. My brother was using it and he says he may
have changed the polarity for the DC input. I had a DC adapter which
can accomodate multiple heads. I changed it to right polarity and
switched it on.

When I switch it on, both the green and red lights are always lit, PC
identifies that there is a USB device connected, but it cannot "see"
the Ext HDD. Windows Drive Information did not list this drive.

I tried with WD Data Lifeguard Diagnostic for Windows program that lets
the PC to identify the drives but the drive did not show up. I tested
the input power cable and it is working.

I suspect there is a board failure as the DC polarity was mixed up.
Since I dont work much on storage hardware, I suspect that there should
be a control mechanism/fise which may prevent the board/hard drive from
being fried.

There is not. Not for this type of failure, since it is rather hard to
protect semiconductors against it, when you cannot afford a
signifivant voltage level drop (0.5V) on the power lines. The only
way that works would require power isolation and wide-range inputs on
all logic lines. Possible, but expensive. Nobody does it.
If you can afford that voltage drop, a rectifier diode on 5V and
12V input cpuld be used. The logic input protection would
still be needed, since otherwies the ESD circuitry can fry itself.
Nobody does this either.

So what would be the next logical step for trouble shooting ??

Think about what the data is worth. If it is enough, then contact
a professional recovery service. Otherwise throw the drive away,
there is nothing you can do.

Arno

In comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage Jay wrote:
Peter,

The adapter I have can be customized to different input volts and
different outputs with a variety of heads (pins). Like in the sense if
I want to use it to charge my camera, I just need to set the right
input/output combination and change the head of the pin which matches
to the camera input. But everytime you have check the polarity, and
accordingly set it in the adapter head.

Well, I have to say that not protecting the device physically
is an accident waiting to happen. Likely the drive and the other
circuitry is all fried.

The data is valuable to me, lots of my previous work files and I dont
have a backup for all of them.

I think the only way of salvaging anything here is that you learn
a lesson or two. The data will be very expensive to get back and there
is nothing you can do yourself.

So he

1) Do backups of all important data.
2) Do not build circuits that can be killed by a simple error
in handling.
3) Do not give things that can be killed by a simple error to
other people.

Sorry, but I think that you got what you deserved for a dangerous
design and careless handling of valuable data.

Arno

I have a Western Digital 160 GB External USB 2.0 HDD (Model #
WD1600B008-RNN). It was working well and good and suddenly it stopped
working when I wasnt around. My brother was using it and he says he may
have changed the polarity for the DC input. I had a DC adapter which
can accomodate multiple heads. I changed it to right polarity and
switched it on.

When I switch it on, both the green and red lights are always lit, PC
identifies that there is a USB device connected, but it cannot "see"
the Ext HDD. Windows Drive Information did not list this drive.

I tried with WD Data Lifeguard Diagnostic for Windows program that lets
the PC to identify the drives but the drive did not show up. I tested
the input power cable and it is working.

I suspect there is a board failure as the DC polarity was mixed up.
Since I dont work much on storage hardware, I suspect that there should
be a control mechanism/fise which may prevent the board/hard drive from
being fried.

There is not. Not for this type of failure, since it is rather hard to
protect semiconductors against it, when you cannot afford a
signifivant voltage level drop (0.5V) on the power lines. The only
way that works would require power isolation and wide-range inputs on
all logic lines. Possible, but expensive. Nobody does it.
If you can afford that voltage drop, a rectifier diode on 5V and
12V input cpuld be used. The logic input protection would
still be needed, since otherwies the ESD circuitry can fry itself.
Nobody does this either.

It seems that OP (or his brother) used a diiferent AC adapter then
originally supplied with his external disk.
Accidents happen.....
Most of them create some damage. Life is a learning process.

So what would be the next logical step for trouble shooting ??

Think about what the data is worth. If it is enough, then contact
a professional recovery service. Otherwise throw the drive away,
there is nothing you can do.

On Wed, 14 Dec 2005 08:03:24 GMT, James Sweet
wrote:


Remove the drive from the case and connect it directly to a PC via the
normal IDE interface and see if it works. If you're lucky, you may have
only had the USB adapter get cooked. If the drive is still dead, look
around the circuit board for a diode near the power connector, I've
fixed a couple drives that got plugged in wrong by replacing that.

This is one case that might be fixed by swapping the board from
another identical drive.
Andy Cuffe

-- Use this address until 12/31/2005

-- Use this address after 12/31/2005

"Arno Wagner" wrote in message
In comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage Jay wrote:
I have a Western Digital 160 GB External USB 2.0 HDD (Model #
WD1600B008-RNN). It was working well and good and suddenly it stopped
working when I wasnt around. My brother was using it and he says he may
have changed the polarity for the DC input. I had a DC adapter which
can accomodate multiple heads. I changed it to right polarity and
switched it on.

When I switch it on, both the green and red lights are always lit, PC
identifies that there is a USB device connected, but it cannot "see"
the Ext HDD. Windows Drive Information did not list this drive.

I tried with WD Data Lifeguard Diagnostic for Windows program that
lets the PC to identify the drives but the drive did not show up. I tested
the input power cable and it is working.

I suspect there is a board failure as the DC polarity was mixed up.
Since I dont work much on storage hardware, I suspect that there should
be a control mechanism/fuse which may prevent the board/hard drive from
being fried.

There is not.

Nonsense.

Not for this type of failure, since it is rather hard to
protect semiconductors against it, when you cannot afford
a signifivant voltage level drop

But you can use a diode in parallel that trips a fuse.

(0.5V) on the power lines.

And there are diodes too that produce less of a drop.

The only way that works would require power isolation and
wide-range inputs on all logic lines.

(Whatever that's supposed to mean)

Or use an unregulated supply and regulate internally in the box.

Possible, but expensive. Nobody does it.

Whatever is was supposed to mean.

If you can afford that voltage drop, a rectifier diode on 5V and
12V input cpuld be used. The logic input protection would
still be needed, since otherwies the ESD circuitry can fry itself.
Nobody does this either.

So what would be the next logical step for trouble shooting ??

Think about what the data is worth. If it is enough, then contact
a professional recovery service. Otherwise throw the drive away,
there is nothing you can do.

Arno

"Jay" bravely wrote to "All" (13 Dec 05 13:09:31)
--- on the heady topic of "WD External hard disk failure..."

Ja From: "Jay"
Ja Xref: core-easynews comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage:288636
Ja sci.electronics.repair:351238

Ja I have a Western Digital 160 GB External USB 2.0 HDD (Model #
Ja WD1600B008-RNN). It was working well and good and suddenly it stopped
Ja working when I wasnt around. My brother was using it and he says he
Ja may have changed the polarity for the DC input. I had a DC adapter
Ja which can accomodate multiple heads. I changed it to right polarity and
Ja switched it on.

[,,,]

When a reverse polarity is applied to some IC's, if they aren't
destroyed outright then they might sometimes store a charge that
impedes them from working again when the proper polarity is applied.
Sometimes leaving it alone for a couple of days will naturally
discharge the semiconductor layers so that it then can function again.
This has happened to me a couple of times and luckily no damage done.
It may seem like the device is dead but if there was no obvious smoke,
give it a little time, sometimes it does clear up on its own.

A*s*i*m*o*v

.... Just a little force field zap.

Arno Wagner wrote:
In comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage Jay wrote:
I have a Western Digital 160 GB External USB 2.0 HDD (Model #
WD1600B008-RNN). It was working well and good and suddenly it stopped
working when I wasnt around. My brother was using it and he says he
may have changed the polarity for the DC input. I had a DC adapter
which can accomodate multiple heads. I changed it to right polarity
and switched it on.

When I switch it on, both the green and red lights are always lit, PC
identifies that there is a USB device connected, but it cannot "see"
the Ext HDD. Windows Drive Information did not list this drive.

I tried with WD Data Lifeguard Diagnostic for Windows program that
lets the PC to identify the drives but the drive did not show up. I
tested the input power cable and it is working.

I suspect there is a board failure as the DC polarity was mixed up.
Since I dont work much on storage hardware, I suspect that there
should be a control mechanism/fise which may prevent the board/hard
drive from being fried.

There is not. Not for this type of failure, since it is rather hard
to protect semiconductors against it, when you cannot afford
a signifivant voltage level drop (0.5V) on the power lines. The
only way that works would require power isolation and wide-range
inputs on all logic lines. Possible, but expensive. Nobody does it.

That is just plain wrong. One approach is a diode across each
of the two voltage rails to ground which will short the rail when
the voltage is reversed. That should shut down the power
supply and protect the device.

If you can afford that voltage drop, a rectifier diode on
5V and 12V input cpuld be used. The logic input protection
would still be needed, since otherwies the ESD circuitry
can fry itself. Nobody does this either.

So what would be the next logical step for trouble shooting ??

Think about what the data is worth. If it is enough,
then contact a professional recovery service. Otherwise
throw the drive away, there is nothing you can do.

Ok, updates:

I opened the enclosure and checked inside. There was no blown out fuses
or infact nothing remotely resembling a damaged part.

As Ive been thinking, the lights are lit when the power source is
plugged, and the supply for the lights are after the voltage regulator.
So i'm thinking something bad has happened to the drive it self. I
didnt get a chance to test whether the supply goes to the motor or not,
which i will do today.

Also I'll check whether the drive works when I connect it to a PC, else
I guess I'm screwed big time ((( Professional data recovery is $100 a
gig ((

oh btw, the error in the device manager says Code 10- the device cannot
be started.
I run a Win Xp SP2 machine and I tried again by updating it with latest
USB 2.0 drivers, no luck!!

Jay wrote

Ok, updates:

I opened the enclosure and checked inside. There was no blown
out fuses or infact nothing remotely resembling a damaged part.

There isnt usually anything visible when its a reversed supply that
has killed a device. Not always tho, I have seen an optical drive
produce smoke when some eejut rammed a conventional molex
power connector on backwards with an internal drive.

As Ive been thinking, the lights are lit when the power source is
plugged, and the supply for the lights are after the voltage regulator.

Sure, but that doesnt mean that the electronics isnt dead.
You can get a situation where the leds are fine since they dont care
about a reversed voltage, but what is driving them has got fried.

So i'm thinking something bad has happened to the drive it self.

Yeah, that's quite likely given that some of the external
cases dont even attempt to regulate the main supply to
the drive, so it gets 12V reversed if you have the head
reversed on the external power pack.

It isnt hard to design the 5V regulator so that
it doesnt die when its input 12V is reversed.

I didnt get a chance to test whether the supply
goes to the motor or not, which i will do today.

Also I'll check whether the drive works when I connect
it to a PC, else I guess I'm screwed big time (((

Yeah, could well be.

oh btw, the error in the device manager
says Code 10- the device cannot be started.

Yeah, but it isnt clear if that means the
drive cant be started or the bridge is fried.

I run a Win Xp SP2 machine and I tried again by
updating it with latest USB 2.0 drivers, no luck!!

Yeah, I wouldnt have expected that to make any difference.

Professional data recovery is $100 a gig ((

Not always, http://www.retrodata.co.uk/
Worth the hassle if the alternative is attempting it yourself
because the in country recovery is too expensive to contemplate.

In article .com,
Jay wrote:

| Also I'll check whether the drive works when I connect it to a PC

Really, that's one of the first things you should try when an external
USB or firewire drive fails.

| else I guess I'm screwed big time ((( Professional data recovery
| is $100 a gig ((

It's not always that expensive, but it's always expensive. One of
many reasons why backups are important.

(Other reasons? Sometimes, even the professionals can't get your
data.)

--
Doug McLaren,
No, no, you're not thinking, you're just being logical. --Niels Bohr

In comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage Jay wrote:
Ok, updates:

I opened the enclosure and checked inside. There was no blown out fuses
or infact nothing remotely resembling a damaged part.

As Ive been thinking, the lights are lit when the power source is
plugged, and the supply for the lights are after the voltage regulator.
So i'm thinking something bad has happened to the drive it self. I
didnt get a chance to test whether the supply goes to the motor or not,
which i will do today.

Also I'll check whether the drive works when I connect it to a PC, else
I guess I'm screwed big time ((( Professional data recovery is $100 a
gig ((

That seems rather low. I would expect it to be far more expensive,
like 10-50 times more expensive.

Arno

"Jay" wrote in message
oups.com...
Ok, updates:

I opened the enclosure and checked inside. There was no blown out fuses
or infact nothing remotely resembling a damaged part.


With respect, do you know what a surface mount fuse looks like?

Dave

Yes I do. Matter of fact there was no surface mount fuse, but it had
PPTC Resettable Fuse inside, thats why it didnt blew.

There isnt usually anything visible when its a reversed supply that
has killed a device.
Thanks for that cheerful start

Sure, but that doesnt mean that the electronics isnt dead.
You can get a situation where the leds are fine since they dont care
about a reversed voltage, but what is driving them has got fried.

Yeah may be, but that takes away the blown fuse part out. So may be the
controller board got fried.

Yeah, that's quite likely given that some of the external
cases dont even attempt to regulate the main supply to
the drive, so it gets 12V reversed if you have the head
reversed on the external power pack.

It had a voltage regulator, so I think it was safe that way.

Will go home and do the rest of testing today

Thanks everyone!!

Yes Dave, I do. Also, I had PPTC resettable fuse in the circuitry, so I
guess it will not blow.

I got a multimeter from work today...checked all the voltages and
currents, its all perfect, uptill the point where it goes to the HDD

Ill try mounting this drive thro IDE on a PC and let know how it
goes...

This goes on and on for ever..I dont have a PC at home, so need to take
it to work to check

Slowly my hopes of recovering the data by myself is fading away...

Also, the design is very well put, it had a voltage regulator and I
also tried reversing the polarity, the Voltage/current never got in to
the circuitry at all. I think that the resettable fuse works like a
charm!

Jay wrote:

Also, the design is very well put, it had a voltage regulator and I
also tried reversing the polarity, the Voltage/current never got in to
the circuitry at all. I think that the resettable fuse works like a charm!

That doesnt explain why it doesnt work
with the power the right way around now.

Jay wrote:
oh btw, the error in the device manager says Code 10- the device cannot
be started.
I run a Win Xp SP2 machine and I tried again by updating it with latest
USB 2.0 drivers, no luck!!



Listen to the man who said

"Buy an identical working drive and swap the controller board to recover
your data."

Chances are you will get lucky.

I know that there is one chip inside the drive chamber, a multiplexer
for head selection and or amplifiers. It's fairly far from the impute
power so it has a chance of survival.


Hugh

"Jay" wrote in message
ups.com...
Yes Dave, I do. Also, I had PPTC resettable fuse in the circuitry, so I
guess it will not blow.


I see. Good luck with the drive.

Dave

Rod Speed wrote:
That doesnt explain why it doesnt work
with the power the right way around now.

Yes, I will know it tonight. Im plugging it in my friends computer

*crossing my fingers*