I recently needed to removed the drive from a Western Digital My Book External USB/eSATA drive enclosure. Unfortunately, this wasn’t an obvious process and this excellent article by Scott Cramer didn’t apply to the newer version (1 TB drive) enclosure I have. So here you go, the steps required to disassemble a new-style Western Digital My Book drive enclosure.
1. Locate the two rubber pads on the bottom of the enclosure near the front, curved surface. Remove these two pads. Depress the two tabs below using a small flat-head screwdriver.
1a. With a couple of credit cards, pry the back edge of the casing apart and hold them open with the credit cards. There are some locking mechanisms there that need to be held apart. You can now slide the plastic casings apart. Note that it is easier to lift the round corners of the case and pop it out of the retainers than it is to slide it off due to the very tight fit of the sliding components.
2. Slide the clear plastic LED front panel conduit forward and remove.
3. Rotate the hard drive/carrier assembly sideways and then lift away from the case
4. Remove the two screws holding the metal connector casing. Slide it upwards and remove it
5. Slide the circuit board upwards (away from the drive), just like you did for the metal casing.
6. Remove the 4 screws holding the hard drive to the metal carrier. You’ll see that it is a standard 3.5″ desktop SATA drive.
You’re done!
Repeat the steps in reverse order to re-assemble the enclosure.
Getting Your Data Off of the Drive
In most cases, the circuit board inside the enclosure is the cause of the failure and the drive itself is fine. The drive is a standard 3.5-inch SATA drive and easiest way to get your data off is to use a SATA-to-USB adapter dock, such as this Thermaltake Dock at Amazon.com.
Thermaltake BlacX eSATA USB Docking Station
In many cases, all you need to do is connect the drive to a computer using a new dock and your data is immediately available. If it’s not, here are some suggestions:
- Test the drive using the Western Digital Data Lifeguard Diagnostic tool
- Use data recovery software:
- Use TestDisk to repair damaged partition tables.
- Purchase the Runtime.org GetDataBack data recovery software (free demo available)
- If you’re a Linux guru and have an empty spare drive on which to copy data, you can try using the SystemRescue bootable Linux CD and Antonio Diaz’s ddrescue command line program.
- Send the drive a professional data recovery specialist, such as DTI.
Video showing How to Opening the Case
Protect your data with offsite backups:
If you are looking for an even more robust backup solution, I highly recommend using an online backup service. If your hard drive fails, or in case of a catastrophic event (fire, theft), there is still a secure copy of your data. I’ve had great experiences with CrashPlan.com Offsite Backup, which allows you to backup files between your own computers for free, and gives unlimited unlimited offsite storage on their servers for $3.00/Month.
To Install a Different SATA Drive in the Original Western Digital Enclosure:
In many cases, the enclosure is probably what is failed. But if you’re sure it,s working, you can replace the original drive with a different drive. For example, I replaced the 1TB drive with a 200GB drive. I didn’t have to do anything special, I just put the new drive in the enclosure, plugged everything in, and it worked.
However, a few people have had with the enclosure recognizing the new drive. If you do, try this:
(thanks Fisslefink) The onboard chipset memory of the MyBook Studio needed to be reset. When you remove the metal shielding, you see the circuit board and all of the different components. One of them is two metal prongs, an empty jumper (J6, may be different on your board), sticking out of the circuit board, near the DC power input. By shorting those jumper pins together with a metal screwdriver for 2 seconds (with the drive OFF and the power cord REMOVED!), the board will reset so it can recognize the new drive.
For what it’s worth, if your drive supports slower SATA operation, you can use a traditional jumper shunt (those darn little black things that get lost all the time!) to connect the jumpers at OPT1 on the 250GB drive itself. This switches it from the faster “SATA 2” 3.0GB/s transfer rate to the slower 1.5GB/s rate, with which the enclosure chipset may be more compatible.
Is there any way to disassemble the drive without damaging the pads?
Thanks in advance.
TE
I was able to peel the pad off and then re-attach it. You’ll need a small screw driver to do this. To make it easier, you can heat them with a hair dryer; then they should peel right off.
Sounds good. Thanks. Do the rear pads need removal as well?
Nope, only the 2 front pads.
Alright. Thanks for the help – I’m taking mine apart at the moment because apparently the cables are not well attached…because I dropped it, hehe =) I hope I can fix things. Thanks a bundle!
Is the hard drive a standard IDE hard drive? The reason I ask is mind just went bad (after just 1 year) and all of my important data back-ups are on this drive. I think that maybe the the hardware to run the drive is malfunctioning and perhaps my data on the drive is still intact. Can I just remove the drive and use it like a standard IDE harddreive to possible recover the data?
Actually, it’s just a standard 3.5″ desktop SATA drive. I replaced the 1TB drive with a 160GB SATA drive I took out of my TiVo.
Western Digital must have changed something. I tried to open my Essential 2.0 1TB and it won’t open up at all. I even broke the tabs that are supposed to be depressed in order to open the casing. Still, no movement! It’s still rock solidly closed :/
OK, I managed to get it open. The construction is much more complex than what is shown here. Mine is a 2508A.
Thank you!
Your post is helpful for me and up to time.
@Boris: mine won’t open either. What did you (additionally) to get it open?
Richard, check these pictures:
http://home.tiscali.nl/bcobelens/wdmybook/
I used old bank cards to open up the casing. Start at the backside and put the (thin) cards between the casing parts to open up the edges. Be careful not to break or damage any parts. Once you have a start you can get the left en right part open. Then kind of spread out those parts and you’ll be able to open up the casing. You might even need somebody to help you to pull it all apart once it’s unlocked.
Thanks Boris,
2 old cd’s and a starbucks card work, use the starbucks card on the edges where the tabs are, release one side then insert the cd (whatever works)to hold the side open, then repeat on the other side. Then do the opposite end with the starbucks card while pulling on the side casing. Tug at the side and it pulls right off. You still may have to start by depressing those two release tabs.
Thanks. This helped me repair my brand new 1TB MyBook that had a jammed power button. It had been put together improperly and the button wasn’t properly clearing the switch housing.
What is it with electronics assembled in the PRC? Unlike Taiwanese products, they are shoddily made.
I also recently purchased a new high-end HP Pavillion media center PC. The built in Wi-Fi didn’t work. When I took it apart, I found that the internal USB connector either hadn’t been connected or had come loose from the motherboard. And, the internal cable routing was the worst I’ve every seen in a PC and I’ve seen some bad ones! This machine was also assembled in the PRC.
Anyway, thanks again!
Damn George you are dead on. CD’s are the shit. When i needed something thinner to get it started i used an old credit card, but once you can slip a cd in there it is game over for the WD engineering. The cd just rolled down the side and gently unsnapped the entire case on that side! Thanks DOOD!
Hi guys. I’m trying to take apart a 500GB WD My Book Premium. Does anyone know if this can be done without damaging the enclosure and drive? Thanks, Adam.
My USB connector broke off, tempted to open and resolder. Any further suggestions appreciated
If you don’t need to, I wouldn’t remove the drives from the case. I bought one from a guy on eBay and he didn’t mention that it was taken out of a MyBook external. Now it’s dead and WD will not honor the warranty. So there goes $200+
For some reason this seller on eBay does this all the time and sells them as “NEW”.
Just make sure you have the case to put the drive back in if it fails. If the drive is installed in the case, it will be covered by the original Western Digital warranty.
i have a studio edition mybook; i can get the to the tabs under the feet, and have no problems prying the back (near the io ports) to get the case open – however, there appears to be something holding the ‘top’ of the case (end opposite to the feet) near the front… can anyone give any recommendations on how i can open it please? i’ve almost destroyed my costco card trying to get it open! 😉
Thanks so much for this article and photos, they were very helpful in opening our My Book Studio Edition. Though as far as I or my husband could tell the credit card down the back step 1.a was completely unnecessary, those hooks appear to lock the sides in tight in a sidewise fashion (ie prevent gaping) but should have no effect on the case sliding off as intended. That said we still couldn’t open the case until it slipped out of our hands & got thrown across the room (right into another room in fact). As luck would have it the case opened and the disk is fine. The disk inside ours was a Western Digital Green Power SATA disk that is now installed internally in my PowerMac.
Just the tip I needed, the pads were the obvious choice for unlocking the case but you never really know for sure. The photo’s were a help, the only problem we had was pushing too hard on the locking keys under the pads with the screwdriver, they actually broke. Not a necessary item because we installed the drive internally to a new Dell XPS.
I have a 400 GB my book external drive, and im wondering if I can pull the drive and install it in the G4 im working on. It only has 1 40GB drive. Is it possible? I need the space also. Thanks
Only if tje G4 has an internal SATA controller, which I don’t think it does.
I just installed a 160 gb HD in a sawtooth I got for my mother and it works fine. The one im working on is a 466 digital audio with 1 40 gb drive. It does have several empty slots when opened. I formatted her drive,(hers came without one, as it was purchased from a lot of school computers who could’nt include the drives) inside my digital audio, then installed it, with OSX, back into hers and it worked fine. this was a 160gb parallel/ultra ata drive. Isnt that the same, or would’nt it work the same as an SATA drive? Thanks.
No, PATA and SATA are different interfaces. PATA is old computers and big cables, SATA is new computers are small cables. Old computers don’t have SATA controllers/ports unless you add them via an expansion card. You’re better off just getting an older, PATA drive.
Thanks man. You just saved my hard drive:)
Anybody remove the case from the 1TB My Book (bought at Costco) and install in a Drobo? Drobo said to call Western Digital, and their answer was call Drobo! (of course!)
It seems as it if should work, but don’t want to go through the hassle of prying off the case if it won’t….
Thanks..
From the post:
“6. Remove the 4 screws holding the hard drive to the metal carrier. You’ll see that it is a standard 3.5″ desktop SATA drive.”
So, let me get this straight. If I get the case open, and pull the drives, they are just standard SATA hard drives?
The reason I ask is I “inherited” one from a friend who couldn’t get it to work on her MAC network at home, and I would love to pull the 1TB of storage from this thing and put it in my PC for DVR storage.
If the drives are viable, and it is a standard voltage interface, this should work. Anyone with experience doing this or something similar?
Thanks for the feedback!
G.
Yes, they are standard drives. I put my 1TB MyBook drive in my TiVo HD.
If you think about it, it is much more financially viable to make an external case that uses standard SATA and power connectors than it does to make a special (unique) hard drive and a non-standard case with proprietary connectors. Every external enclosure uses either a standard PATA or SATA desktop or notebook drive inside. The 1TB MyBook is a SATA desktop 3.5″ drive.
Výbornej návod,podařilo se rozebrat.Díky
hey guys,
i have a 500gb my book, and the hard drive is not working anymore, i got it open, will i be able to replace the hard drive with a normal hard drive?
thanks
naja
I have a Western Digital My Book Premium II 1TB external hard drive that contains two 500GB SATA drives and some sort of RAID controller. I was running this in RAID1 (mirrored) mode hoping to protect my data in case of drive failure. The My Book seems to be experiencing some sort of controller or other related electronics failure. It is no longer under warranty, so I cracked the thing open and removed the drives. Mounting the drives in a BlacX USB/SATA desktop hard drive cradle I was able to access the drives, navigate the file structure in Windows, and finally access the data. I didn’t look through all of the 400+GB of files, but what I did look at seemed to be fully intact.
The next step I took was mounting one of the drives in my PC and upon booting Windows said it needed to be scanned. While scanning it tons of stuff scrolled across the screen at too high a rate for me to read, but I did see the word orphaned, so I am worried that there is some file failure somewhere on the drive. While mounting the two drives, one at a time in the BlacX hard drive cradle, I noticed that my system recognized the individual drives as being the My Book. After mounting one of the drives in my PC, it too was recognized as a My Book and assigned the drive letter K which was NOT the next available drive letter. What worries me now while thinking about mounting both drives in my PC is that once both are mounted simultaneously that somehow Windows will freak out finding two My Books or trying to assign the drive specification K to both of them.
My hope was to mount both, run a comparison on the two to see if they are indeed mirror images of each other, then copy the data to other drives in order to clear both of the 500GB drive from the My Book. My plan was to clear them, reformat them, then attempt to run a RAID with the on-board RAID controller on my motherboard. The documentation with my motherboard says that I can run a non-bootable RAID with the on-board RAID controller, so my hope is that once I setup these two 500GB drives in a RAID1 alignment, I can then copy all the data I removed from these My Book drives. Is there any reason to think/worry that this plan will not work?
JD
Thanks for the post! I have a 1TB Western Digital MyBook Studio (silver). Between your post and this other post ( http://www.ransackery.com/western-digital-mybook-open-case-recover-data.htm ) I was able to swap the 1TB drive for an old 250GB Western Digital SATA drive (and use the 1TB drive internally in my server)
Important note: At first, the 250GB drive was not recognized by the enclosure! I run linux, and after plugging it in with USB, I saw lots of these errors when I typed dmesg|tail into the terminal:
[ 590.201208] usb 5-1.1: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 5
[ 593.265868] usb 5-1.1: device descriptor read/64, error -110
[ 601.944938] usb 5-1.1: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 6
[ 605.009597] usb 5-1.1: device descriptor read/64, error -110
[ 613.688799] usb 5-1.1: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 7
…and so on up to address 23 before I finally unplugged it.
The Firewire connection didn’t fare any better:
mythtv@mythtvbox:~$ dmesg|tail
[ 230.266440] scsi 8:0:1:0:
[ 230.266444] command: Test Unit Ready: 00 00 00 00 00 00
[ 230.274818] scsi 8:0:1:0: scsi: Device offlined – not ready after error recovery
[ 230.274881] ieee1394: sbp2: scsi_add_device failed
[ 231.112122] ieee1394: sbp2: Logged out of SBP-2 device
[ 479.899055] ieee1394: Error parsing configrom for node 0-00:1023
[ 479.899313] ieee1394: Node suspended: ID:BUS[0-00:1023] GUID[0090a9581804443c]
[ 489.463441] ieee1394: Node changed: 0-01:1023 -> 0-00:1023
…but the drive was never recognized
Anyway, here is how I fixed it:
The onboard chipset memory of the MyBook Studio needed to be reset. When you remove the metal shielding, you see the circuit board and all of the different components. One of them is two metal prongs, an empty jumper (J6), sticking out of the circuit board, near the DC power input. By shorting those jumpers with a metal screwdriver for 2 seconds (with the drive OFF and the power cord REMOVED!), I was able to reset it so it would recognize my new drive.
For what it’s worth, I also used a traditional jumper shunt (those darn little black things that get lost all the time!) to connect the jumpers at OPT1 on the 250GB drive itself. This switches it from the faster “SATA 2” 3.0GB/s transfer rate to the slower 1.5GB/s rate, which I think the enclosure chipset also appreciated.
Now the drive just works when I plug it in!
Again, thanks for the info, and good luck to everyone out there!
@Fisslefink: thanks for the tip !! this was the information i was looking for. In fact here is what i want to do:
I have a mybook 500gb home edition with firewire cables. I want to remove the drive and replace it with a 1tb drive. This way I will have a 1tb drive on an enclosure with firewire. Do you think that will work (after resetting the chipset)?
Also do you have pictures of the steps you described ?
Jamkan: For what it’s worth, I didn’t have to short the jumper when replacing a 1TB Western Digital drive with a 200GB Western Digital drive.
That needs more careful when you slide the circuit board. The stand-off of screws will peel off the resisotrs and capacitors while sliding. My board was brocken. T-T I need the schematics to fix it.
Thanks for this detailed write-up. My enclosure (Model WD10000H1CS-00 rev. 1109A from Costco) tipped over while it was running and the drive will no longer mount in Windows XP. I’d like to open the case and use a separate SATA cable to try to recover the data (using EasyRecovery Pro and a USB/SATA reader) but as the drive is still under warranty I’d like to also try to send it back for another when done. In using these steps and assuming I don’t break any tabs and am careful with those pads, do you think that WD will be able to tell that the case was opened and void the warranty? Or is the process non-destructive to the case?
Mike, I’m not positive if it would void your warranty or not. My feeling is that taking apart the case causes no visible external damage, so you probably would be OK. But the internal clips may suffer some strain. But I would think that would occur when the warranty facility take the enclosure apart as well. Let me know what you find.