WD External hard disk failure...

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.
Normally, the lights are lit and then the red light goes off. Only when
we start access the disk the red light blink.

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 from 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.

So as I read from the group, the next logical thing to do is to open
the enclosure and connect the drive directly to a PC?? I have a Dell
700m laptop, so I dont think I can plug it in as a secondary drive.

What would my options at this point of time?? Please suggest!!
1. Get another external enclosure
2. Try IDE-USB adaptor and use it in my laptop itself
3. Connect the drive to a PC as a secondary drive

I really appreciate your help on this!

Thanks very much!!
Jay

In article <(E-Mail Removed) .com>, "Jay"
<(E-Mail Removed)> 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.
> Normally, the lights are lit and then the red light goes off. Only when
> we start access the disk the red light blink.
>
> 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 from 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.
>
> So as I read from the group, the next logical thing to do is to open
> the enclosure and connect the drive directly to a PC?? I have a Dell
> 700m laptop, so I dont think I can plug it in as a secondary drive.
>
> What would my options at this point of time?? Please suggest!!
> 1. Get another external enclosure
> 2. Try IDE-USB adaptor and use it in my laptop itself
> 3. Connect the drive to a PC as a secondary drive
>
> I really appreciate your help on this!
>
> Thanks very much!!
> Jay

It is not good news, I suspect.

http://www.westerndigital.com/en/lib...079-001044.pdf

Looking at the back of the enclosure, it uses 12VDC. That same
12VDC _could_ be connected directly to the controller board
(current for the motor) on the disk drive, as well as powering
a converter to make the necessary +5V to power the rest of it.
That means both the bridge board in the enclosure and the drive
itself could be damaged.

When placing an Adaptaplug in an appliance, a smart engineer
would place a diode, to prevent accidental polarity reversal.
This kind of plug is really a brain-dead solution, and should
have stayed at Radio Shack. The plug would be fine if it carried
raw AC, but polarized DC is just stupid. Any connector with a
keying mechanism that prevents reversal would be better than
that. Adaptaplugs tend to make flaky contact after years of use,
and would not be my first choice as a solution. I have enclosures
here that have a four pin connector (+5, +12, GND, GND), and it can
only be plugged one way. That would have been a superior
solution.

Try option (3) from your list first, and see if there is
any response from the drive. If the drive still works, then
you can consider (1) or (2).

Paul

"Jay" <(E-Mail Removed)> 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.

Yup, sure sounds like he blew it up. Don't do that...

>What would my options at this point of time?? Please suggest!!
>1. Get another external enclosure
>2. Try IDE-USB adaptor and use it in my laptop itself
>3. Connect the drive to a PC as a secondary drive

Those are pretty much your options, other than sending it back to WD
for service. Even if it is under warranty, and you didn't void the
warranty by usingthe wrong power adapter connected with the reverse
polarity, and they do "fix" it, your data will be gone.

I'd open it up and look for blown-up stuff (traces, components, fuses)
and then one of the above.

Ill try that suggestion Paul! I hope option 3 works

And from no on, Im going to build it myself, get a HDD and build an
enclosure for it!!

"Jay" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed) oups.com...
> Ill try that suggestion Paul! I hope option 3 works
>
> And from no on, Im going to build it myself, get a HDD and build an
> enclosure for it!!
>

Keep your brother under control.

Q

On Tue, 13 Dec 2005 22:59:00 GMT, (E-Mail Removed) (Paul)
wrote:

>When placing an Adaptaplug in an appliance, a smart engineer
>would place a diode, to prevent accidental polarity reversal.
>This kind of plug is really a brain-dead solution, and should
>have stayed at Radio Shack. The plug would be fine if it carried
>raw AC, but polarized DC is just stupid. Any connector with a
>keying mechanism that prevents reversal would be better than
>that.

I'd have to disagree here, a diode is a GREAT idea, far
superior to a polarized plug. With the polarized plug one
is forced to use only the mating socket, limiting power
sources, and limiting viability of the support for reuse
some day.

These special plugs and sockets may easily cost more as
well, more than adding a diode which is a trivial cost.

So what if the diode drops a few tenths of a volt? "Easy"
and "Cheap" are not always brain-dead, it's worked well for
years and would've this time too. This might be more of an
issue on very low voltage portable battery-powered devices.

In article <(E-Mail Removed)>,
kony <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>I'd have to disagree here, a diode is a GREAT idea, far
>superior to a polarized plug. With the polarized plug one
>is forced to use only the mating socket, limiting power
>sources, and limiting viability of the support for reuse
>some day.
>
>These special plugs and sockets may easily cost more as
>well, more than adding a diode which is a trivial cost.
>
>So what if the diode drops a few tenths of a volt? "Easy"
>and "Cheap" are not always brain-dead, it's worked well for
>years and would've this time too. This might be more of an
>issue on very low voltage portable battery-powered devices.

Another protective method is to install a reverse-biased diode
between the power rail/wire and ground, and place a fuse between the
power jack and the board. When power is hooked up correctly, there's
no voltage drop and no loss of power in the diode. If power is
hooked up in reverse polarity, the diode conducts (hard!) and the fuse
blows immediately, limiting the amount of reverse voltage applied to
the circuit to a volt or so for a small number of milliseconds.

The original poster might check to see if this is what happened to his
drive (I infer that his drive is a standard parallel-ATA with an
outboard USB 2.0 adapter-thingie on it?). There might be a blown
surface-mount fuse, near the power-cable connection point on the
adapter. If so, simply replacing this fuse might get the adapter and
drive working again.

I tend to prefer to use self-resetting polymer "fuses" in this sort of
application - nothing to replace if the fuse "blows" due to a reverse
polarity event - but they're more expensive than standard fusible
types.


--
Dave Platt <(E-Mail Removed)> AE6EO
Hosting the Jade Warrior home page: http://www.radagast.org/jade-warrior
I do _not_ wish to receive unsolicited commercial email, and I will
boycott any company which has the gall to send me such ads!

"Jay" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed) 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.
> Normally, the lights are lit and then the red light goes off. Only when
> we start access the disk the red light blink.
>
> 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 from 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.
>
> So as I read from the group, the next logical thing to do is to open
> the enclosure and connect the drive directly to a PC?? I have a Dell
> 700m laptop, so I dont think I can plug it in as a secondary drive.
>
> What would my options at this point of time?? Please suggest!!
> 1. Get another external enclosure
> 2. Try IDE-USB adaptor and use it in my laptop itself
> 3. Connect the drive to a PC as a secondary drive
>
> I really appreciate your help on this!
>
> Thanks very much!!
> Jay
>
Another thought would be to try plugging it into a different USB port. If
you have another working USB device try swapping the drive's USB port with
the other device.

The chances are more that the external drive enclosure's USB/IDE interface
blew but it's worth a try.

In article <(E-Mail Removed)>, (E-Mail Removed) wrote:

> On Tue, 13 Dec 2005 22:59:00 GMT, (E-Mail Removed) (Paul)
> wrote:
>
> >When placing an Adaptaplug in an appliance, a smart engineer
> >would place a diode, to prevent accidental polarity reversal.
> >This kind of plug is really a brain-dead solution, and should
> >have stayed at Radio Shack. The plug would be fine if it carried
> >raw AC, but polarized DC is just stupid. Any connector with a
> >keying mechanism that prevents reversal would be better than
> >that.
>
> I'd have to disagree here, a diode is a GREAT idea, far
> superior to a polarized plug. With the polarized plug one
> is forced to use only the mating socket, limiting power
> sources, and limiting viability of the support for reuse
> some day.
>
> These special plugs and sockets may easily cost more as
> well, more than adding a diode which is a trivial cost.
>
> So what if the diode drops a few tenths of a volt? "Easy"
> and "Cheap" are not always brain-dead, it's worked well for
> years and would've this time too. This might be more of an
> issue on very low voltage portable battery-powered devices.

I don't know if I made myself clear enough or not.

I'm referring to the fact that many companies use the circular
two contact plugs, and some of them make the center pin (+)
and some make the center pin (-). That is a recipe for disaster
if the appliance is not protected with a diode, as the consumer
can mate any wall wart that even remotely resembles the right one.

If you go to Radio Shack, there are about 15 different kinds
of Adaptaplugs. At least a couple of them will fit in holes
they really shouldn't, which means the size of the plug, doesn't
provide a means of preventing the wrong things being plugged
together. And if I want, I can connect a 12V supply from one
product, into the 7V socket on another product.

On the "Radio Shack end" of the stuff they sell, there are two
styles of pins. Some Adaptaplugs have asymmetric pins, which
prevents installing a Radio Shack adapter on one of their power
bricks the wrong way. Other kits from Radio Shack have symmetric
pins, which causes the center conductor of the Adaptaplug to
be either (+) or (-) without the customer knowing. In fact, for
some of this style of product I own, I use my multimeter to
verify the center pin is the right polarity, before each and
every use of the product.

Such a connector concept is "for the birds". Each voltage should
have its own connector style. Each connector should be designed
so it cannot be reversed. A requirement like that would prevent
the proliferation of 15 very similar connectors/sockets, and then
perhaps personal electronics would have fewer operating voltages.

This is the right way to build a disk enclosure. No mistakes here.
No brick. Just an AC power cord.

http://gfx.cdfreaks.com/reviews/ads_...5/image020.png

This is the second best concept. It uses an external brick, but
the power plug is "DIN-like" and the pattern unique enough that
there is only one way to connect it. I have seen a similar
molded 1x4 style plug as well, for disk enclosures.

http://www.firewire-1394.com/images/800-plat-rear.jpg

This, on the other hand, is the height of absurdity. This is
fine for hackers, or home rocket-scientists, but for people
who want their stuff to "just work", what were they thinking ?

http://www.radioshack.com/search/ind...&kw=adaptaplug

Paul

(E-Mail Removed) (Paul) wrote:
>Other kits from Radio Shack have symmetric
>pins, which causes the center conductor of the Adaptaplug to
>be either (+) or (-) without the customer knowing. In fact, for
>some of this style of product I own, I use my multimeter to
>verify the center pin is the right polarity, before each and
>every use of the product.

Krazy (or hot-melt) glue is your friend for this kind of application,
if you don't mind dedicating your Adapta power supply to that
particular application.

And yeah, there oughta be a standard, but there isn't, which is why I
label all the wall-warts with the device they belong with...