How to recover data from corrupted WD external hardisk

[rajmehra300]

Hi...

I have Western Digital Passport 1 TB external Hard disk. It has got corrupted. When I connect to my Window 7 machine, my external hard disk rotates but my machine does not recognize it.I have checked External hard disk with other working cable as well but still it is not working . I have tried to recover data with Hiren boot cd ,. On hiren boot machine it is recognizing the disk. I can copy some data in form of dd format with data rescue but not able to recover data with this DD format file. I have used different softwares to recover dd file but all are giving error. Please suggest how can i recover my data.

 

[Aquinus]

WD Passport drives encrypt data that's put on the drive. You can't simply remove the hard drive and plug it in while expecting it to be readable. If the enclosure fails, you're practically out of luck.

I'm sure that @SuperSoph_WD can confirm that in case I'm wrong.

 

[jsfitz54]

It sounds like it is past the point of no return.
While it is attached to the primary PC, try running the WD diagnostic tool: http://supportdownloads.wdc.com/downloads.aspx?DL

Don't have WD tool try to fix anything, just diagnose.

 

[Caring1]

You could try swapping the disk in to another enclosure that is the same type to see if that is the issue.

 

[R-T-B]

You could try swapping the disk in to another enclosure that is the same type to see if that is the issue.

Won't work. Encryption differs between enclosures.

 

[SuperSoph_WD]

Hey, @rajmehra300

I can imagine how frustrated you must be about your data. As the other guys already mentioned the WD My Passport does incorporate a hardware encryption. This basically won't let you access your files without the original WD My Passport enclosure. You mentioned that you can hear the drive spin up, but have you checked all the places where it might pop up? Disk Management? Device Manager? DiskPart? BIOS even?
Before attempting anything else by yourself, I'd advise you to check your Warranty Status first. If the external HDD is still covered, you should be able to send an RMA to our Customer Support. Regardless of the warranty status, you can still contact them for further troubleshooting assistance.

If the files on the WD My Passport are very important to you, you should consider contacting a Professional Data Recovery company as well. They are your best bet when it comes to retrieving your data. I'd strongly recommend you to keep your data stored on AT LEAST ONE OTHER storage device in the future. Having multiple copies is what would prevent such data-loss headaches.
Besides, better safe than sorry, right?

Hope I was able to assist you.
SuperSoph_WD

 

[rajmehra300]

It sounds like it is past the point of no return.
While it is attached to the primary PC, try running the WD diagnostic tool: http://supportdownloads.wdc.com/downloads.aspx?DL

Don't have WD tool try to fix anything, just diagnose.

I have earlier tried with WD dianostic tool but it is not detecting the hdd

Hey, @rajmehra300

I can imagine how frustrated you must be about your data. As the other guys already mentioned the WD My Passport does incorporate a hardware encryption. This basically won't let you access your files without the original WD My Passport enclosure. You mentioned that you can hear the drive spin up, but have you checked all the places where it might pop up? Disk Management? Device Manager? DiskPart? BIOS even?
Before attempting anything else by yourself, I'd advise you to check your Warranty Status first. If the external HDD is still covered, you should be able to send an RMA to our Customer Support. Regardless of the warranty status, you can still contact them for further troubleshooting assistance.

If the files on the WD My Passport are very important to you, you should consider contacting a Professional Data Recovery company as well. They are your best bet when it comes to retrieving your data. I'd strongly recommend you to keep your data stored on AT LEAST ONE OTHER storage device in the future. Having multiple copies is what would prevent such data-loss headaches.
Besides, better safe than sorry, right?

Hope I was able to assist you.
SuperSoph_WD

I have checked Disk Management, Device Manager, DiskPart but no luck .How to check using BIOS?

 

[95Viper]

WD Passport drives encrypt data

Just a note of info for all... "Models officially sold in Russia do not have hardware encryption, but do have password protection" quoted from WD.
And, you can use the WD software for certain drives to deactivate the encryption and password protections, in case anyone was every wondering.

I have Western Digital Passport 1 TB external Hard disk.

Which model? Hope you backed up your data, if it was needed.

Try this troubleshooting FAQ page: Where to find a driver for a WD product or the operating system (OS) fails to recognize a WD drive

Did you install the SES driver? WD SES driver download and instructions for recovering the WD SmartWare installer

 

[SuperSoph_WD]

Just a note of info for all... "Models officially sold in Russia do not have hardware encryption, but do have password protection" quoted from WD.
And, you can use the WD software for certain drives to deactivate the encryption and password protections, in case anyone was every wondering.

Indeed, our WD My Passport HDDs that are sold in Russia do not incorporate a hardware encryption.
It's true that the password protection could be deactivated on any WD My Passport model, though.
However, you can't deactivate the hardware encryption. Our encrypted WD external models - WD My Passport & WD My Book are self-encrypting drives (SED). The whole point of the encryption is that no one would be able to access your data in case it gets stolen or taken out of its original enclosure. Unfortunately, this is not something you get rid of with SED HDDs.

SuperSoph_WD

 

[95Viper]

However, you can't deactivate the hardware encryption.

You can deactivate/disable (it is not gone, however, you can stop using it) by updating the firmware and getting rid of the VCD... per WD here --> Software & Downloads

Quote from the WD page:

A small portion of drive space on your new My Passport or My Book hard drive has been used to create a Virtual CD (VCD). The VCD contains the WD SmartWare installation software, the encryption and password protection application, User Manuals, and other resource files. The VCD looks like an actual CD volume and appears on the screen each time you connect your WD drive to the computer.

The VCD is necessary if you wish to install WD SmartWare or if you want to use the encryption and password protection features on the drive.

If you don't wish to run WD SmartWare or use the security features, you can disable the VCD following the steps below. The VCD can be re-enabled by running the VCD manager.

 

[Rhyseh]

This probably won't work, but I have had success in the dim distant past with freezing drives. Try cling wrapping it, throwing it in a sealed plastic bag and popping it in the freezer for a couple of hours. If it's a mechanical issue it may help.

It sounds like the USB interface is the issue, so this will probably do nothing BUT if you have nothing left to lose it's worth having a crack at it.