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Western Digital My Book Essentials will not...




By Dawn DS on Nov 20, 2007

" "
I have been using the Western Digital My Book Essential external hard drive for about 1.5 years. I disconnected it this morning to use the power cord for another elecronic item. When i went to reconnect it to the power supply and to my computer, the blue light on the front blinked a few times, but does not turn on. This external hard drive also now does not register on my desktop. I would like the data to be retrieved, but i am not sure if this can be done. What do you suggest doing? I am pretty sure that this drive is not under warrently and i am actually not interested in getting it replaced, but i definitely would like a solution to make the drive work or be fixed or to retrieve the data
Comments:

Dec 25, 2007

- I have rechecked the power supply, the power cord, the usb connection to the drive and the computer, the usb port - all function fine. it seems the western digital drive will not power up or power on - the blue led light will not go on and therefore the computer will not recognize it. any other suggestions? again, in a perfect world, the drive would start working - however my concern now is retrieval and transfer of the data backed up on the western digital "backup"

Clarification Request

Posted by Kurgan123 on May 29, 2009

haleiwa, Do you have any instructions on how to remove the drive from the enclosure? I'm not sure I can do it without breaking the enclosure. Thanks.

Same Problem

Apr 20, 2009

-   What is the best solution that everyone is talking about? I don't see it anywhere...I tried to unplugging everything and leaving it alone for a night and than plugging everything back in and still the hard drive won't power up. Does anyone know how to fix this problem? -   sh66

Apr 17, 2009

-   All I can say is what a "SHAM"...My power is no longer working on my drive and my 2 years of digial pictures are lost... I tried all solutions offered from this website and appreciate the help as I agree with another individual that WD was absolutely "no help" the individual told me just to go pick up another adapter at the local radio shack/best buy and of course since the power adapter has a 5 pin it's not like it's an easy item to just purchase...so I googled to find a vendor that sells this type of adapter and the vendor from irvine is completely out of these adapters and doesn't know when they will come in (I guess if ever)...so obviously everyone has had the same problem with this product......after this ordeal I am real discouraged about Western Digital and "external hard drives" in general. I did confirm with WD that they are not part of the same company as Seagate (in case I'm a fool enough to buy another External Hard Drive.)-   westward09

Apr 08, 2009

-   i have the same problem but cant find "the best solution" that everyone talks about... where is it?-   ex74z

Apr 07, 2009

-   I'd like to read a more detailed description of how to remove the drive from its case. I don't see any screws or access points.

(My drive is working, at the moment, but you never know....)
-   ve3sp

Feb 14, 2009

-   Same problem, but with the 750GB My Book Studio.-   adguy

Best Solution

posted on Sep 23, 2008
Helpful)

Guest

Rank: Apprentice 
Rating: 0%, 0 votes
Best solution fixed my problem too.

Solution #2

posted on May 26, 2008
Helpful)

billgannon

Rank: Apprentice 
Rating: 83%, 8 votes
No matter what I tried, I ws unable to get my "MyBook" working. My solution? Remove from case and voila, it's just a seial ATA drive attached to a small circuit board which converts it to USB. Disconnect from the circuitboard and plug into the motherboard. Imstant success. It failed as an external drive three weeks after the warranty ran out. WD support was zero help.
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Solution #3

posted on Apr 14, 2008
Helpful)

ebel

Rank: Apprentice 
Rating: 84%, 52 votes
I FOUND THE SOLUTION. Here's what you must do. Unplug ALL the cables that are attached to the Western Digital Hard Drive. In other words PHYSICALLY disconnect the firewire/USB cable from BOTH the computer and the Western Digital Hard Drive.Do the same with the power adapter, unplugging it from the wall outlet as well as the Western Digital Hard drive. Now shut down your laptop or computer. Then plug EVERYTHING back in. Now re-start your laptop or computer. Everything should work fine and be back to normal. Good luck.
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Solution #4

posted on Nov 20, 2007
Somewhat Helpful)

ohiotom

Rank: Guru 
Rating: 87%, 337 votes
A few simple things you may have already tried:

Make sure the USB cable is still securely in place on the HDD as well as in the computer.

Reboot the computer.

Let us know.
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Solution #5

posted on Mar 05, 2009
Very Helpful)

Brbull

Rank: Apprentice 
Rating: 92%, 9 votes
The power ac adaptor for my Western Digital Elements 320 GB External HDD died ( the green light came on when powered up, then just went out again. Drive would not come ready )

Spent a huge amount of time trying to find a replacement, everybody said "no chance.... pull it apart and put the HDD in a new case with apower supply". Eventually found a phone number ( from Australia)) for the WD customer service number. It is passed to WD in Singapore, and when I explained my problem they said to email them with : details of the drive, the power adaptor and my mailing address. They have responded that a FREE replacement power adaptor is being mailed to me!

Not bad customer service !!!!! Full marks Western Digital !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Email address is customerservice@wd.com
Phone number is 1800 429 861 ( from Australia) for other locations got to WD service website at

http://wdc.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/wdc.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=1048&p_created=1060098616

Hope this makes your day, as well as it made mine.
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Solution #6

posted on Nov 20, 2008
Very Helpful)

haleiwa

Rank: Apprentice 
Rating: 100%, 1 votes
I tried the 'Best Solution' several times, and I had no results.

I find this odd and frustrating because I was literally using the HDD less than 12 hours ago to edit a bunch of RAW photos.

After testing the supplied power cord with a multi meter, and the supplied USB cable for impedance, I determined that possibly 1) The HDD took a dive and/or 2) The built in power supply took a dump.

Taking time not to damage anything, I stripped the HDD from it's case. I then used one of those generic Internal-HDD-To-External-HDD adapters, plugged in all the appropriate cables, and the HDD powered right up.

I can now go back to my life and get some darn photo editing done. In the event that I come across a new power supply for the OEM setup, I'll throw the HDD back in it's original case.

Hope this helps.

Aloha.

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Solution #7

posted on Jul 05, 2008
Somewhat Helpful)

sunnmoon

Rank: Apprentice 
Rating: 75%, 1 votes
It worked for me too... unplugged all cords - connections, electricity, everything... then let it "rest" for half an hour... reconnect all cables... Cool!
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Solution #8

posted on Oct 25, 2009
Not Rated)

alain_friede

Rank: Apprentice 
Rating: 0%, 0 votes
I had this problem with a:
Western Digital MyBook Edition Pro 500GB

After checking that it was neither the cables, nor the PC/Mac, nor the USB/FireWire slots, not the power suply, I ordered an USB 2.0 to SATA/IDE cable adapter.

I opened my MyBook as found on Internet, removed the HDD, a classic S-ATA drive (WD500YS) with a circuit Board for USB/FireWire/Power plugs (WD Galaxy 1T PCBA 2061-701412 + 2061 - 701434).

I plugged my HDD to the newly ordered Adaptor, and to a Power Supply and:

--> It's working again. Better then sending back the HDD to Western Digital and receive a new EMPTY HDD, or to pay x.xxx € for Data Recovery.

I never ever buy Western Digital Products again ;)

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Solution #9

posted on Oct 03, 2009
Not Rated)

ggjjgg6g

Rank: Apprentice 
Rating: 0%, 0 votes
I dropped my Western Digital MyBook hard drive, and the power supply stopped working.

I removed the hard drive from the enclosure by prying the sides with a thin pocket knife.

Then I unscrewed the four screws holding the hard drive to the enclosure mounting bracket.

Then I unscrewed the two screws holding the power supply (and Firewire/USB connector mount), and slid that off the hard drive.

Then I plugged the hard drive into a G5 and it worked.

I'll be ordering a new enclosure tomorrow.



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Solution #10

posted on Sep 23, 2008
Not Rated)

Guest

Rank: Apprentice 
Rating: 0%, 0 votes
Best solution just worked for me too. I was about to pull hdd apart. Problem was no light over firewire with Macbook. It seems to be with switching power adapter off. As this was the only difference between what I tried 3 times and the solution above.

Solution #11

posted on Aug 14, 2008
Not Rated)

Guest

Rank: Apprentice 
Rating: 0%, 0 votes
Thank you. The best solution worked for me. Power back on both of my drives.

Solution #12

posted on May 19, 2008
Not Rated)

Guest

Rank: Apprentice 
Rating: 0%, 0 votes
Your "Best Solution" worked for me on a Mac G5.
Many thanks - I was just about to smash it into a thousand pieces.

Gavin

Solution #13

posted on May 16, 2008
Not Rated)

Guest

Rank: Apprentice 
Rating: 0%, 0 votes
Dude,
Thanks a lot. It worked for me. But I'm not sure of the reason.
Thanks again.


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18 Other Users Have The Same Problem - Continued

Comment by Guest, posted on Jan 30, 2009

.abcd,

Comment by bambo200, posted on Jan 24, 2009

I was using it to power my keyboard. when i put it back into my hard drive, the green light on the power cord keep blinking and the hard drive would not power on. I have WD My Book Home Edition 500gb

Comment by n_bruce1, posted on Jan 02, 2009

no blue indicator light when i connect all

Comment by emondf, posted on Dec 07, 2008

After rebuilding my system (Mac OS 10.4) after an internal HD failure, my WD My Book Premium would not turn on and start anymore, as if power did not get to it.

Comment by magicjboy, posted on Nov 22, 2008

my hard drive does the same thing, altho my power cord light (green) just flashes and then nothing. 

Comment by alfie523, posted on Jul 26, 2008

Same problem Does not power up or power on. I tried disconnecting and reconnecting all wires but to no avail. Other optioins?

Thanks!

Comment by cmonroe2, posted on Jul 08, 2008

same problem here... bought it in feb 2008, went on vacation and left the system shut down but the power plugged in, a week later after returning from Colorado it doesn't power up?. can the hard drive be removed fromt the casing and installed in a desktop with its own power supply to retrieve the data? cmonroe2@kc.rr.com if you know if this would work.

Comment by Guest, posted on Jun 16, 2008

I have the same problem, and i tried the best solution 3 times. still not working. faint light blinks at times. but not powering up.

Comment by ran86, posted on May 06, 2008

i got a wd my book world and doesn't turn on. i just call wd and they told me that the hd when bad there is any way to recover the my data?????? Thank you

Comment by ebel, posted on Apr 14, 2008

I had the same problem.My Western Digital does not power on and the blue light does not light up either, I tried re-booting the laptop but that did not help either. How do I retrieve my data? Please help. Thank you.

Comment by EnglishAndy, posted on Apr 09, 2008

Yes, I think I have the same problem. First, the network stopped recognising the drive, although the light was still on (it was connected to a wireless router via ethernet). When I power cycled the drive, it spun up but no light came on and it cannot be recognised. Now it seems to be spinning up, then stopping, then trying again over and over. I need to recover the data! Please help.

Comment by Guest, posted on Mar 24, 2008

Came home after business trip and there is no blue light.  HD inside making clicking sound...  Just over a year old.

Comment by gnierx, posted on Dec 11, 2007

I have the same problem. There is no blue led and the computer doesn't recognize the drive.

I normally connect via the ethernet port to my network.
I tried using the USB without success.
I tried connecting the ethernet cable directly to my computer.

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